The Good Catholic Life

Summary of today’s show: Everyone has a favorite hymn from church and a reason why it moves them, whether from a cherished childhood memory or how it moves the spirit to contemplate God, and so on today’s show Scot Landry, Fr. Chris O’Connor, and Rick Heil share with listeners their lists of their top three favorite hymns and count them down like Kasey Kasem. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s topics: Our Favorite Church Hymns 1st segment: Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor greeted all listeners. Scot noted that Fr. Chris has just been inducted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. They discussed that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre have the right to ride a horse into any church in the world, although they don’t know where it came from. Fr. Chris said it started in the Crusades to protect the tomb of Christ and they continue that work today, providing funding and assistance to protect the religious site there, but also to bring Muslims and Christians together in the Holy Land for peace. Fr. Chris said about 70 men and women from around New England were inducted into the order in a special ceremony. Fr. Chris also said that they had the seminary Thanksgiving dinner this week before the seminarians return home to their families. They reflect on God’s goodness and the many ways he blesses their vocations. Scot noted that tomorrow will see the broadcast of interviews with Cheverus Award winners from this past Sunday. He also noted that Cardinal Seán published his second pastoral letter of 2011 one year ago today on the Sunday Mass participation. “Jesus’ Eager Desire: Our Participation in the Sunday Mass” Today, Scot said they’re counting down their favorite church hymns. He said the idea came from a discussion with his 10-year-old son this past weekend about how he’s preparing for Advent at the Archdiocesan Boys Choir School. Scot encouraged listeners to make their own list of their favorite hymns and email them to us at [email protected] or post them in the comments on our website or on our Facebook page. Scot’s favorite church hymn of all time begins. Rick played a clip: O God Beyond All Praising. He first heard this at the Pontifical North American College and later it was the recessional at his wedding. Fr. Chris said that Msgr. James Moroney, the rector of St. John Seminary, said this is his favorite hymn as well. Fr .Chris said one of the Eucharistic Prefaces reminds us that God doesn’t need anything so all we can offer Him is our praise. O God beyond all praising, we worship you today and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay; for we can only wonder at every gift you send, at blessings without number and mercies without end: we lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word, we honor and adore you, our great and mighty Lord. Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring, that we who know your favor may serve you as our king; and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’II triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still: to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise. Fr. Chris said it reminds us to open ourselves to the Lord in both our Easter Sundays and Good Fridays. Now to one of his favorites: The Litany of Saints from the Youth Rally in New York with Pope Benedict in 2008. “Lord, have mercy. God our Father in heaven, God the Son, our redeemer, God the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One God Holy Mary Mother of God, Saint Joseph, Spouse of Mary, Saints Peter, Paul and Holy apostles, Saint Isaac Jogues and Holy Martyrs, Saint Patrick, Bishops and Priests, Saints Dominic and Catherine, Saints Francis and Claire, Saint Theresa of Jesus, Saint Peter Claver, Saint Juan Diego, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, Saint Thérèse of Lesieux, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Saint John Neumann, Saint Teresa Benedicta, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Edmund Rice, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Lord, show us your kindness Draw young people to serve you, in priesthood, and religious life. Inspire the people of our world with respect for human life that there may be an end to the culture of death. Guide and protect the dioceses of Baltimore, Boston, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia and all your Church. Keep our Holy Father, our Bishops and all clergy, in faithful service to your Church.” Fr. Chris said it reminds us that the Church is not just the Church we see and touch, but also the spiritual reality of the holy and blessed ones who intercede for us. Scot said when this is prayed during ordination, the men are prostrate before the altar as the people pray for them. Fr. Chris noted that most of the saints in this specific litany are saints from the Americas. He said the litany often changes the names of the saints prayed for to include, perhaps the patron saints of the men preparing for ordination or the patron saints of a religious order of the like. Scot said the various litanies have basically the same lyrics. Fr. Chris said he picked this one for the peaceful music. Rick makes his first choice: Exsultet. This version was chanted by Fr. Jonathan Gaspar of the Office of Divine Worship for the Archdiocese. Rick said he chose it because Fr. Jonathan sang it on the show a couple of years ago and it stuck with him for 3 months afterward. Scot said when music moves you, it’s usually a five sense experience. The first time he heard it at the Easter vigil, seeing the church in darkness except candlelight, smelling the incense and lilies. Taking it all in, the sense of darkness and joy that Christ has conquered death. Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph! Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all comers of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness. Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice, arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let this holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples. (Therefore, dearest friends, standing in the awesome glory of this holy light, invoke with me, I ask you, the mercy of God almighty, that he, who has been pleased to number me, though unworthy, among the Levites, may pour into me his light unshadowed, that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises). (V. The Lord be with you. R. And with your spirit.) V. Lift up your hearts. R. We lift them up to the Lord. V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R. It is right and just. It is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart and with devoted service of our voice, to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten. Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father, and, pouring out his own dear Blood, wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness. These, then, are the feasts of Passover, in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb, whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers. This is the first section of the Exsultet They then discussed the difference between hymns and other music. Fr. Chris said hymns are usually music that everyone sings and this is music sung only by the deacon or priest or cantor and it’s a very difficult piece of music. The next song from Scot is Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand; Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand. King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food. Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day, That the powers of hell may vanish As the darkness clears away. At His feet the six wingèd seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye, Veil their faces to the presence, As with ceaseless voice they cry: Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Lord Most High! Scot said the first time he heard this experienced well he was in the choir of the Pontifical North American College during the Liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica for the ordination of deacons. He talked about how the song built up from silence to a triumphal Alleluia. Rick said he also chose this hymn because he loved a Gustav Holst arrangement of this hymn. Next for Fr. Chris is the Taize chant Veni, Sancte Spiritus. He said it almost sounds like breathing in the rhythm. It translates as “Come Holy Spirit.” Fr. Chris said the chant is sung in successive different languages and it symbolizes Pentecost and how the Apostles were enabled to speak in many tongues. It also reminds us of the universality of the Catholic faith. Scot said it’s a simple hymn to sing along to and to pray for a long time as it’s sung. You don’t need a hymnal, singing experience, or a singing voice. Everyone can participate in it. Fr. Chris talked about how the Holy Spirit is sometimes spoken of as the breath of God and how the hymn invokes the sense of breathing. Rick’s second hymn is Cantate Domino. He said it’s one verse that’s repeated over and over with slight changes. Sing to the Lord a new song: sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord and bless his name: proclaim his salvation every day without end. Tell his glory among the nations: in every land tell his marvelous deeds. Cantate Domino canticum novum: cantate Domino omnis terra, Cantate Domino et benedicite nomini ejus: annuntiate de die in diem salutare ejus. Annuntiate inter gentes gloriam ejus: in omnibus populis mirabilia ejus. Rick said he tends to like happy music, that have a lot of harmonic movement. It’s joyous praising. The words aren’t ambiguous and there’s not a lot of hidden meaning. He said as he was learning Latin in high school after having learned this, he began to appreciate it more. He encouraged others to learn the meaning of the Latin words. Fr. Chris said they do a fair bit of Latin at the seminary. He has a strong belief we should know what we’re singing, saying, and praying and is always grateful to see the English translation. The Latin helps us to transcend the here and now. Scot said there’s something about the use of language to bring our minds to God and to bring heaven to earth. Scot’s third hymn is All People That on Earth Do Dwell, also sometimes called the Old One Hundredth. Direct link to the version heard on air. All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell; Come ye before Him and rejoice. The Lord, ye know, is God indeed; Without our aid He did us make; We are His folk, He doth us feed, And for His sheep He doth us take. O enter then His gates with praise; Approach with joy His courts unto; Praise, laud, and bless His Name always, For it is seemly so to do. For why? the Lord our God is good; His mercy is for ever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure. To Father, Son and Holy Ghost, The God Whom Heaven and earth adore, From men and from the angel host Be praise and glory evermore. Scot said he loves big organ hymns, but loves all types of music too. But no other instrument cranks as hard as the organ on this song and you can sing as hard as you’d like. He said the interlude before the last verse makes him joyful. Fr. Chris said it’s based on Psalm 100. Rick said the first time he’d heard this song on a big organ was it was played on the giant organ at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Fr. Chris said the next is a Christmas hymn and it will be jumping the gun a bit to hear it now: O Holy Night. O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine. Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here come the wise men from Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friend. He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim. His power and glory evermore proclaim. Scot said it’s his favorite Christmas hymn as well. He and Fr. Chris said they broke the rules by playing it before Thanksgiving. Fr. Chris said it was a French poem written by a layman at the request of this priest. Scot said it’s the kind of hymn that can be sung by both men and women equally. Fr. Chris said his Christmas Eve tradition when he leaves his sister’s home as he drives through Brighton is to play this song very loudly. Scot repeated his request for listeners to send their list of three to [email protected]

Summary of today’s show: The new pastoral plan for the Archdiocese of Boston, Disciples in Mission, is one of the biggest commitments in this or any American diocese to a New Evangelization, and Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell talk with the man whose job will be its implementation, Fr. Paul Soper. The ambitious plan unveiled yesterday depends on a belief in the following statement in Fr. Soper’s words: “Parish-based evangelization works and we can train for it, but we need strong parishes in order to do that.” Our panel goes into depth on just what that means including the millions of dollars and thousands of hours committed to training of thousands of Catholics for that New Evangelization to leave a stronger Church for our children and grandchildren in the decades to come. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell Today’s guest(s): Fr. Paul Soper Links from today’s show: Disciples in Mission website Today’s topics: Disciples in Mission, A Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston 1st segment: Scot Landry said it’s the last full work week in November and he’s looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. Yesterday we had big news at the press conference in which Cardinal Sean announced the new pastoral plan for the archdiocese. Fr. Mark O’Connell said he’s very proud of his best friend, Fr. Paul Soper, who was appointed director of pastoral planning. Scot said there were hundreds watching via live video stream, and thousands listening during a simulcast on WQOM. Scot noted that the Cheverus Awards will be this Sunday at 3pm at Holy Cross Cathedral and will be broadcast live on CatholicTV. It recognizes people who have faithfully served their parishes with little recognition. People are welcome to attend or watch if they can’t be there. Another note is that this weekend is the second collection for the retired religious sisters at all Masses. He noted that religious sisters have made a tremendous impact on all of us on our whole archdiocese and all of us individually. Scot also welcomed into the studio today Gina Zanicky, who is the general manager of the Station of the Cross network based out of Buffalo. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Paul Soper back to the show. He said it’s been quite a week and he’s humbled by the Cardinal’s trust in him asking him to spearhead the office of pastoral planning. Scot said there was a very big national search for the director but they settled on Fr. Soper because of the way he handled the office in the interim period and a very challenging period. Scot noted that Fr. Paul’s current assignment at St. Albert in Weymouth is going to end because of the demands on his time from this new job. Fr. Soper said he finds it difficult to leave parish life and particularly St. Albert’s which has been very kind to him, especially since when he arrived he was recovering from illness. Fr. Mark said the people at St. Albert’s did a great job nursing him back to health and perhaps to good a job because he’s now healthy enough to lead this huge new effort. Scot asked Fr. Paul what it is that made him place such an importance on being involved in the pastoral planning consultation process. Fr. Paul said he was impressed by the effort to bring so many people together and he liked the idea of getting so many people involved in setting the future direction of the Archdiocese. He’s also someone who loves to work with data and computer systems as someone who is trained as an astrophysicist. Fr. Mark noted that Fr. Paul continues to publish scientific papers as a scientist and has a great brain for computer systems and statistics. Scot said in his background as a marketer he learned that any change must be first preceded by collection of data and analysis. Fr. Paul said a large part of his job will ongoing evaluations of the implementation of the pastoral plan in collaboratives and that means a lot of data will need to be collected and designing the tools to collect that data will be important. One of the parts of the plan that changed based on the collection of data from the consultations was the assignment of pastors. Originally every pastor was going to change so there wouldn’t be winners and losers in the collaboratives, but the people said they trusted their pastors to be fair even if he was previously pastor of one of the other parishes in the collaborative. Another element that emerged from consultation was the emphasis on the collaboratives developing pastoral plans based on the local situation. Scot said most of the headlines in the news got yesterday’s press conference wrong, referring to the pastoral plan as reshuffling, reorganization, restructuring, revitalization. Scot wouldn’t have picked any of those verbs. Fr. Paul said he would have picked revitalization. He said Cardinal Sean used very strong words to commit to this pastoral plan. The commitment to Disciples in Mission is a commitment to evangelization. Scot said to him it’s a reallocation of resources to serve the existing parish structures we have, mainly human resources. He emphasized that this is not church closings. Fr. Paul said it’s not principally about reorganization. His short explanation is this: Parish-based evangelization works and we can train for it, but we need strong parishes in order to do that. the radical things in this plan include the training. What diocese has committed millions of dollars to training pastors and lay leadership to do the work of evangelization. Parishes will be evaluating themselves going forward in a commitment to their pastoral plans. Scot said the reporters got the content of their articles correct, but one of the challenges is that the trends on Mass attendance aren’t going well across the country. Yet, the plan has built in the hope that the plan will work and in decades we’ll look back at the decision not to close parishes as a smart one because we won’t have to re-build new churches. The hardest phase starts now. The consultation phase was fruitful, but implementation is even harder. What happens next? Fr. Paul said Phase 1 is only 10 percent of the collaboratives. It’s a sandbox or a beta test. Fr. Paul admitted that he and Fr. Mark have played the World of Warcraft video game and he talked about how the developer asked 10 percent of players to try out a new expansion pack before releasing it to all players. They would rewrite the program as they got feedback and by the time it was released to everyone it was in much better shape. Scot noted that a world-class piece of software is iterated along the way. Phase 1 provides some learning before we implement in the whole archdiocese. Fr. Paul said we know what 70% of the 130 pastoral collaboratives will be already. Next week, parishes will receive letters on what the collaboratives will be and they will be asked to confirm those groupings and to say whether they are willing to be part of Phase 1. In January they will list the names of the collaboratives in Phase 1. He said in some case, parishes have been working collaboratively for a while and are anxious for the training that will be made available. In other cases, they want to have an impact on the way that the plan is implemented overall. Fr. Mark asked if there are cases where parishes will be asked to be part of phase 1 even they say they’re don’t want to be. Fr. Paul said it could happen because Phase 1 has to be representative of the whole archdiocese: urban, rural, ethnically diverse parishes, parishes that are well-off, parishes that are struggling and at least one collaborative that will be a standalone parish. Phase 1 will surface as many of the issues as possible so they can develop responses to them. Fr. Mark said this is how they implemented the Improved Financial Relationship Model. Scot said pastors in that process had agreed that we needed to make the financial structures more sustainable for parishes for their evangelization efforts. Pastors now serving multiple parishes with multiple parish councils with multiple staffs say it isn’t sustainable. It’s not more effective to have three youth ministers, say, when you could have one of them doing adult faith formation and the third doing ministry to the very young, perhaps. Fr. Paul said some of the more eager phase 1 collaboratives are in that situation. Fr. Paul said on January 16, 2013, stage 1 training will begin for all employees of central ministries of the archdiocese. It will be eight days of training: four days in leadership management, 2 days in theology and practice of the new evangelization, and 2 days in practice of collaboration. Scot said the idea is to develop skills in change management, to learn what the new evangelization is, and how to foster a more collaborative working environment. All these changes require new skills we haven’t had before. Fr. Paul said it’s also an example of leading the way. The people of the parishes are going to be making an extraordinary commitment to training and the Pastoral Center should be leading the way on that. Pastors will have 50 days of training over 18 months. In May 2013, Stage 2 will be for the Phase 1 pastors for eight days spread out over 4 weeks on the same topics. Once the phase 1 collaboratives are announced, each of the parishes will be treated by the clergy personnel board will be treated as open. Current pastors can apply as well as other priests. The idea is to be totally fair and transparent. The pastors will be announced in early March 2013. Scot said each pastor named will almost certainly be someone who applied for that job. Scot said after the training ends in June 2013, the pastors hire pastoral staff. The collaboratives start July 2013 and over the summer the pastor pulls together the team and councils. In September, the pastoral councils, finance councils, and school boards will receive training. There will be one council of each kind per collaborative and each school will have on board. The pastoral team trainings will start in September. October has the most intensive portion of the training and last for four months. There will be 16 days of training in each collaborative in their own site. That is for the pastoral team. Some will be daytime, some nights and weekends. For the leadership and management portion of the training, they are engaging the Catholic Leadership Institute. The evangelization portion will be done by a team being formed by Bishop Arthur Kennedy. The mechanics of collaboration training will be done by Pastoral Center staff. In late January 2014, the pastor will have chosen a team of 6 to 8 people to write their local pastoral plan and that’s the final stage of training as they get eight days in training for this. They will have a year to write this plan. They expect it be consultative and they will ask phase 1 to be very transparent in the process because other collaboratives will benefit later on. Phase 2 will be much larger with about 50 collaboratives and they will take two years. This begins in July 2014. Phases 3 and 4 will follow on, with 50 in phase 3 and 20 or so in phase 4. From Phase 2 onward they will have case studies of other collaboratives. Scot said Cardinal Sean called the process organic and flexible. Fr. Paul said in forming the groups themselves, the list has changed a lot and is very different from the list from this past January. And going forward, because we’re not closing parishes and we have some flexibility, we could react to what happens by saying that maybe we need to shift the collaboratives or break some of them up. There could be demographic shifts and the needs of people could change over time. 3rd segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. Gospel for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 18, 2012 (Mark 13:24-32) Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Scot said we end the liturgical year next Sunday and at the end of the year we’re taken to the last things, the return of Christ. Many people fear that day. Fr. Paul said he fears that day, but it’s not the only feeling he has about it. Christ has told us what to do and when we’re standing there before him we’ll be confronted with whether we’ve done what he asked. But he also looks forward to seeing him. We can be joyful in anticipation of Christ. Scot said not knowing the hour can be a great spiritual help because it can encourage us to be ready and go to confession today or go to Mass more and pray more. Fr. Mark said Jesus is also saying we shouldn’t have an irrational fear because no one knows the day or hour. People try to scare others that the world is ending, but Jesus is saying we should relax and find comfort in knowing he will be in command. There’s a balance between comfort but also a sense of getting ready. Fr. Paul said St. Mark is writing for a community under awful persecution and the message in this Gospel is to hang in there because it’s going to be okay. Scot said he’s not sure we focus enough on these readings in all the rush of Thanksgiving and encouraged listeners to spend more time focusing on them.

Summary of today’s show: Our usual Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Gregory Tracy, and Fr. Roger Landry, consider the news headlines of the week, including today’s press conference announcing the new pastoral plan for the Archdiocese of Boston called Disciples in Mission; the various decisions of the US bishops’ meeting this week on homilies, penance, abstinence, Dorothy Day’s cause for canonization, and the USCCB’s public affairs office; the appointment of Fr. Bob Blaney to a new diocesan role; and the new Pontifical Latin Academy. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: Disciples in Mission; US Bishops’ meeting; Pontifical Latin Academy 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show. He said there was a press conference at 2pm announcing the new pastoral plan. Susan Abbott said it was great to be there and there was a great energy in the room. “Cardinal approves pastoral plan”, The Boston Pilot, 11/16/12 “Pastoral planning to promote the New Evangelization”, Cardinal Seán, The Boston Pilot, 11/16/12 DisciplesinMission.com Scot said it was also announced that Fr. Paul Soper would be the new permanent director of pastoral planning. Gregory Tracy said as an interim director Fr. Paul has done a great job. Greg said beyond the plan, he was struck by the Cardinal’s plan to reach out to those who are only occasionally connected to the Church. Susan said it came across clearly came across that evangelization is at the forefront of this plan. She discussed the Cardinal’s statement that a significant number of people come to Mass monthly, slightly more than those who come weekly. Fr. Roger said the national number is 40% who go once per month. They want to have that relationship with God, but that means something else has to be put in second-place and instead they have to either work or they want to take their children to sports or the like. Another situation is broken families where the kids go from one home to another and it affects the way the whole family attends Mass. Fr. Roger said the reaction isn’t where are you, but we’re really grateful when you come, how can we help you to address these issues? Scot said what came up is that Phase 1 will be an elaborate sandbox to try new things, to learn what works and what doesn’t work. He said parishes will try a bunch of things and assess what actually works so the bulk of the parishes later can implement what does work. Susan said there are already several parishes that are sharing religious education programs and their experience has worked out some of the kinks. She thinks that in the future they can look back at these parishes and how they have had a degree of success. To see the press conference go to BostonCatholicLive.com or watch at 8pm tonight on CatholicTV. Scot also noted that Cardinal Sean will take part in a live chat at Boston.com tomorrow from 1 to 2pm. There’s also a short video produced of the reflections of the members of the Pastoral Planning commission. 2nd segment: Scot Landry said the US bishops met in Baltimore this week and they discussed a new document on more effective preaching of Sunday homilies. He said it was great to hear the bishops focus on making the Sunday liturgy a stronger tool of evangelization. Susan said the liturgy is not adult education, but public worship and praise of God. But within that the homily is a very effective means of adult formation. The bishops encourage the priests to make it ever more relevant to people’s lives. She thinks of the priests who are so busy and it’s difficult to devote time to preparing homilies. “Pope names new auxiliary bishop for Boston”, The Boston Pilot, 11/16/12 “Bishops agree on need for better preaching, more penance; OK Day cause”, Catholic News Service Scot said he hasn’t see the new document, but asked Fr. Roger what he’s heard of it. He said there’s a huge focus on Jesus’ preaching, how he revealed the Father, used parables, encouraged on one hand and castigated on the other. Much of the time when preaching is taught, they look at the general categories of oratory, but preaching is its own particular art form that is to reach the head and heart and motivate you to moral action. He said it’s noteworthy on the amount time spent on doctrinal preaching, the communication of the doctrines of our faith, because so many Catholics are not learning about their faith. Catechesis isn’t the focus of the homily, but it’s often the only opportunity people have for it. Scot asked Fr. Roger how preparing the Sunday homily fits in with his other duties. Fr. Roger said the Second Vatican Council says preaching the Word is his primary duty. He said administrative duties come third, after preaching and the sacraments and hopefully members of the parish will step up and let the pastor do the first two. Scot said the bishops also adopted a new plan for themselves for the next couple of years, the first part of which is the Year of Faith and embracing the sacrament of penance. They are encouraging every diocese to do what Boston has been doing in The Light Is On For You. Cardinal Dolan also implied the US might bring back Friday abstinence for every week, not just Lent, as an opportunity for weekly sacrifice and penitential reflection. Greg talked about how when he was converting to Catholicism the sacrament of penance was the stumbling block for him. He sees the value in having a structure or a plan and a framework like the Light Is On For You. Scot said when the entire diocese does something, the word of mouth gets amplified and he hopes it becomes part of the Catholic conversation in Lent next year. Susan said of extension of Friday abstinence is fine as is anything that turns our mind and hearts to God. It’s not a hardship or sacrifice for people anymore. She noted that non-meat meals are as common as meat dishes. It’s not as much of a sacrifice now as it was years ago. But even if it’s not a hardship, but a reminder that’s still good. Greg said it will need to be led into with a lot of catechesis so people understand. We’re dealing with much more secularized people and even those who go to Church don’t understand why. Fr. Roger said he thinks the primary objective is the restoration of an authentic Catholic identity. In the old days, it reinforced that we were all in something together. He notes that the Church didn’t change the rule, just relaxed it a bit. The Church still expected people to abstain from meat on Friday or find another penance. Historically, meat was considered precious and people rarely had it. In the Middle Ages, people were giving up meat and fasting on bread and water. The bishops also voted unanimously to open the cause of canonization of Dorothy Day. Scot thought it was an unusual move for the bishops to highlight one particular cause over the many others already opened in the US. Susan said she thought it was wonderful. Fr. Roger said the reason is because as Cardinal Dolan said it’s a conflict of interest for him and it’s something he’s been promoting. He thought it would be good for the whole bishops conference to vote on it. Normally, in a canonization case you get the opinion of other bishops, but not usually the entire conference. One reason is that Dorothy Day’s influence was national in scope. He thinks it would be great for any legitimate cause of canonization. Another vote reorganized the public affairs unit of the USCCB. Greg said he’s been impressed with the changes going on in the communications office of the USCCB since he came to the Pilot in 2001. They’ve been turning to lots of new media, but they continue to streamline the message. Often you don’t know which office to turn to for information you’re trying to get. Scot said Cardinal Dolan is a master communicator, but like much of the Church is that they’re good at sending out press releases, but he hopes they have a person not a bishop who can go on TV or radio to represent the Church, especially in areas of conflict. They could make sure the Church’s message is conveyed well, in a way that the person could get into the actual debate. Fr. Roger said the impetus for this change comes from the religious freedom debate because Cardinal Dolan became the only one competent to appear on these various news shows to explain the Catholic faith under fire. He said they want to get together a team of well-trained people who can explain the Good News with clarity and confidence. He hopes that this new spokesman will put together a program to train people to be able to do this, especially the bishops. Fr. Roger said another significant moment was Archbishop Cordileone’s address on the defense of marriage. In other local news, Fr. Bob Blaney, pastor of St. Jerome’s in Weymouth will become administrator of St. Joseph’s in Boston and special assistant to the Secretary of Parish Life and Leadership in January. Scot said his sense is that Fr. Sepe came to this job about six months ago and realized that this is a bigger job than one person can do. His predecessor, Fr. Foley, had Fr. Jim Flavin for much of his tenure, but Fr. Flavin has moved to another assignment. Scot said this Sunday at 3pm will see the Cheverus Awards at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and it will be live on CatholicTV. In the Anchor this week is a list of the names of those in the Diocese of Fall River will be receiving the Marian Medals this weekend too. The Marian medals were the inspiration for the Cheverus Awards and they recognize the lifetime of service and work of the many people who work heroically, often anonymously, to make them examples throughout the entire diocese. It’s a delight and an agony for a pastor to nominate someone, because you can only select one. He talked about the recipient in his parish this year. Also in the news, the Holy Father created a new Pontifical Latin Academy. Fr. Roger said in order for theological studies to occur we’re either going to have to translate lots of material that hasn’t been or we’re going to have to give people a way to read them. This will help many more people to have the Latin language became a real staple in the way they approach the Church’s tradition. Greg talked about the experience of international Catholic gatherings where there many languages spoken, but they prayed in Latin because it was a common bond.

Summary of today’s show: November is Religious Education Month in the Catholic Church in the US and Scot Landry invites Susan Abbott, Susan Kay, and Pilar Latorre from the Archdiocese of Boston’s religious education office to reflect on their own years of service to the Church and how adults and children can really become engaged in learning more about their faith. Scot also asks Pilar about the contribution of Spanish-speaking catechists; Susan Kay about the importance of catechist formation; and Susan Abbott about how her office encourages recognition of the work of parish catechetical leaders. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Susan Kay, Pilar Latorre Links from today’s show: Office of Religious Education Office of Religious Education on BostonCatholic.org Today’s topics: Religious Education Month 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show. He said he thinks of everything that happens during November, including Thanksgiving, Election Day, andso much more, but only recently learned that November is Religious Education Month. He said he would have thought it would be September or May. Susan Abbott said November seemed like a good idea at the time. Scot said tomorrow at 2pm on WQOM or at bostoncatholiclive.com Cardinal Sean will host a press conference on his decision regarding the pastoral plan for the Archdiocese of Boston. On Friday, Cardinal Seán, as part of the rollout, will be taking questions live on a chat on Boston.com at 1pm. He hopes that very faithful Catholics will be part of the questions for Cardinal Seán and ask sincere, hard questions about how as a community can move forward while strengthening faith formation and all other aspects of our Catholic faith. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Susan Kay back to the show and Pilar Latorre for the first time. Susan, Susan, and Pilar all work in the religious education office. Scot asked them what they do in the office helping parishes. Susan Kay said they met with the leadership advisory board this morning, two catechetical leaders from each region of the archdiocese, to discuss how they can address issues in the parishes. They often answer many phone calls regarding parish certifications, answering questions about various practices. Scot clarified that they serve 288 parishes, 435 catechetical leaders, and 11,000 volunteers and their office serves them all. Susan Kay said she’s going an interreligious dialogue meeting and a cluster meeting. Each month they have meetings for catechetical leaders on various topics and on December 5, they will meet with Bishop Hennessey. Scot asked Pilar about her work in religious education for Hispanic ministry. Pilar said in 2000 they started a program on Saturdays that includes prayer and then different topics on theology, sacraments, and every kind of subject to help them serve parishes for a total of 40 hours of study. The program takes 2 years to complete. Pilar said she came to Boston from Colombia where she had been working in an elite school. But she came to Boston to teach at Emmanuel College 45 years ago. She had trouble finding a priest to go to confession to in Spanish so she met with a priest at the cathedral to talk about programs for Spanish-speaking people. When she experienced the need among the people, she decided to stay in Boston and has been here since 1972. Susan Abbott described how Pilar would manually translate materials on typewriters and mimeographs and then hand-deliver them as she drove around the archdiocese to parishes so they could teach the children for First Communion. Susan Kay said she’s been in the office since 2000. Previously she was an assistant to the regional bishop in the Merrimack Region. When the position in the office opened, she was asked if she’d be interested in applying. Before that she’d been a director of religious education at Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell. Susan said until recently Lowell was one of the most Catholic cities in the United States. She described the history of Lowell and the poor Catholics who came to work in the mills. She noted that at the time the Church was allowed to send religion teachers into the public schools to teach the Catholic children. Susan Abbott said she came to the office in 1999 and previously was director of religious education at her parish of St. Theresa’s in West Roxbury for 19 years. she’s still involved in her parish as a volunteer because it keeps her grounded. In 1999, she said there was a larger staff so as an assistant director she didn’t have a region she consulted with, but as the staff dwindled, they had to drop that specialization. In 2008, Susan Abbott became the first lay person to become director of that office. Susan Kay said they also have a new administrative assistant, Cathy Foley, who just started with them a few weeks ago. Susan Abbott said they are like the scene from Shakespeare: “We few, we happy few, we band of sisters.” Scot noted how each of them have experience in parish settings, which gives them the ability to understand the needs of parish leaders. 3rd segment: This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Mark Riopelle from Methuen He wins the book The Leadership of Jesus by Master Sargent Michael M. Cutone If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Susan Abbott talked about Religious Education month and how the work of her office is to lift up the yeoman work of parish leaders. Susan Kay said they send out ideas to parishes to celebrate religious education month, such as prayers of the faithful to gives thanks to God for the opportunity to gather to learn about him; or to list a brief history of religious education in the parish; or list those who have been DREs; or have someone get up at Mass to talk about why being a catechist means so much to them; or host a coffee in the religious education center; or to recognize catechists at Mass. Susan said she’s heard stories from parishes on how these ideas turned out. Many people tell the parish religious education leaders who they never knew how big the program is, what they do, or even where they work. Scot said religious education month helps people to understand what religious education. Pilar said for the Spanish-speaking communities, each year they have a big celebration on Catechetical Sunday in September. They invite all the communities to come. This year, they’ve had a day of reflection on the topic of the Year of Faith. She added that they also work on finding bilingual teachers who can speak to the parents in Spanish and teach the children in English. Scot asked what programs they encourage to help parents grow in their faith as they enroll their kids in religious education. Susan Abbott said the scariest words for some parents is that they are to be the primary educator of the child in the faith. She said in parish religious education programs, they gather the parents when they can—especially for mandatory meetings for sacraments—and those become opportunities for formation of the parents. What they should be getting at the meetings is an understanding of, say, the sacrament of penance as adults. She said there are also many programs that parishes can use, such as showing the Catholicism series by Fr. Robert Barron or the archdiocesan Why Catholic? Scot said his sense is that parishes put most of their resources, vast resources, into education of children and so many adults think that’s all there is. Scot highlighted BostonCatholic.org as having many resources to help people to learn their faith. He asked about parishes that successfully engage adults in faith formation. Susan Kay said Holy Family in Concord has a lot of opportunities to hear topics on current issues and let them discuss. She said they treat people as adults and let them form their questions as adults. Scot said a lot of people would like to be able to hear and talk out their understanding of issues. Susan Kay also named St. John in Chelmsford and Corpus Christi-St. Bernard in Newton. She added that the best adult formation is catechist formation. Scot asked Pilar what English speakers can learn from Spanish-speaking communities. Pilar said the faith of the Spanish families is so deep that all they need is someone to convince them that they have this potential and can transmit it to the children and to each other. She sees many communities that have meetings for parents while the children in their classes. They just need to have a leader to get things started, even if they just discuss the Mass readings for the day. She said she also recommends two or three sacramental preparation meeting and they ask both mother and father to come. Susan Abbott said she often hears from catechists at the end of programs that they have learned things they never knew before and that they wish the programs were longer. Susan Kay said formation of catechists is so important because she’s seen the change in the people who’ve taken advantage of the opportunities presented them. It feeds people’s hearts and mind and they are often surprised by the unexpected vocation of catechist. Speaking of preparation, Susan Abbott said they recommend an hour of preparation for each hour of teaching and that they treat their teacher’s manual as their best friend. Although it’s not mandatory that the catechists be certified, but the expectation is that they will.

Summary of today’s show: Cardinal Timothy Dolan set the tone for the semi-annual US Bishops Conference meeting in Baltimore this week in his president’s address when he exhorted his brother bishops to greater personal conversion and reconciliation and maintained that the New Evangelization is dead in the water without personal conversion and a striving for holiness by all the people, led by our bishops. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor take Cardinal Dolan’s speech in-depth and discuss its implications, which include the newsworthy suggestion of the renewal of Friday abstinence throughout the year. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Links from today’s show: Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s address to the USCCB Nov. 2012 meeting Videos of the various addresses at the USCCB general assembly Today’s topics: Cardinal Dolan calls his brother bishops to repentance for the New Evangelization 1st segment: Scot welcomed listeners to the show and thanked veterans for their service on the day after Veterans Day was observed. Fr. Chris O’Connor related his day yesterday, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. He said he will be at St. Julia in Weston tomorrow at 7pm talking about our faith and what it is we believe, based on the first part of the Catechism. Throughout the rest of the Year of Faith, there will be talks on the three other parts of the Catechism. They also discussed St. Julia’s and the beautiful renovations they’ve done there. Scot said every November all the bishops of the US gather to vote and discuss current issues in the Church and administrative issues. This general assembly has been moderately newsworthy. Earlier today the bishop unanimously agreed to advance the cause of canonization for Dorothy Day. Fr. Chris said she epitomizes the struggle for holiness and the difficulties. She opened soup kitchens throughout the United States and pioneered the social justice movement. He said she showed how the poor that we care for may not be pleasant to our eyes, ears, or nose, but still are Christ among us. The bishops also approved a document on better preaching in our Sunday homilies and a new special collection for the Archdiocese of the Military Services. Scot said many of our servicemen and women can go months without seeing a Catholic chaplain and these mainly young people need to be able to receive the sacraments more often as they are separated from everything they know and love and are often confronted with the great questions of life. Scot said Cardinal Seán briefed his brother bishops yesterday on the defeat of Question 2 and assisted suicide in Massachusetts. The bishops were moved by the fact that despite very long odds, we are able to turn back assisted suicide. On Sunday about 45 bishops and about 50 or so Catholic bloggers talked about how new media and social media have changed how people receive information about the Church. One of the leaders of the event was Bishop Christopher Coyne, who is originally from the archdiocese. Many of the bishops had questions for the bloggers on how to start and what they as bishops should be doing themselves. How can they use Twitter and stay within the propriety of the office of bishop. Fr. Chris said this is part of a larger conversation where our society recognizes that people aren’t watching TV or reading newspapers, but are getting information through new media. The message is the same—Jesus is Lord—but the way we spread it changes. The two most discussed addresses at the general assembly are those by the apostolic nuncio, the pope’s representative to the US, and that of the president of the USCCB, who is currently Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Scot said he was surprised by the tone that Dolan took on the sacrament of penance as a wonderful tool for the New Evangelization. Fr. Chris said it’s a return to the basics and the essentials. Cardinal Dolan laments in the decline in the sacrament of the Second Vatican Council. Now Scot played the beginning of his address to his brother bishops: My brother bishops, Yes, we have “a lot on our plate” as we commence our meeting, urgent issues very worthy of our solicitude as pastors — the suffering in vast areas not far from here caused by the Hurricane of two weeks ago, the imperative to the New Evangelization, the invitation offered by the Year of Faith, and our continued dialogue, engagement, and prophetic challenge to our culture over urgent issues such as the protection of human life, the defense of marriage, the promotion of human dignity in the lives of the poor, the immigrant, those in danger from war and persecution throughout the world, and our continued efforts to defend our first and most cherished freedom — all issues calling for our renewed and enthusiastic commitment. But I stand before you this morning to say simply: first things first. We gather as disciples of, as friends of, as believers in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” who exhorted us to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” We cannot engage culture unless we let Him first engage us; we cannot dialogue with others unless we first dialogue with Him; we cannot challenge unless we first let Him challenge us. Scot said that last line is one of the most quoted from this speech so far. Scot said this suggests that the first step of our ongoing conversion of the New Evangelization is to go deeper in our own relationship with Jesus Christ. Even the bishops. Fr. Chris said what’s most convincing is not what people say, but how they live their lives. We want to see lives rooted in Jesus Christ and given over to Him. Scot said as the entire Catholic Church in the United States we need to seek first the kingdom of God and we’re all called to be holy in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Fr. Chris said we are all on a journey as a Church moving toward the Lord. We’re all called to sanctity. The Venerable Servant of God, Fulton J. Sheen, once commented, “The first word of Jesus in the Gospel was ‘come’; the last word of Jesus was ‘go’.” Fifty years ago, on October 11, 1962, Blessed John XXIII courageously convened the Second Vatican Council “the greatest concern of which,” he insisted, “is that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously.” (Allocution on the occasion of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudet mater ecclesia). We gather for our plenary assembly in our nation’s premiere see, at the close of the XIII Ordinary General Synod of Bishops, still near the beginning of the Year of Faith. Both occasions have the same origin, the same goal expressed by Blessed John XXIII: the effective transmission of the faith for the transformation of the world. A year ago we began our visits ad limina Petri et Pauli. I know you join me in expressing deep gratitude for the extraordinary affection, warmth and fraternal care with which our Holy Father welcomed us. But Pope Benedict did not stop with his gracious hospitality. No. He also gave us plenty of fatherly advice — for our ministry as pastors of the Church and our personal role in the New Evangelization. Here’s an especially striking example from his first ad limina address: “Evangelization,” the Successor of St. Peter noted, “… appears not simply a task to be undertaken ad extra; we ourselves are the first to need re-evangelization. As with all spiritual crises, whether of individuals or communities, we know that the ultimate answer can only be born of a searching, critical and ongoing self-assessment and conversion in the light of Christ’s truth.” Scot said he was surprised by the emphasis to his brother bishops that the bishops are the first to need to re-evangelization. Fr. Chris said he’s making it clear that holiness is contagious but must start with the bishops. on the Fulton Sheen reference, Christ wants you to come to recognize the Lord and live like Him and then go and bring Christ to others. Scot said we can’t be sent until we know Jesus Christ. Fr. Chris said Cardinal Dolan is reminding the bishops that people need to know the faith and the bishops are the premier teachers of the faith. As we bishops at the just concluded Synod of Bishops confessed in our closing message: “We, however, should never think that the new evangelization does not concern us as Bishops personally. In these days voices among the Bishops were raised to recall that the Church must first of all heed the Word before she can evangelize the world. The invitation to evangelize becomes a call to conversion.” “We Bishops firmly believe that we must convert ourselves first to the power of Jesus Christ who alone can make all things new, above all our poor existence. With humility we must recognize that the poverty and weaknesses of Jesus’ disciples, especially us, his ministers, weigh on the credibility of the mission. We are certainly aware – we bishops first of all – that we can never really be equal to the Lord’s calling and mandate to proclaim His Gospel to the nations. We… do not hesitate to recognize our personal sins. We are, however, also convinced that the Lord’s Spirit is capable of renewing His Church and rendering her garment resplendent if we let Him mold us.” (Final Message of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God, October 28, 2012) The New Evangelization reminds us that the very agents of evangelization – you and me — will never achieve that abundant harvest Blessed John XXIII described unless we are willing and eager to first be evangelized themselves. Only those themselves first evangelized can then evangelize. As St. Bernard put it so well, “If you want to be a channel, you must first be a reservoir.” I would suggest this morning that this reservoir of our lives and ministry, when it comes especially to the New Evangelization, must first be filled with the spirit of interior conversion born of our own renewal. That’s the way we become channels of a truly effective transformation of the world, through our own witness of a penitential heart, and our own full embrace of the Sacrament of Penance. Scot said Cardinal Dolan was one of the six principal drafters of the final document of the synod. He says right up front that “we do not hesitate to recognize our personal sins.” The bishops are calling on each other to recognize their own sins and Scot called on all listeners to recognize in humility our weakness and sin to be better prepared for the New Evangelization. Fr. Chris said every saint has a past and every sinner a future. Our sins do not define us. What defines us is the call to holiness. The synod was about the transmission of the faith for the transformation of the world. Dolan said the way we do that is through our own witness of a penitential heart and our own full embrace of the sacrament of penance. Fr. Chris said confession should be a regular part of our Christian life to reconcile us and tell us we are not defined by our sins. “To believers also the Church must ever preach faith and penance,” declared the council fathers in the very first of the documents to appear, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. (SC, n. 9) To be sure, the sacraments of initiation - - Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist - - charge, challenge, and equip the agents of evangelization. Without those sacraments, we remain isolated, unredeemed, timid and unfed. But, the Sacrament of Reconciliation evangelizes the evangelizers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus, who calls us to conversion of heart, and allows us to answer his invitation to repentance — a repentance from within that can then transform the world without. What an irony that despite the call of the Second Vatican Council for a renewal of the Sacrament of Penance, what we got instead was its near disappearance. We became very good in the years following the Council in calling for the reform of structures, systems, institutions, and people other than ourselves.That, too, is important; it can transform our society and world. But did we fail along the way to realize that in no way can the New Evangelization be reduced to a program, a process, or a call to structural reform; that it is first and foremost a deeply personal conversion within? “The Kingdom of God is within,” as Jesus taught. The premier answer to the question “What’s wrong with the world?” “what’s wrong with the church?” is not politics, the economy, secularism, sectarianism, globalization or global warming …none of these, as significant as they are. As Chesterton wrote, “The answer to the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ is just two words:’I am,’” Vatican II called for a renewal of the sacrament of penance and what we got is a near disappearance. Fr. Chris said it’s one of the most profound sacraments. Scot said after the Council we took our eye off the ball, losing sight of what’s really important. We failed to recognize that the New Evangelization is a deeply person conversion within. Fr. Chris recalled instances in Scripture when we hear God say, I am. It is to the great I am that we return for forgiveness of our sins. I am! Admitting that leads to conversion of heart and repentance, the marrow of the Gospel-invitation. I remember the insightful words of a holy priest well known to many of us from his long apostolate to priests and seminarians in Rome, Monsignor Charles Elmer, wondering aloud from time to time if, following the close of the Council, we had sadly become a Church that forgot how to kneel. If we want the New Evangelization to work, it starts on our knees. Remember a few years back, when Cardinal Cahal Daly led us in our June retreat? Speaking somberly of the Church in his home country, he observed, “The Church in Ireland is in the dirt on her knees.” Then he paused, and concluded, “Maybe that’s where the Church is at her best.” We kneel in the Sacrament of Penance because we are profoundly sorry for our faults and our sins, serious obstacles to the New Evangelization. But then we stand forgiven, resolute to return to the work entrusted to us - as evangelizers of the Gospel of Mercy. Scot said if we want the New Evangelization to work, it starts on our knees in utter humility before our God. Fr. Chris said Cardinal Sean when he came to Boston spoke of the life of St. Francis and how his ministry took off when he heard from his knees Christ call him to rebuild His Church. Scot said people tell him they love Cardinal Sean because he’s so humble and prayerful. Scot said the Church is at her worst when she’s arrogant and not acting out of love. The Church on her knees is at her best because she’s in prayer and most connected with Christ in humility and open to being his vessel to the world. Fr. Chris said we kneel when we approach royalty. How much more should we kneel before our Lord. He said a priest told him that whenever he enters the church he kneels and prays an act of contrition. I recall a conversation about a year ago with one of our brother bishops, newly ordained, attending his first plenary assembly. I asked his impressions of the meeting. “Well organized, informative, enjoyable,” he replied, but he went on to observe that it was one moment in particular that had the greatest impact on him. It was during our closing Holy Hour, as he entered the large room next to the chapel, to see dozens and dozens of bishops lined up to approach the Sacrament of Penance. This new Bishop told me that he felt that moment had more of an influence upon him than anything else at the meeting. Who can forget the prophetic words of repentance from Blessed John Paul II, during the Great Jubilee, as he expressed contrition – publicly and repeatedly - for the sins of the past? He mentioned the shame of the slave trade, the horrors of the holocaust, the death and destruction wrought by the crusades, the injustices of the conquest of the new world, and the violence of religious wars, to name only a few. I remember during the celebration of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland last June, when Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Papal Legate, expressed this so forcefully as he spoke on behalf of the Holy Father at the penitential shrine of St. Patrick’s Purgatory: “I come here with the specific intention of seeking forgiveness, from God and from the victims, for the grave sin of sexual abuse of children by clerics… In the name of the Church, I apologize once again to the victims, some of which I have met here in Lough Derg.” And so it turns to us, my brothers. How will we make the Year of Faith a time to renew the Sacrament of Penance, in our own loves and in the lives of our beloved people whom we serve? Once again, we will later this week approach the Sacrament of Penance. And we’ll have the opportunity during this meeting to approve a simple pastoral invitation to all our faithful to join us in renewing our appreciation for and use of the Sacrament. We will “Keep the Light On” during the upcoming Advent Season! The work of our Conference during the coming year includes reflections on re-embracing Friday as a particular day of penance, including the possible re-institution of abstinence on all Fridays of the year, not just during Lent. Our pastoral plan offers numerous resources for catechesis on the Sacrament of Penance, and the manifold graces that come to us from the frequent use of confession. Next June we will gather in a special assembly as brother bishops to pray and reflect on the mission entrusted to us by the Church, including our witness to personal conversion in Jesus Christ, and so to the New Evangelization. We work at giving our people good examples of humble, repentant pastors, aware of our own personal and corporate sins, constantly responding to the call of Jesus to interior conversion. Remember the Curé of Ars? When a concerned group of his worried supporters came to him with a stinging protest letter from a number of parishioners, demanding the bishop to remove John Vianney as their curé, claiming he was a sinner, ignorant, and awkward, St. John Vianney took the letter, read it carefully … and signed the petition! Scot noted that Dolan mentioned dioceses would embrace a program like The Light Is On For You in the Archdiocese of Boston. Fr. Chris said we can’t say to folks that confession is important and only offer it during 15 minutes on Saturday. That’s why he’s so grateful for places like St. Anthony Shrine in Boston for frequent confession. How great would it be to say that in every parish in the United States a priest is available on every Tuesday at the same time. One of the more newsworthy items has been the idea of re-instituting Friday abstinence every week of the year, not just Lent. When we lost this tradition, we lost a weekly reminder of our need for repentance. Fr. Chris said it also serves to make us one body, making a regular communal act of penance together. As I began my talk this morning, my brothers, so I would like to end it, with Blessed John XXIII. It was the Sunday angelus of October 28, 1962.The message the Holy Father delivered on that bright Roman afternoon never even mentions the phrase New Evangelization.But it strikes right at the heart of the mission entrusted to each of us as shepherds. “I feel something touching my spirit that leads to serenity,” Good Pope John remarked. “The word of the Gospel is not silent.It resonates from one end of the world to the other, and finds the way of the heart. Dangers and sorrows, human prudence and wisdom, everything needs to dissolve into a song of love, into a renewed invitation, pleading all to desire and wish for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ. A kingdom of truth and life; a kingdom of holiness and grace; a kingdom of justice, love and peace.” How could we not see it alive in those holy men and women of every time and place, the heroic evangelizers of our faith, including most recently St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Marianne Cope? We have beheld it in the Church’s unrelenting corporal and spiritual works of mercy, in the heroic witness of persecuted Christians, in the Church’s defense of unborn human life, the care of our elders and the terminally ill, advocacy for the unemployed, those in poverty, our immigrant brothers and sisters, victims of terror and violence throughout our world, of all faiths and creeds, and in our defense of religious freedom, marriage and family. And, I have suggested today, that as we “come and go” in response to the invitation of Jesus, we begin with the Sacrament of Penance.This is the sacrament of the New Evangelization, for as Pope Benedict reminds us, “We cannot speak about the new evangelization without a sincere desire to conversion.” (Homily for the Opening of the XIII Ordinary General Synod of Bishops). With this as my presidential address, I know I risk the criticism. I can hear it now: “With all the controversies and urgent matters for the Church, Dolan spoke of conversion of heart through the Sacrament of Penance. Can you believe it?” To which I reply, “You better believe it!” First things first! Scot said it was classic Dolan. Despite the expected criticism, he knows the bishops and all Catholics need to hear it and to focus first on the spiritual, not temporal problems in the Church. Fr. Chris said people thronged to see Pope John Paul or Mother Teresa because people wanted to see and be near holiness. If we want to be evangelizers, then we need to seek holiness in ourselves first. Scot said he’s not surprised that so many of the bishops recognize the need for confession but that they would make the time in their meetings to prioritize this communal act of repentance. Just like at men’s or women’s conferences where the organizers have created an opportunity for people to act on the movement of the Holy Spirit to repentance and confession. Fr. Chris said it was said that Pope John Paul was the most frequent visitor to reconciliation. The more that the saints became holy, the more they recognize their need to confess their sins. Fr. Chris said Cardinal Dolan wanted to use the opportunity to get all the bishops of the US to think about this topic and how central it is to the New Evangelization. Without repentance, the New Evangelization is dead in the water.

Summary of today’s show: A big day in the Archdiocese of Boston began with the appointment by Pope Benedict XVI of Msgr. Robert Deeley, vicar general and moderator of the curia, as an auxiliary bishop. Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell discuss this morning’s press conference and the remarks from Cardinal Seán and Bishop-elect Deeley and then they went into detail about the process of the appointment of bishops, from the gathering of names to the Pope’s final approval and all the steps in between. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell Links from today’s show: “How Bishops are Appointed”, US Conference of Catholic Bishops News release: “Pope Benedict XVI names Msgr. Robert Deeley as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston” Bishop-elect Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D., Biographical Summary Bishop-elect Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D., Curriculum Vitae Remarks of Cardinal Seán O’Malley Remarks of Bishop-elect Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D. Today’s topics: Appointment of Bishop-elect Robert Deeley and how bishops are appointed 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and wished everyone a good holiday weekend. He welcomed Fr. Mark O’Connell to the show. They discussed the amazing week, including the events of Tuesday including the re-election of President Obama and the defeat of Question 2. Fr. Mark said he was so pleased to see the results with Question 2, especially since a few months ago the Yes side was polling so high. Scot said it’s a credit to the 10,000 people who all contributed to the effort to stop assisted suicide. Scot noted how Cardinal Seán preached on assisted suicide at the Red Mass in 2011 and the next day in the Globe the coverage wasn’t favorable, yet 14 months later, the Globe editorialized Question 2. It’s a credit to the many people who passed on the facts to others. Fr. Mark said the Globe printed a letter angry at the newspaper for getting behind the No on 2 effort. In the end it came down to two percentage points. Then Scot heard about a press conference that could come up this morning. The details became public this morning. Msgr. Robert Deeley, vicar general and moderator of the curia, was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Boston. Scot asked Fr. Mark how it felt for his predecessor to get this honor. Fr. Mark said it’s great news. Deeley has had a lot of jobs: priest, pastor, judicial vicar, vicar general, curial official in Rome, president of Canon Law Society in America. He’s well qualified for his new role. Scot said Deeley is a straight shooter and you know where you stand with him. For him to keep a secret, a big secret, while continuing his work, particularly on the assisted suicide issue, while preparing his own remarks. Fr. Mark said no one really understands how wide the scope of the job of vicar general and moderator of the curia is, and he did that while writing a speech and coming up with a motto. Scot said the episcopal motto is “Living the Truth in Love” from Ephesians 4:15, which also happens to be part of the official prayer for the New Evangelization in the Archdiocese. Fr. Mark noted that we have three retired auxiliary bishops and five active ones, and now Bishop-elect Deeley joins a distinguished group. He has become the 36th auxiliary bishop of Boston. The three retired bishops are Frances Irwin, Emilio Allue, and John Boles. The active bishops are John Dooher, Walter Edyvean, Robert Hennessey, Arthur Kennedy, and Peter Uglietto. Scot recommended the website catholic-hierachy.org as a good source for this kind of information. They are listing the auxiliaries of Boston who became cardinals: Cushing, Spellman, O’Connell, Wright. Fr. Mark noted that Deeley’s remarks were not elaborate, but right to the point. He showed his great affection for Pope Benedict XVI. Scot said he shared the story of how he was informed by the apostolic nuncio last week. When the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Viganó called me last week I was thinking it was a routine call from Washington seeking information of some kind. Instead the Nuncio informed me that His Holiness, Benedict XVI, wished to appoint me an Auxiliary Bishop of Boston to assist Cardinal Seán in the work of this great Church in Boston. Archbishop Viganó wanted to know if I would accept. It seems to me that when the Holy Father makes a request a priest is going to answer “yes”. […] Since that phone call on November 1st, the Feast of all the Saints, there has been much to do. One of the things I needed to determine was what my Episcopal motto would be. I have chosen a passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “Veritatem facere in caritate”, “Living the truth in love”. In these words of Paul I find the heart of our challenge in the Church today. Scot said the last time we had auxiliary bishops appointed, in 2010, both Bishops Kennedy and Uglietto said they were thinking about their episcopal mottos. On the other hand, Deeley had his ready and Scot thinks he’s probably been living with this motto for much of his priesthood. He said it’s not just for bishops to have mottos, and even if we don’t put it on a coat of arms, we can have it as something we follow in life. He asked Fr. Mark if he had a Scriptural passage as a motto. Fr. Mark said he didn’t have one at hand, but he could come up with one quickly just by looking at his breviary and seeing what’s highlighted there. 2nd segment: Scot as we rejoice in one of our priests being named an auxiliary bishop of Boston, we will look at the process of appointing of bishops, to bring some clarity to it. A key item to remember is that bishops are successors to the apostles and right now there are about 3,000 bishops in the world and in the US about 300 bishops, active and retired. Most bishops lead diocese directly, others assist archbishops as auxiliaries, and others assist Pope Benedict in Rome. The bishop leading a diocese is called an ordinary. Auxiliaries are appointed to assist the ordinary. Another kind is a coadjutor bishop who has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires or dies. Fr. Mark said there are apostolic administrators, for when there isn’t an ordinary in place, appointed by the Holy Father in the interim. In other cases, the diocesan administrator is elected by a group of priests, the College of Consultors, to lead the diocese during a period waiting for a new bishop. Fr. Mark said an apostolic administrator has the same powers as the bishop on paper, but isn’t to make major changes. Scot used the example of Bishop Chris Coyne, who was auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis and became apostolic administrator when the archbishop retired. Scot said the Congregation of Bishops in Rome have the task of presenting a name to the Holy Father for him to appoint as a bishop in a particular place. He can accept the suggestion or choose someone else. The Congregation gets the names from the apostolic nuncio, who in the US is in Washington, DC, part of whose job is to gather names of potential bishops. The bishops of a province meet occasionally to gather names to submit names to the nuncio who will send a list of three names, a terna, to the Congregation of Bishops when a vacancy needs to be filled. The nuncio does some research on the names before submitting. Fr. Mark said the terna is also how we pick pastors, with a terna. He added that the names are only surfaced for submission to the nuncio by the bishops of the province. At least twice in Fr. Mark’s priesthood, the priests of the archdiocese were surveyed for names of priests who would be good bishops. Twice a year the bishops of the province get together, discuss the names, and send a group—many names or even one—to the nuncio. They include the qualifications for them to be bishop. For auxiliary bishop, they have to justify to the nuncio the need for the auxiliary bishop. A diocesan bishop must justify to the apostolic nuncio his need for an auxiliary bishop. This is easier if he is requesting a replacement for a retired or deceased auxiliary. The diocesan bishop prepares the terna, or list of three candidates, for his requested auxiliary and forwards it to the apostolic nuncio. The nuncio then conducts his own investigation of the priests on the diocesan bishop’s terna, sending the names to Rome with a report and his own recommendations. On average, this part of the process may take two to six months. At the Congregation for Bishops: Once all the documentation from the nuncio is complete and in order, and the prefect approves, the process moves forward. If the appointment involves a bishop who is being promoted or transferred, the matter may be handled by the prefect and the staff. If, however, the appointment is of a priest to the episcopacy, the full congregation is ordinarily involved. Scot said the full congregation is all the cardinals who are members of the congregation. A cardinal relator is chosen to summarize the documentation and make a report to the full congregation, which generally meets twice a month on Thursdays. After hearing the cardinal relator’s report, the congregation discusses the appointment and then votes. The Congregation may follow the recommendation of the nuncio, chose another of the candidates on the terna, or even ask that another terna be prepared. Fr. Mark said once it goes to the nuncio, he does his investigation. He sends letters to a bunch of people, that are confidential. Fr. Mark gets the letter as judicial vicar and it has a whole series of questions about the candidate. It doesn’t say what they’re being considered for and many of those investigated never become bishops. Fr. Mark said the subject of the investigation normally doesn’t know about the investigation. He emphasized the secrecy that surrounds the process. The judicial vicar is bound to inform the nuncio about anything that should be known that suggest whether he would be a good or bad appointment. It also asks about their appearance, their friends, and more. The Church is looking for anything that would be negative. The last question is “Who else should we ask?” and Fr. Mark always puts the name of layperson. Fr. Mark said this is an important place where laypeople are involved in the appointment of bishops. At a private audience with the pope, usually on a Saturday, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops presents the recommendations of the Congregation to the Holy Father. A few days later, the pope informs the Congregation of his decision. The Congregation then notifies the nuncio, who in turn contacts the candidate and asks if he will accept. If the answer is “yes,” the Vatican is notified and a date is set for the announcement. It often takes six to eight months—and sometimes longer—from the time a diocese becomes vacant until a new bishop is appointed. Scot said depending on the circumstances, the time is usually shorter if it’s an auxiliary replacing another who’s retired. He added that it’s his understanding that the archdiocese normally has 6 auxiliaries, one for each of the five regions plus the moderator of the curia. Scot said when an auxiliary gets well known for his leadership qualities, it’s more common than not for those auxiliaries get named to other dioceses. Like Bishop Malone who went from Boston to Portland, Maine, and now to Buffalo. Fr. Mark named a number of Boston bishops who’ve gone on to other dioceses. Scot speculated that Cardinal Seán suggested Bishop-elect Deeley himself, especially because he was well known for his experience and skill, and since he is so well known in the Church that the process went quickly. Fr. Mark suggested that when Deeley came back from Rome last year, the chances were good he was going to become an auxiliary bishop. Scot asked Fr. Mark what people often misunderstand about this process. Fr. Mark said people often asked why there isn’t an election by the laypeople or the priests. He said we aren’t a democracy. Scot said it wasn’t always this way, but evolved that way. He said he thinks that this is because it is part of the unity of the Church, connecting the local Churches and the local bishops with the Holy Father. Fr. Mark said Deeley talked this morning about how he worked with then-Cardinal Ratzinger for just eight months before the cardinal was elected Pope. He noted that he arrived just as the 2004 election was underway and he was very interested in what was happening and quizzed him about it. The Pope is very interested in the Church around the world. Fr. Mark said the Holy Father’s familiarity with Msgr. Deeley, at least over those eight months, didn’t hurt in having him becoming a bishop. Fr. Mark said Deeley went to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the first place because the CDF was drowning in sex-abuse cases and Msgr. Deeley was willing to go and help. Scot said a typical misunderstanding is that this is a political process with priests campaigning for bishop. Fr. Mark said his father would have been one who campaigned on his behalf, although Fr. Mark said he’s happy where he is. Scot said in his experience working in the Church is that the guys who would campaign or jockey for position would be the ones who don’t get elevated. Scot remembered in 2006 when Bishop Hennessey and Bishop Dooher were appointed, they were stunned at their appointment. Scot said he wasn’t shocked that Bishops Kennedy or Uglietto were not surprises because they were doing such great jobs as seminary rectors and Bishop-elect Deeley isn’t a surprise because of his position as vicar general. 3rd segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. First Reading for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 11, 2012 (1 Kings 17:10-16) In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a bit of bread.” She answered, “As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah Gospel for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 11, 2012 (Mark 12:38-44) In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.” He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” Scot said his episcopal motto would be “But first make me a little cake”. But seriously, he considered how the message here is how we are called to give all we have, even when we think we have very little. God doesn’t just want what we have extra, but to give all because we will never outdo his generosity. Fr. Mark said both of these women exhibited enormous acts of trust. Fr. Mark said it’s interesting the widow gives two coins, while some might have given just one. She gave all she had with trust. Scot said Jesus contrasted her faith and generosity with the scribes. They will receive condemnation for keeping up appearances and not being generous in their heart. She’s immortalized throughout history for her generosity. Fr. Mark said God asks us to give a little more and then says, Thank you very much, now can you give me a little more?

Summary of today’s show: On our usual Thursday news show, Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, and Greg Tracy reviewed the headlines of the week, including Tuesday’s election, discussing their personal recollections of the day and results; Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s gracious letter to President Obama congratulating him and praying he will work for the common good; the other social issues voted on across the country; 2012 Cheverus award winners; the Adopt-a-Priest program; and the passing of a priest of almost 60 years service. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: Question 2; Dolan on Election; Cheverus awards; Serra Boston 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and said we’re returning to our usual Thursday topic, the news that affects us, and that will include just a bit of election news. Susan Abbott said it’s been a long week. She said she debuted as a photographer for the Pilot this week with a photo of Sr. Ignacio holding a “No on Question 2” sign outside the polls on Tuesday at 7:45am standing with her walker. Sister was at the polls for hours on Tuesday in the freezing cold. Scot said he was amazed at the number of people he saw tweeting and Facebooking photos of themselves with their No on 2 signs. Gregory Tracy said he went with Cardinal Seán to the cardinal’s polling place, which is conveniently across the street from the cathedral rectory. After he voted, the cardinal greeted the people standing outside with signs. Greg said if he saw a sign on a ballot question it was for No on Question 2. He never saw a Yes on Question 2 and none on any of the others. Scot said he is curious whether Cardinal Seán drew attention when he went to vote. Greg said there was a number of media there, but mainly because of the location in Boston, but while they noticed him they didn’t pay too much attention to him. Some regular people from the neighborhood came up to say hello, but no other ruckus. Susan said she’d never held a political sign before, but because it was for a life or death issue, not a candidate, she’s still processing the sights and sounds and people. She told the story of encountering some of the voters and the positive reaction she got. Then she talked about talking to a young man who asked why he should vote No. Scot said his sense is that there were more than 10,000 people who were part of the team to stop assisted suicide in Massachusetts. Greg talked about how the Pilot had to hedge its story about Question 2 because the final, final count was not in as of press time. Scot noted the quotes in the story, including that from Fr. Matt Williams: “I praise God for the results of today. I thank God for the leadership of Cardinal Seán, who has been nothing less than heroic in leading the fight to defeat Question 2. Our pastors need to be commended for the work they have done on the front lines in mobilizing their people and helping to get the word out, and also our young people who we have seen that when they are presented with the truth about life and love, they respond. They become tremendous advocates for life. They become protagonists for the New Evangelization,” Father Williams said. Scot said Fr. Matt has said in recent weeks that even though this is a difficult ballot campaign, the Catholic Church mobilized in Massachusetts for the first time in a massive way all for the same cause. Greg said pro-life, anti-abortion efforts is universally unifying in the Church, and this turned out to be another example. He said most people who were early supporters did so out of an ignorance of the reality. Susan said you could always tell when someone hadn’t read the bill. The educational effort was a vital part, as was the spiritual effort. “Cardinal congratulates Obama, urges he give priority to most vulnerable”, Catholic News Service, 11/07/12 The other big story on Tuesday was the re-election of President Obama and Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote a letter to him congratulating him. Dear President Obama, In my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I write to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the United States.The people of our country have again entrusted you with a great responsibility.The Catholic Bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America. In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant.We will continue to stand in defense of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom.We pray, too, that you will help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone. May God bless you and Vice President Biden as you prepare for your second term in service to our country and its citizens. Sincerely yours, Timothy Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York President United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Greg said Cardinal Dolan isn’t going to blast the president in this kind of letter. The cardinal recognizes that we’re all Americans and patriotic. We just want our rights to religious freedom and to life to be respected and he expresses that for us. He’s asking for the president to find common ground to end the divisiveness. A broad exemption is an easy accommodation, so do they want to compromise or continue to divide? Scot said Dolan wrote that Obama can restore a sense of civility and then demonstrated that with his letter. Susan said the cardinal isn’t strident, but also doesn’t mince words. He sets the tone for further conversation. Susan said she’s encouraged that Obama in his speech referred to the need for God’s grace. Scot talked about teaching his children to pray for the newly elected or re-elected even though he didn’t support them or vote for them. Even if we’re concerned about particular candidates, never underestimate the power of prayer to move someone’s heart. “Voters in three states approve laws permitting same-sex marriage”, Catholic News Service, 11/07/12 Scot said the Pilot has an article on the various social issues voted on coast to coast. He said he knows assisted suicide in Massachusetts was tracked nationally as well as some marriage votes. But there were others as well, including an attempt to repeal the death penalty in California. Scot explained that generally speaking the bishops oppose death penalty as not necessary in this day and age. The votes on marriage allowed same-sex marriage by close votes. In Florida, one initiative would have banned public funding for abortion, to allow public funds to go to religious agencies, to amend the Affordable Care Act. A referendum for parental notification of a minor getting an abortion did pass in Montana. Puerto Rico had a nonbinding referendum to request to become the 51st state. Greg talked about having gone to Guam a year ago and saying that it might be nice to bring in two new states, Atlantic and Pacific. The panel talked about regional loyalties, which is especially true of Texas, and his sense is that Puerto Rico would be the same. He thinks it would add to the health and character of the US. 2nd segment: Scot said on November 18 at 3pm at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Cardinal Seán will present 121 Cheverus Award medals to recognize people who have served our parishes over a number of years. Most are nominated by pastors, approved by regional bishops, and given to Cardinal Seán. The cardinal also selects a few personally. Scot said it’s like a lifetime achievement award, not just for someone who leads on thing. The celebration is a week earlier this year, not on Feast of Christ the King, because the Cardinal will be in Rome on that Sunday for the Consistory of the College of Cardinals. Susan said she loves to see these awards and there’s always people she knows. She named the people from the list that she knows. Scot and Greg also discussed the people they know on the list. This is the complete list: Mrs. Anna Abbruzzese, Cohasset Mrs. Deborah Albano, Tewksbury Deacon John Alexander, Merritt Island Ms. Mary Beth Ammann, Somerville Dr. Angelica Avcikurt, Chestnut Hill Ms. Judith Bell, Dorchester Mrs. Cecile Benotti, Weston Sister Kathleen Bettencourt, OCarm/P, Peabody Mrs. Donna Biggins, Sudbury Mr. George & Mrs. Joan Bishop, Somerville Mr. James Bocelli, Malden Mr. Charles Braid, Revere Sister Mary Braley, S.C.N., Newburyport Deacon Robert Breen, Medford Mrs. Madelyn Brown, Medford Mr. Timothy Buckley, Waltham Ms. Kathleen Callagy, Lawrence Mr. Stephen Cavanaugh, Brockton Mr. Peter & Mrs. Laura Chan, Stoneham Mrs. Mary Frances Chisholm, Tyngsboro Dr. Henry (Hang Rok) Cho, Canton Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ, Watertown Mr. John Collier, Braintree Ms. Margaret Costa, Boston Ms. Olga de los Santos, Lynn Mr. Lawrence Destefano, Lexington Mr. David & Mrs. Anne DeVoe, Salem Ms. Shirley Di Iorio, Jamaica Plain Mrs. Felicia DiFeo, East Boston Mr. John DiMasi, Billerica Ms. Patricia Dineen, Belmont Ms. Marijane Dosdall, Wellesley Ms. Joyce Durst, Mattapan Mr. John Dwyer, Duxbury Mr. John Ellis, Jr., Brighton Mrs. Mary Fagan, South Boston Ms. Anne Farmer, Danvers Ms. Madeline Feldmann, Braintree Ms. Herondina Ferreira, Watertown Ms. Elizabeth Folloni, Bridgewater Mrs. Iwona Gajczak, Quincy Mr. Joseph Galluzzo, Andover Mrs. Elaine Garcia, Marlborough Ms. Kathleen Garon, North Andover Ms. Ann Garvey, Natick Mrs. Anna Gaudet, Newton Mrs. Patricia Gavin, Norwood Mr. Craig Gibson, Winchester Mr. James Gregory, Stoneham Mr. Meynardo Gutierrez, Medford Mrs. Loretta Haley, Newburyport Ms. Katherine Harless, Malden Mr. John Harrington, Reading Mrs. Lois Harrington, Stoneham Mr. Michael Hatch, Sr., Avon Mr. Walter Hunt, Boston Mrs. Mary Hurley, Hingham Mrs. Justine Hyppolite, Waltham Miss Clare Joyce, Milton Ms. Margaret Keefe, Lowell Ms. Jean Kelley, Boston Mr. Donald Kelly, Halifax Mrs. Theresa Kiernan, Dorchester Mr. Fred Klingmeyer, Wellesley Deacon William Koffel, Framingham Mrs. Paulette Lacoursiere, Hingham Ms. Mary Laverdure, Groveland Deacon Roland Leduc, Lowell Mrs. Janice Leonard, North Reading Ms. Eveline Lima, Marlboro Brother James Lucas, O.M.I., Tewksbury Dr. Aloysius Lugira, Woburn Attorney Henry Luthin, Brighton Mrs. Raye Mahoney, Peabody Mr. Charles Mangine, Needham Mrs. Carmella McCourt, Brockton Mr. Gerard McGrath, Quincy Mr. John McNeice, Canton Mr. Charles J. Murphy, Sudbury Ms. Joan Nelson, Boston Mr. Peter Thong Nguyen, Saugus Deacon John Nicholson, Marlborough Ms. Bernadette Obas, Mattapan Mr. William O’Halloran, Watham Mr. Richard Paquette, Haverhill Ms. Carol Parillo, Dedham Mrs. Edith Pedro, Cambridge Mr. Phong Pham, Lawrence Dr. Wilfrid Pilette, Framingham Ms. Judith Pinard, Ayer Mrs. Angiolina Pizzicannella, East Boston Ms. Janet Platt, West Newton Mrs. Mary Plourde, Brockton Ms. Jacqueline Proctor, Beverly Ms. Charlotte Quealey, Lowell Mrs. Maureen Rodino, Wellesley Ms. Mary Romano, Boston Mr. Mario Rosa, Cambridge Mr. Francis Russell, Readville Ms. Jan Sandberg, Lowell Ms. Frances Shawcross, Winchester Mr. Walter Shea, Kingston Mrs. Josephine Silva, Somerville Mr. Alvaro Soares, Nashua Dr. Robert Sperber, Brookline Mr. Ernest St. Laurent, Foxborough Deacon Daniel Sullivan, Milton Mrs. Barbara Suojanen, Medfield Mrs. Janet Swenson, Braintree Ms. Jennie Swenson, Hanover Mr. Charles Tautkus, Abington Mrs. Malida Thelusme, Brockton Mrs. Susan Tocci, Townsend Mrs. Donna Vaira, Ayer Mr. Raoul Vincent, Newton Mr. Thomas Walsh, Beverly Sister Mary K. Walsh, CSJ, Milton Sister Mary Jude Waters, OP, Watertown Ms. Virginia Williams, Duxbury Mr. Lee & Mrs. Eleanor Wright, Medford Sister Peggy Youngclaus, SND, Boston Scot pointed out in particular that John McNeice would be a unanimous inductee in any Hall of Fame for benefactors to the Catholic Church in Boston, along with Tom Flatley and Jack Shaughnessy. Everyone is invited to the liturgy and CatholicTV will be broadcasting this Mass live as well. Also in the Pilot is the Dorchester-based St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children in the former St. Margaret’s hospital. They provide a number of programs for kids recovering from trauma, a radio broadcast program for young teen girls, a shelter for homeless families, a home for pregnant and parenting teens, a jobs program for women re-entering the workforce, and an education center for women earning their GED. Scot said there’s some moving testimonies in this story. Greg said he was stunned to find out about all these programs and the number of families they’re helping. He noted their history goes back to the late 1800s. It grew out of a ministry of the Daughters of Charity for abandoned children. Susan said there was lots of talk during the election about women’s issues, but this is really about women’s issues, training them to be self-sufficient and raising them up out of poverty. Serra Boston Scot said the Serra Apostolate is offering it’s fourth annual Adopt-A-Priest apostolate. Volunteers are sent a sealed envelope with the name of a priest for people to pray for daily. For more information, go to their website or call 978-462-1057. In other news, Fr. John P. Kelly passed away last week. He was 95 years old and ordained in 1945. He served in Boston, Cambridge, Braintree, and Somerville. At St. Joseph’s in Somerville he was part of the first team ministry in the Archdiocese. Greg said at the time it was a brand new idea. He served the parish for 35 years and more, living there after retirement. Scot encouraged listeners to visit the Archdiocese of Boston’s Year of Faith website.

Summary of today’s show: After the final votes have been tallied, Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams analyze the results of Election Day, starting with the bright spot of the defeat of Question 2 and assisted suicide, including how the results broke down by city and town and the question of whether a particular pastor’s homily led to the biggest win for No on 2 in the state. They then turn their attention to national races and look at what it portends for the Catholic Church and culture of life over the next four years and even beyond. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today’s guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry and Janet Benestad Today’s topics: Post-Election Wrap-up 1st segment: Scot Landry said today will be like the post-game show of the election where they will comment on what happened, what everyone saw, and all the results. Scot asked Fr. Matt Williams what time he went to bed. He said 3am. Scot went to bed at 1:30. Janet Benestad said she was up all night worrying about Question 2. Fr. Roger Landry went to bed at 3:15am. Scot said it was an amazing night with mixed emotions for him. It’s tough not to be pleased by the win for life against assisted suicide, which finally tallied as a win by 2%. Janet said she kept hitting the refresh on her computer all night as the counted precincts came close to 100%. She is grateful to Cardinal Seán for his leadership. She reminded everyone that No on 2 was down by 30 points on this question in the polls at one point. Every one at the Archdiocese and the other 3 dioceses in Massachusetts are grateful today. Scot said ESPN columnist Bill Simmons do a sports diary throughout a game. He asked Fr. Matt what he was thinking at different parts of the night about Question 2. Fr. Matt said he was at LIFT last night and praying before the Blessed Sacrament for the defeat of Question 2. At one point he was very concerned at being down, considering how everything else was going all night. Scot asked Fr. Roger about his day at the polls and what his night was like. Fr. Roger said he went out to hold signs at the polls yesterday to vote No on 2. For about 3 hours while they were freezing, they were getting many more honks of support than the typical derision you get when you stand up in public. He sensed the people were excited to see two priests holding signs for No on 2.He said about 12 other people were at that poll for the same issue. Sixty-three percent of Fall River voters voted No on 2. About 9pm last night he became aware of the Question 2 as he watched local television. He watched how the percent counted rose so slowly and even seemed to stall after midnight. He was exhilarated by the morning to have this ray of sunshine. Scot said by 7:05 he started to realize that all the polls that so many had said were improperly weighted seemed to be right and so it seemed the nation would go that way. So as he checked the Boston Globe’s site, he saw Question 2 was a 50-50 vote right off the bat and then both Plymouth and North Andover come in and were clearly wrong, saying those towns were about 96%. He said the North Andover count had to be off so as he reached midnight he thought the margin was much higher than being reported. Then the remaining towns would be a wash. As it runs out 51.1 percent of Mass. voters voted no on Question 2. Scot took all 351 cities and towns and four hadn’t reported data yet and of the remaining, the #1 community to vote No on 2 was Lawrence, Mass. He’s somewhat surprised because he had worried that the Spanish materials produced for the campaign hadn’t got through. But a good friend of his went to St. Patrick’s in Lawrence three weeks ago who said he had just heard the best homily of his life from Fr. Paul O’Brien on Question 2. 69.4% of voters in Lawrence voted no on 2. Janet said she’d heard from people who work in Spanish-speaking ministry that they’d been talking about it to every group they could. She said there was also an interview with the Univision SPanish-language network did an interview with Fernando Fernandez on Question 2. She said these votes counted, given how close the vote was. Scot said it’s clear base on this vote in Lawrence and others that Spanish-speaking immigrants in Massachusetts speak up for life. Scot gave the list of the top 30 towns in order of voting No on 2. Fr. Roger said he was somewhat surprised by some of the results. He congratulated his colleague at the only parish in Acushnet whose been out holding signs with parishioners for the past six weeks. He hadn’t realized that a parish could have such an impact. He was surprised at the results in cities as opposed to towns because the voting rates tend to be lower. But in Fall River he was able to motivate the seniors to recognize how vulnerable they are, and seniors vote in high numbers. Fr. Roger said he wasn’t surprised at the results in some cities and towns when he looked at who the pastors are in those places. Scot said in Holbrook which was a good turnout, 58% voted No, but in the next town of Avon, 74% voted Yes, surrounded by every single community voting majority No. He asked what they did in Holbrook to get such a strong response. Fr. Matt said he’s not familiar how St. Michael’s in Avon carried out their mission, but at St. Joseph’s ion Holbrook played the Cardinal’s homily and Fr. John Currie and Fr. Matt have preached on this over the months. They didn’t do anything remarkable. They just did what they were told to do and owned it and it worked. He also noted that Lynn was in the top 10 and thinks that a video project they did with students at St. Mary’s in Lynn on this subject might have had an effect. Scot noted that Waltham has six or seven border communities around, including Newton, Lexington, Concord, and Belmont, and while all the others voted Yes on 2, Waltham came out No on 2. He said all the parishes in Waltham did a good job, although Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted organized all the politicians in town to research the issue and take a position. Every single one of them voted No on 2. A parishioner took out a full-page ad with the statement saying that all the politicians including the mayor were opposed to Question 2. Janet noted the parish also did a great cable access show and then promoted that on various stations. Cardinal Seán put out a statement today: “Tuesday’s vote demonstrates that the people of the Commonwealth recognize that the common good was best served in defeating Question 2. The Campaign Against Physician Assisted Suicide brought together a diverse coalition from medical, disability rights and interfaith communities, all dedicated to ensuring that our residents were well informed about this issue. Our society must continue to work with hospice organizations and other palliative care providers to improve the care provided to the terminally ill. Patients are best served when the medical professionals, families and loved ones provide support and care with dignity and respect. I am grateful to Rosanne Meade, chair of the Committee Against Physician Assisted Suicide, who led this effort in collaboration with Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Martilla Strategies and the four Catholic dioceses of Massachusetts. Also, the campaign was greatly strengthened by the work of Fr. Bryan Hehir, Janet Benestad, Scot Landry, Kathleen Driscoll and the Knights of Columbus, all of whom gave significant time and effort to this cause during recent months. I also want to thank every individual who shared information with their neighbors, colleagues and family members. It is my hope and prayer that the defeat of Question 2 will help all people to understand that for our brothers and sisters confronted with terminal illness we can do better than offering them the means to end their lives.” Scot said Cardinal Seán told him how he was moved by seeing how many Catholics took yard signs, shared information with neighbors and family and stood out at the polls. Scot thinks more than anything word-of-mouth won this campaign and Janet agreed. She said Cardinal Seán used every avenue available to him to make sure everyone in the Commonwealth knew about this. Scot asked Fr. Roger what he thinks people will think about the Church’s involvement in this campaign. He’s heard from priests around the country who were surprised to see the comeback on this issue. He sent back an email describing how the Church got her corporate act together to inform and educate. Fr. Roger said he takes some learning experiences from it. He wishes we hadn’t waited so long. He’s a little concerned with the whole messaging of it. If he were a supporter of assisted suicide he would find someone on Beacon Hill to craft a new bill in the Legislature. He hopes that they’ve discouraged the pro-assisted suicide people enough and encouraged people around the country that we can win on matters of life. The third lesson is focusing on the importance of palliative care and real compassion and renewed focus on human dignity. Fr. Matt said he thought yesterday about what if it actually passed, but he realized regardless of whether it passed, his job of living out the Year of Faith and his own call to holiness increases even more. That this was such a close margin of victory shows how alive the culture of death is and our work is cut out for us. It’s a moment of consolation. Scot said the only person who worked harder than Janet on this was Cardinal Seán. He asked her on a personal level, having lead this effort for the archdiocese, what’s it like for her now. She said it was hard and there were many days when it seemed bleak, but Cardinal Seán was undaunted. Nothing was going to deter him. The people in the other dioceses were ready to work from day one, especially in the pro-life offices. She said a major newspaper wondered how this was turned around and she said it will stand as an example of a major turnaround of a political campaign. In the end it really did come down to prayer. Scot said we couldn’t have won without the leadership from the Massachusetts medical community and the disability community, plus the various pro-life and pro-family groups. 2nd segment: This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Rosemary Clarkin from Providence, RI She wins the book “Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book II” by Diane Allen. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 3rd segment: Scot said about 7pm he’d started seeing that all the polls seemed to have been right all along. The Democrats did very well. What many people thought would be a moderate Republican mandate turned out to be a slight repudiation of that and a moderate Democrat mandate. We have the same general makeup of the House and Senate and of course the White House. Janet said the GOP took a beating it didn’t expect. Romney had emerged as a strong candidate in recent weeks, but in the end it wasn’t enough. She thinks about the McGovern coalition of 40 years ago coming into its own here. Latinos, African-Americans, Asians all came out for Obama. People were really turning out for the Democrat platform. The truism that the incumbent pays for economic trouble didn’t bear out. Scot said self-identified Catholics went as a majority for Obama and the Catholic bloc tends to go for the winner. Fr. Roger said the Church only forms a small percentage of Catholics on Sundays to form them in the traditional way. We have to try to form those Catholics who are least somewhat still associating with the Church. If we’re not able to help Catholics identify the culture of life, we’re not going to be able to evangelize the culture as a whole. In the exit polls, he saw the chasm between those who are married versus those who are not married. Most pundits don’t look at this sliver of population. Sixty percent of married men voted for Romney and 53% did, but large majorities of the unmarried voted for Obama, especially women. He noted that for the first time in America, the majority of adults are not married. He said once people are married and raising children, the whole openness to the culture of life issue becomes more important. The unmarried don’t think about it in the same way. Fr. Matt said it shows we’re ripe for a new evangelization. He noted that at his parish they got an irate call from a parishioner over the No on 2 sign on the church’s lawn. There is a misconception about the relationship between the Church and the state. We need to educate about our rights, what are our civil rights. People don’t understand what rights religious people have. What the right to live and die means. As a Church we need to address this on a broad scale, especially on how the Church is involved. Scot said his hope is that the Church will continue to help people overcome these misunderstandings, especially now that we’re not in an election season. Some people rejected what the Church was saying because they said it was partisan. We need to educate on even the basic foundational principles. Americans largely misunderstand what the Constitution says about the separation of church and state. He said the bishops have done better in the past 16 months than in the rest of his lifetime. Scot said there’s already debate on the future of the Republican Party and its relationship to life issues, immigration issues, and economic issues. He said it’s troubling to him that we will have two parties who may be moving left. Fr. Roger said his big takeaway is that Republicans won’t win another national election until they change immigration policy.

Summary of today’s show: It’s finally Election Day and Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor welcome Michael Lavigne and David Harris—a former Senate staffer turned seminarian—discuss today’s election, their experiences at the polls, and their predictions for the presidential election, the Mass. Senate race, ballot question 2, and other public policy issues and political offices in play today. Will our panel of pundits’ predictions hold up to the actual polls? Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Michael Lavigne and David Harris Links from today’s show: Archbishop Charles Chaput, “Public witness and Catholic citizenship” George Weigel, Campaign 2012 — What kind of country do you want? Today’s topics: Election Day Special 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to Election Day and he said he’s been looking forward to this day, especially given his work on the assisted suicide question. Fr. Chris O’Connor said he’s locking himself down by going to Norfolk State Prison to minister to the convicts. He voted this morning near his home in Winthrop. Scot said he’s heard many reports from the polls from people who saw people holding up No on 2 signs. It’s a moving testimony to people having got the message on assisted suicide. Scot said the Church hasn’t educated on a public policy issue in decades like she has on Question 2. Fr. Chris said he’s glad the Church has been such a strong articulate voice on this question. Fr. Chris related how he heard one Libertarian radio show host said he changed his mind on Question 2 after hearing the ads and other information about the issue. Scot said Cardinal Seán first spoke on assisted suicide 14 months ago and the Boston Globe blasted him for it, but now the Globe editorial board has come out on the same side as the Cardinal. Fr. Chris said his eight-year-old nephew Noah dressed as Mitt Romney for Halloween this year and gave his biggest endorsement to the former governor. He said some of the eight-year-old’s comments on all three debates have been at least as edifying as the comments heard from the pundits on MSNBC. 2nd segment: Scot said tomorrow’s show will reflect on what happened today. Scot welcomed our guests Michael Lavigne and David Harris, who’s a seminarian with experience in political campaigns. Michael said he’s voting tonight in his new home of Taunton. David said he’s a resident of New Hampshire and voted via absentee ballot. Scot said David worked in politics before entering the seminary. David credited his very liberal roommates at Providence College for his interest in politics and getting involved. He went to Washington and worked for Sen. John Sununu from New Hampshire. He also did some campaigning and then after worked in the private sector doing some issue political campaigning. Scot asked his sense of how the election might go in New Hampshire. David said he didn’t know a single person in New Hampshire who isn’t voting, and he thinks Romney has a shot. David said New Hampshire voters have been pragmatic and have wanted ideas that work and seeing the last four years they might see Mitt Romney as a problem solver. Scot said he was at his polling place in Belmont by 7am and was about 35th in line. He can’t remember it ever being that deep in his 11 years. His 6-year-old son Dominic accompanied him and was talking up the people in line about Question 2. Scot said there’s not a lot that usually happens in Belmont, but about 8:35am Mitt and Ann Romney came to vote in Belmont. His sense was the about 400 or 500 residents were there and nearly an equal number of media people. Unfortunately, there were no Vote No on 2 signs and he had given away his last one. Fr. Chris added that the Brown and Warren Senate race is also neck and neck and the national media are watching that. Scot said Michael has lived in Rhode Island and Maine, so what does think about the way Massachusetts does it. Michael said the big difference is that in this Senate race your vote matters, but in Rhode Island it’s mostly landslides for the Democrat. He said in Maine three years ago they had a ballot on same-sex marriage like we have on Question 2. He’s hoping that the experience in Maine is replicated where polling said same-sex marriage would win by 2 points but traditional marriage won by 7. Scot asked David about his opinion of the polls that show the dead heat in Question 2. David said when he was campaigning he worked on the ground and they mostly ignored them in order to not get distracted. But polling can matter, especially in the past few weeks as the polls showed some states coming into play for Romney. Good polling is valuable, but it’s not an exact science. There’s a reason we actually cast a vote and don’t let polls choose our leaders. Scot referred to a poll from a TV station in Western Massachusetts on Question 2 that broke down by religious background. Of those who are regular Mass attendees, more than 70% will vote No, while those who go to Mass once per month or less supported Question 2 at about 49%. There were similar numbers for Protestants.While those who are agnostic or atheist, 90% supported it. Fr. Chris said this is clear evidence that the Church speaks clearly on the value of life at all stages. He read a quote from a recent George Weigel column that said the inalienable right to life and the nature of marriage have to be upheld by Catholics at the polls. Scot said it’s been awkward for him in the election to see how the leaders of one party and its party platform have treated the Catholic leadership and Catholic belief in contempt. He said he’s not trying to be partisan. HE referred to Archbishop Chaput who said the Democratic Party platform has drifted from alignment with Catholic beliefs because Catholics haven’t fought for it in the platform. While Republicans aren’t guaranteed not to go the same way, it’s hard today as a Catholic not to be troubled by the Democratic Party platform. David said as a Christian you want try to be pastoral and loving, but at the same time you have to defend the truth and support what the Church teaches. He’s been learning to mercifully tell the truth to those who still support the Democratic Party. He said Cardinal Seán has outlined for everyone in this archdiocese how we need to vote if we want to be Catholic, what principles we have to live by and vote by. Fr. Chris said we don’t just vote the party. The characters of political parties change over time. We have a sacred duty in the voting booth that we’re not only voting for ourselves, but for the common good. We should never outsource this ability who’s going to lead out country. Scot said Archbishop Chaput also said it’s a sacred duty to be able to vote and we need to be a Catholic before we’re a Democrat or Republican or even American. Michael said he’s had friends try to pigeonhole him as Republican or Democrat, but he’s a Catholic who stands up and takes seriously his responsibility as a Catholic. To be Catholic is to not completely agree with either party’s platform, but there are some issues which stand above the others, which the bishops pointed out are defense of human life and traditional marriage. David pointed out a story on Drudge Report how Vice President Joe Biden said if he loses today, he’ll go back home to run for county commissioner. Scot said he finds Biden likable, while Fr. Chris said he found him to be rude in the vice presidential debate. But Scot said he liked how Biden is just himself, like in his first press conference when introduced as VP running mate when he took time to compliment his wife’s looks. Michael said he likes to remember that these are human beings running for office and their human dignity. Fr. Chris said he particularly liked the moment after one of the debates when Mitt Romney’s grandson went up to President Obama and shake his hand. 3rd segment: Scot said today is an historic day in the US where we either elect a new president or re-elect a president. Scot said it’s fun to predict what will happen. He asked Michael for his prediction. Michael said while no one really knows, he said writer Peggy Noonan has said there’s a palpable sense that things are going Romney’s way. He thinks that ROmney will win both electoral college and popular vote. Popular vote will be 52% for Romney he thinks and it will be decided at 12:30AM. He asked David his prediction. David said he agreed that Peggy Noonan was right. He agreed that Romney will win with 50% of the popular vote and will be decided by midnight. He agreed with Karl Rove’s estimate of 289 electoral college votes. He thinks the governorship and Congressional seats will go Democrat. Scot said he’s disappointed that Republican Ovid Lamontaigne isn’t likely to win because he’s a good Catholic. Fr. Chris predicts Romney will win with 305 electoral college votes and before he finishes his ricotta pie at 11:30pm. He thinks Ohio will be the decider. He’s really concerned with Ohio and it’s the bellwether. Romney hadn’t been getting the ground in Ohio in recent weeks, but finally there’s a sense of momentum behind Romney now. Scot asked what they make of Romney campaigning today in Ohio and Pennsylvania while Obama hangs out in Chicago. Some think it’s a good idea on Romney’s part while others think Romney is keeping campaign workers from getting out the vote. Fr. Chris said it’s a sign that Romney has brought Ohio and Pennsylvania back into play. He cited Rush Limbaugh who said he thinks there’s a momentum behind Romney. Scot said he thinks Romney will get 276 electoral college and only 49% of the vote to Obama’s 48%. He doesn’t think we’ll officially know until November 17. Tomorrow we’ll hear the projections, but four or five states will have an automatic recount with several weeks to sort it all out. Fr. Chris said he’ll need another ricotta pie. Turning to the Senate race, he asked Michael’s prediction. Michael said he thinks Brown will eke out a narrow victory against Warren. 50 to 48. David agrees it will be super-close and he thinks Brown will win because of the Catholics coming out to Vote No on 2. He predicted Brown 49 to 48 percent. They discussed whether there will be a recount and David predicted not. Fr. Chris said he’s nervous. He heard on the radio today that so many Democrats coming out for Obama will push it to Warren. Scot predicted she will win by 3 or 4 points. Scot said you have to measure the street signs and the enthusiasm, and he’s seen a lot of enthusiasm for Warren has been higher and he’s seen yard signs for Warren to Brown at a 20 to 1 ratio. He said he saw Elizabeth Warren banners on nearly every overpass on Route 128 coming down from Belmont to Braintree today. His sense is that the large statewide Democratic infrastructure is back in play in support of Warren. Fr. Chris said the 2010 election was not a general election, but a sort of surprise in January and it aided Brown in winning that race. He added he had a friend out on the Southeast Expressway with Romney and Brown signs getting a lot of positive response. On the issue of Question 2, Scot asked Michael his prediction. He said he compared it to the same-sex marriage question in Maine in 2009 and predicted the same outcome as 52-45. David said he thinks Question 2 will be defeated. Fr. Chris agreed. Scot made it unanimous as 52-46. Scot said the tide turned on Question 2 in recent weeks as most of the major newspapers endorsed a No on 2 position and there have been almost no visibility for Yes on 2 questions. He thinks the word-of-mouth and passion will carry the day. He said the hope is that people will walk into the ballot box knowing question 2 is the assisted suicide question and decided to vote No, but if not people will be deterred by the dense language on the ballot and vote No or abstain. On other issues, Fr. Chris said he wonders how New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might have helped the president or hurt him after meeting with him after Hurricane Sandy. He said most polls show the Senate will stay with the Democrats and the Republicans will gain seats in the House. He thinks that’s not necessarily a bad thing. David said RealClearPolitics.com has an aggregate poll that shows the difference between four years ago and today, where Obama has so much less of an advantage. Michael said he’s looking at the referendums on marriage in four states where it’s so tight in all those states. Scot said he’ll be looking at how Catholics are voting, given his activity in education on Question 2. He hopes Catholic votes start to look different from everyone else’s because we’re called to be leaven in society and not just to go along.

Summary of today’s show: On the eve of one of the most momentous elections in a generation, Scot Landry welcomes Fr. Roger Landry and Janet Benestad to discuss one last time about the life and death consequences of Massachusetts Question 2, which would legalized assisted suicide; how one might choose between two candidates who have declared themselves to be pro-choice as Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren have; and what a Catholic needs to remember when deciding whether to re-elect a candidate who has consistently curtailed his own religious freedom. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Church in Fall River; Janet Benestad, Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization; Phil Lohnes Today’s topics: Election Eve Special Links from today’s show: Suicide Is Always a Tragedy Committee Against Physician Assisted Suicide 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and the election eve special. He welcomed Fr. Roger Landry and Janet Benestad to the show. Fr. Roger will be on the show tomorrow and Wednesday as well. Scot said Janet and her team has been sprinting over the past year to educate people about Question 2 on assisted suicide on tomorrow’s ballot. He asked her for her assessment. Janet said we’re in good shape and done everything we could possibly do. She emphasized that this isn’t a Catholic issue, but people of all faiths and no faith have supported a No vote on Question 2. The effort has been formidable and people are coming to understand this may be the most important vote they ever cast. Scot noted so many elections in Massachusetts are not this close. There was 25 point spread a few months ago, but now it’s within the margin of error. He’s heard people say they were happy they registered in Massachusetts to cast this vote. Fr. Roger agreed that this is literally a matter of life and death and we will all have to deal with this issue within our lives, whether for ourselves or a loved one or someone we know. We need to push in the direction of true compassionate care and not open the door to a Trojan horse that undervalues certain lives. This is the time for all Catholics to step up as real Catholics. Archbishop Chaput said last week that before we’re Democrat or Republican or even American, we’re Catholic first. Scot asked Janet if she still has concerns about people having misconceptions about Question 2 and being tricked by the euphemisms. Janet said they are concerned about the wording of the ballot which could confuse voters. The No side says it’s to not change the law in Massachusetts and people may not know what the law is. So they’re just simply saying to Vote No. Others may be convinced by those arguing for assisted suicide because it’s supposedly dignified, but she pointed out all the loopholes in the bill that doctors, ethicists, and public policy experts will say is a problem. Scot asked Fr. Roger if he hears from people who have such misconceptions. Fr. Roger said a lot of people are ignorant that it’s even on the ballot. He said Bishop George Coleman of Fall River had a message played in every parish in the diocese this past weekend on how people can fulfill their Christian duty through their civic duty and helping those who are most vulnerable. He said in a close election, we might be the ones who can persuade the two or five or ten who will decide this vote. Scot asked Janet what listeners should do between now and tomorrow. She suggested calling everyone, especially those who might be confused, and to make sure they go vote. And finally pray to be spared this dangerous bill. Fr. Roger asked his parishioners to go work the polls tomorrow, to hold Vote No on 2 signs and offer literature.Many of his parishioners have signed up to man any of the polling stations throughout the city so that there’s someone at each place. People are making calls and sending emails tonight. Scot suggested people send out a message on each of Twitter or Facebook tonight. He asked people to send a nice gentle respectful message to people in their address books who live in Massachusetts. Your email, tweet, or Facebook message may be what’s in someone’s mind as they go to vote tomorrow. Question 3 on the ballot is legalizing medical marijuana. He asked Fr. Roger if there’s a moral reason for a Catholic to vote yes. Fr. Roger said he can’t see one. There may be some medical help to be given through a drug like this, but there are larger social issues as seen in California with all the bogus prescriptions given out. Marijuana is infamously a gateway drug and creates patterns of escape from reality. Janet said marijuana is not the way to keep our communities clean and safe. Scot said you only have to ask police what they see as the result. Turning to the US Senate race, he asked how he would break down the life issues between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren. Fr. Roger said there’s nothing he’s ever seen anything from Warren to show she thinks there’s an abortion in the US that shouldn’t be celebrated. While Brown has run ads showcasing his pro-choice positions, he’s voted with pro-lifers in some cases. He said Warren’s strategy seems to have been to focus on Brown’s Republican Party and hypothetical votes. But in an election in which Catholics are voting moral issues, the track records of the parties is important, especially considering Supreme Court nominations, Senate hearings, revision of Obamacare. So it’s how they might vote with their party in Washington. He said Republicans have been more consistent on the life issues along the lines of what the Catholic bishops have been outlining as the pro-life way. Janet said Catholics will find themselves most comfortable in the Republican platform. Warren has been so extreme and talking as if women are only concerned with reproductive rights issues. The Democratic party is so extreme with regard to those reproductive rights. Scot asked if the so-called War on Women has backfired. Janet said women resent the fact that they have been reduced to an ideological position on contraception and abortion. They care about the economy, healthcare, national defense and more. She related anecdotes about people beginning to resent the reduction of the political to a couple of hot-button ideological issues through negative advertising. Scot said in this case you have two candidates who talk as if they’re pro-choice although on a continuum. Fr. Roger said it’s unfortunate we don’t have a choice between two staunch pro-lifers. The teaching of the Church is that a Catholic must vote according to a well-informed conscience. One option is that if there are serious qualms about both candidates, then they can write in a candidate as a vote of none of the above. The second option is to look to see which would do the best and most amount of good or to prevent the worse the evil from the other candidate. Pope John Paul II was clear in 1995 that it is morally legitimate to accomplish as much as you can when there is no good choice. It’s morally possible to vote for a pro-choice candidate who wants to restrict abortion versus one who doesn’t want restrictions in order to bring about the greater good. Trying to weigh this with regard to war, poverty, and other matters is more difficult, but there are some non-negotiable issues like abortion and then there are other issues which are prudential. No candidate is pro-poverty, but they have different ideas for how best to solve the problem. When candidates are fundamentally wrong about the ends of government, however, that weighs more. 2nd segment: Scot said there is a lot of intellectual information to take int o the voting booth, but there are personal experiences we bring with us as well. Scot’s friend Phil Lohnes has had experiences in his own family about flawed terminal diagnoses. He welcomed Phil to the show. He said his aunt at 84 years old was given a six-month terminal diagnosis of cancer and she’s still here at 90. She believed it on the one hand and got her affairs in order, but also didn’t believe it too. It was a sword of Damocles over her head that even left her wondering what the point of living is, which is there had been assisted suicide she would have thrown away years of life. Phil said mostly people in his family don’t talk about what happened, but they begin to realize that more people need to know. He said his mother-in-law suffered a head trauma five or six years ago. She was rushed to a hospital in Boston and within a week or so, she had a saline drip adjusted not once, but twice, by a nurse that if left that way long enough would have killed her. the only reason it didn’t kill her was her medical doctor daughter caught it. Someone within that hospital decided her life wasn’t worth living. Now she’s lived to see her grandchildren through the next stages of life. Scot said Cardinal Seán had articulated this as one of his concerns as a slippery slope. People could end up afraid of their medical caregivers and worry that they have become executioners. After Phil ended the call, Scot said there are many stories like Phil’s about relatives who outlived terminal diagnoses or just had the time to live with loved ones. Janet said she is herself a cancer survivor and had she not received treatment nine years ago she would never have met her grandchildren. Lethal drugs is not a treatment for a disease. We should start with good end-of-life care. That’s where this conversation begins. One of the strongest arguments against Question 2 has been that terminal diagnoses are often wrong and the biggest champions have been leaders in the Massachusetts medical community. He said it’s stark to hear a case like Phil’s. Back to Fr. Roger, Scot said he recalled how many days back in 2000 to settle Bush v. Gore. Everything he hears now with so many battleground states, it may end up as close as 2000. Fr. Roger said there are issues in Ohio where we may end up waiting 10 days to find out the result if it comes down to provisional ballots. He said in 2000 the entire presidential election was decided by 537 cast out of six million in Florida. Fr. Roger said he was in Nashville recently and talked to a doctor who’d studied what had happened in Oregon after assisted suicide was legalized there. Hospice nurses would tell him that the main reason given for the approval of all the distribution of pills was a lack of autonomy, but almost all the individuals who got prescriptions for the pills in their last days spent their last days talking about the pills, rather than God or their families. They agonized over whether to take the pills instead of preparing themselves and their families. Fr. Roger also expressed his thanks for Victoria Kennedy who wrote in an op-ed last week about how she was able to spend the last 15 months with her husband Sen. Ted Kennedy. Scot said there’s a lot at stake in the presidential race. One of the issues we’ve been talking about is the relationship between our Catholic faith and how the government respects us. Scot said he’s felt like in the past both Democrats and Republics have respected our Catholic bishops. But when it comes to this Affordable Care Act, it was done without respecting the hierarchy within the Church, but instead the Obama administration spoke to dissident organizations. And then didn’t deal above board with bishops when the HHS mandate was put forward. Janet said there’s no question that we’re being called to violate our consciences in order to live up these expectations from this administration. Janet said she too has always thought our government respected our religious freedom, but now we’re in a difficult position in this election. Scot asked Fr. Roger if this is the top issue in the national election? He said he personally believes it’s the most consequential element of the election. On abortion and gay marriage, much of the change possible is complicated, takes time, and is out of the president’s hands, but on this issue this is something that can change on Day One. Fr. Roger asked his parishioners yesterday if a president is actively campaigning that abortion is American as apple pie, if he’s threatening existence of Catholic hospitals and schools, and if Catholics still vote for him, what will the conclusion be? Pope Benedict spoke earlier this year about the worrisome developments in America about the limitations on the practice of religious freedom. We’re either going to teach them a lesson or they’re going to draw lesson on how we accept what happens. It doesn’t mean a Catholic has to vote for Romney, but could vote third party. Fr. Roger said our votes always have consequences and if someone is taking us down a road we don’t want to go and we vote for them anyway, we will have to live with those consequences. Scot quoted Archbishop Chaput’s recent column called “Public witness and Catholic citizenship”: “Catholic” is a word that has real meaning. We don’t control or invent that meaning as individuals. We inherit it from the Gospel and the experience of the Church over the centuries. If we choose to call ourselves Catholic, then that word has consequences for what we believe and how we act. We can’t truthfully call ourselves “Catholic” and then behave as if we’re not. Being a Catholic is a bit like being married. We have a relationship with the Church and with Jesus Christ that’s similar to being a spouse. If a man says he loves his wife, his wife will want to see the evidence in his fidelity. The same applies to our relationship with God. If we say we’re Catholic, we need to show that by our love for the Church and our fidelity to what she teaches and believes. Otherwise we’re just fooling ourselves. God certainly won’t be fooled. The Church is not a political organism. She has no interest in partisanship because getting power or running governments is not what she’s about, and the more closely she identifies herself with any single party, the fewer people she can effectively reach. […] In the end, the heart of truly faithful citizenship is this: We’re better citizens when we’re more faithful Catholics. The more authentically Catholic we are in our lives, choices, actions and convictions, the more truly we will contribute to the moral and political life of our nation. Janet said we have to have well-formed consciences, learning as much as we can about the issues and what our Church teaches about the issues. Fr. Roger said tomorrow is a big day and God is counting on us to be salt, light, and leaven.