The Good Catholic Life

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell Today’s guest(s): Janet Benestad, Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization Links from today’s show: SuicideIsAlwaysAtragedy.org Today’s topics: Discussion of Cardinal Seán’s Homily on Doctor-Prescribed Suicide Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell welcome Janet Benestad, Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization, to discuss Cardinal Seán’s homily for this Sunday, the World Day of the Sick, which will be heard in every parish in the archdiocese for the launch of an education campaign on efforts to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide in Massachusetts. Cardinal Seán warns us not to be mislead by euphemisms and the slow erosion of the respect for life. Christ’s Church responds to illness with love and true compassion, not by encouraging the ill to throw their lives away. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Mark talked about recovering the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss. They also discussed the work week, including the Presbyteral Council meeting this week. Fr. Mark said Msgr. Bill Fay, who co-leads the Pastoral Planning Commission, said people may be afraid of change, but we’re going to get there anyway. There are already more than 50 parishes that share a pastor with other parishes. If we do absolutely nothing, we will get the same place, but it won’t be planned. Scot said anyone who would like to see the resources that have been shared regarding the pastoral planning consultation can go to PastoralPlanning2012.org Scot mentioned news stories today that printed a private letter from Msgr. Bill Helmick to Cardinal Sean in which he gave his feedback on the pastoral planning suggestions. Fr. Mark said violating that confidentiality is tragic. Scot said the purpose of this consultation process is to receive such feedback. “Priest asks cardinal to delay mergers,” Boston Globe/AP, 2/10/12 Scot said this Sunday is the World Day of the Sick and so Cardinal Sean has asked that a homily from him be read in all parishes this weekend to kick off an education campaign about a ballot initiative to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Mark welcomed Janet to the show. She said it’s been several weeks of preparation for this weekend, and parishioners will not only hear or see the homily but will receive printed materials to help educate them on the proposed bill and its problems. They began by listening to the first part of Cardinal Seán’s homily: I am grateful to your pastor and the parish staff for this opportunity to talk to you today on the occasion of the twentieth World Day of the Sick. We celebrate World Day of the Sick each year on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in order to pray for the sick and the dying and for those in the healing professions. Saint Paul exhorts us today to be imitators of Christ, who stretches out his hand in compassion toward the sick. This is the model that we as Christians have emulated for centuries in our hospitals, nursing homes, and treatment centers. Unfortunately, this model of compassion is now being threatened. In November, citizens in Massachusetts likely will be asked to vote whether doctor-assisted suicide should be a legal and normal way to care for the terminally ill. That is why it is so important for me to talk to you now about the so-called “Death with Dignity Act.” If passed, the referendum would allow an adult resident of Massachusetts— diagnosed with fewer than six months to live— to request and receive a prescription for a lethal drug. Proponents of this bill want us to believe that this is a compassionate response to the plight of people who have a terminal illness. It is not. We are called to comfort the sick, not to help them take their own lives. As the Catholic Bishops of the United States said in their recent statement on assisted suicide: “True compassion alleviates suffering while maintaining solidarity with those who suffer. It does not put lethal drugs in their hands and abandon them to their suicidal impulses, or to the self-serving motives of others who may want them dead.” Scot noted how the Cardinal said our outreach to the ill is imitation of Christ’s compassion for the sick. Fr. Mark said it’s surprising to him to hear it is being contemplated that we can give a pill to someone to kill themselves and that is called compassion. Janet said the initiative is called the Death with Dignity Act, which co-opts the language we use about the dignity of life. The proponents will not use the word suicide, but instead call it aid in dying. Scot said we have to ask what kind of society we want to have in the state of Massachusetts and whether we will be fooled by the proponents of a false compassion. People fear the dying process and the possibility of being kept alive by burdensome medical technology. They fear intolerable pain and suffering, losing control, or lingering with severe dementia. They worry about being abandoned or becoming a burden on others. For all these reasons, the ability to exercise control over the time and circumstances of death can appear attractive. Proponents of assisted suicide say that the Church wants people to suffer and that Catholics are obliged to accept every treatment available. This is simply not true. Burdensome and futile treatments may be refused as in the case of older patients who need not have risky surgery or painful chemotherapy in order to gain a few more months of life. Scot said there are two central points here. One is that it’s natural to fear the dying process, but it’s how we respond to those fears that is critical. Fr. Mark said it depends on what we mean by compassion. Compassion is to give palliative care, to help them not worry about what will happen after they die, to help them accept God’s timing. Compassion is not to leave them thinking they are a burden. Scot said the Cardinal then says that proponents falsely accuse the Church of wanting people to suffer. Janet said Catholics sometimes don’t understand the teachings of the church either. People are not obligated to take every possible treatment. They can refuse risky surgery or sometimes chemotherapy or other burdensome treatments. They can also receive pain killers, even if those pain killers could hasten death, when death is imminent and inevitable. Scot said the key is that the prescription from the doctor is intended to alleviate suffering not to eliminate the sufferer. You can never intend the person’s death. The 5th Commandment states “Thou shall not kill.” This certainly includes killing to alleviate suffering. Doctor-assisted suicide occurs when a doctor assists the patient to end his own life, even though does not directly administer the lethal drug. It is doctor-prescribed death. Blessed Pope John Paul II said: “To concur with the intention of another person to commit suicide and to help in carrying it out through so-called “assisted suicide” means to cooperate in, and at times to be the actual perpetrator of, an injustice which can never be excused, even if it is requested.” Scot said the Cardinal is very clear on this. This is not just the Church’s teaching, but it comes from God in the Old Testament. Fr. Mark said the doctor has a moral decision to make. Do we want to leave it in the hands of the doctor? Do we want him to put a pill in someone’s hand and then wash his hand of it? What are the standards for this decision? It is about expense? Is it about convenience? Why is the doctor playing God? Scot said the bill’s proponents claim there are safeguards, but they don’t go far enough. Scot said people who get a terminal diagnosis, they go through mental anguish and even depression. Janet said the bill creates a class of citizens who are different from the rest of us: People whose suicides we don’t prevent. People who we say are better off dead. She said there are many people who receive a terminal diagnosis who receive treatment and go on to live for years and years. For some people who have a terminal illness, they become tenacious and live life with fervor and strength. There is a slippery slope leading from ending lives in the name of compassion to ending the lives of people with non-terminal conditions. Doctors in the Netherlands once limited euthanasia to terminally ill patients; now they provide lethal drugs to people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, mental illness, and even melancholy. There is also evidence that the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide contributes to suicide in the general population. This is true in the state of Oregon which passed doctor-assisted suicide in 1994. Now, suicide is the leading cause of “injury death” and the second leading cause of death among 15 to 34 year olds. The suicide rate in Oregon, which had been in decline before 1994, is now 35% higher than the national average. Scot said the slippery slope is real. When we devalue human life in one case, it leads to devaluation in other cases. Fr. Mark said God’s gives us a gift of our life and we need to take care of it. To think of the body as something expendable is a tragedy. Janet gave an example of a story from Oregon of a woman who wanted to get chemotherapy treatment for cancer, but got a letter from the insurer who said they won’t pay for the cancer treatment but would pay for the lethal drug. She wasn’t looking to kill herself. one case of this is too much and there are at least two documented cases of this in Oregon. She said surveys show people don’t completely trust doctors, because of fears of overtreatment. So why would we trust doctors to prescribe lethal pills? Scot said people certainly trust their insurers even less and the lethal drugs are far more economical than any long-term treatments. They have an economic incentive. Scot said we’ve also seen suicide rates among young people go up because assisted suicide makes it seem acceptable. Why do we say suicide is unacceptable for a healthy young person, but it’s acceptable for the terminally ill? Fr. Mark said we also have to protect our good Catholic doctors from pressure to administer these pills. Doctor-assisted suicide is being presented as a way for the terminally ill to have greater freedom at the end of life. However, it would create pressures to limit our freedom, because it could establish an expectation that certain people will be better served by being dead, a dubious premise indeed! It creates a class of people— those whom doctors predict will live six months or less— for whom suicide should be facilitated, even made to seem attractive. It also opens the door for financially-motivated organizations like insurance companies and managed-care plans to someday encourage and pressure those at the end of their life to think that doctor-assisted suicide is an attractive option. Legalization of doctor-assisted suicide would compromise the practice of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath that has guided doctors for more than two thousand years says, “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.” Doctors and nurses are known for this devotion to heal and the refusal to assist in killing. Assisted suicide would compromise this ancient ethical code and the practice of medicine itself. It is important for you to know that the Massachusetts Medical Society voted recently by an overwhelming majority not to support this referendum. Scot said this sort of bill could change the relationship our doctors have with us and this is probably why the Mass. Medical Society voted overwhelmingly not to support this initiative. There are large flaws in the bill itself. For one thing, it requires that a doctor determine that the patient is capable of asking for lethal drugs, but there are no explicit criteria for assessing the mental capacity at the time of the request, nor is there a mandate to assess mental capacity at the time of the suicide. The bill also requires two witnesses to attest to the patient’s competence, but one of the witnesses can be a total stranger, and another can be the sick person’s heir. Alfred Hitchcock would make movies about this stuff. Also the law does not require that anyone witness the suicide, so there is no way to know for certain that the act was voluntary. Finally, the death certificate lists the underlying disease as the cause of death, not assisted suicide. This creates underreporting and a legalized deception. Indeed this initiative is on the ballot in part because of the deceptive way in which the required signatures were obtained. Last Fall, proponents of this bill solicited signatures from Massachusetts citizens as part of the process for getting it on the ballot. You may have been approached and asked to sign the petition. People who were asked to sign reported that the petition was presented as a bill to “aid the terminally ill.” In fact, the bill does not use the word “suicide” because, as the lawyer for the organization promoting the bill has said, the word “suicide” is inflammatory. Instead, it talks about “aid in dying” or “A-I-D.” The major organization behind this effort also changed its name from the “Hemlock Society” to the deceptive “Compassion and Choices.” Janet said it is a deception to have the cause of death not be listed as suicide. Insurance companies don’t want to be seen as paying for suicide. It’s also the case that no one has to be present at the time of death so you don’t know how it was administered. Did they even take it voluntarily? The bill has very few safeguards. Scot wondered which is a bigger euphemism: Death with Dignity or Compassion and Choices. Fr. Mark said this could absolutely lead to murder. There will one day be a trial in which it is asked whether an heir caused the death of a person. Scot said there is no requirement for these deaths even to be videotaped. Scot said the euphemisms are deceptive because during the ballot signature process people said they signed petitions thinking they were supporting help fort he terminally ill. Janet said there was a real intent to deceive people. Janet said the Secretary of State will determine what will go into the referendum on election day, but we do know that we will encourage people to vote No. Suicide is always a tragedy. A vote for assisted suicide would be a vote for suicide. For that reason, I ask you now to do three things to help stop doctor-assisted suicide from becoming law in Massachusetts. First, pray for people who are seriously ill and dying, and for their caregivers. Visit the sick which is one of the corporal works of mercy. Second, avoid believing the misleading and seductive language of “dignity,” “mercy,” “compassion” or “aid in dying” that proponents of the legislation will use to describe assisted suicide. Third, educate yourselves as much as possible on assisted suicide and share that knowledge with others. Brochures, prayer cards, bulletin inserts and other materials have been prepared for you and are available in your parish. Please visit the website www.SuicideisAlwaysaTragedy.org which has been created to educate people on this issue. Scot said the Cardinal couldn’t be clearer on what he wants people to do and what this bill is about. He asked people to educate themselves and their friends and neighbors. Janet said the task of caring for the terminally ill can be a great burden. As a society we should undertake as an act of charity to assist families caring for someone who is terminally ill. She said the cardinal wanted this education campaign to be underway before the election season really got underway and distracted people away from this important issue. We as Catholics should be at the forefront of good palliative care. Our society will be judged by how we treat those who are ill and the infirm. They need our care and protection, not lethal drugs. As the Bishops wrote last year: We as Catholics should be leaders in the effort to defend and uphold the principle that each of us has a right to live with dignity through every day of our lives. Let us join with other concerned citizens, including disability rights advocates and members of the healing professions, to stand for the dignity of people with serious illnesses and disabilities and promote life-affirming solutions for their hardships. We should ensure that the families of people with terminal illnesses will never feel they have been left alone in caring for their needs. The claim that the “quick fix” of an overdose of drugs can substitute for these efforts is an affront to patients, caregivers and the ideals of medicine. When we grow old or sick and we are tempted to lose heart, we should be surrounded by people who ask “How can I help you?” We deserve to grow old in a society that views our cares and needs with a compassion grounded in respect, offering genuine support in our final days. The choices we make together now will decide whether this is the kind of caring society we will leave to future generations. Let us work together to build a civilization of love – a love which is stronger than death! God bless you. Fr. Mark said we need to reach out to the sick. We have a duty as Christians to bring Christ’s love. Yes, it’s difficult and expensive. Who cares? These are our loved ones, those loved by God that we are obligated to care for? Scot asked if our society will be viewed as having money or love as most important to us. The Cardinal hopes that we are building a civilization of love. 3rd segment: It’s time to announce this week’s winner of the WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prize this week is the CD: “The Apostle of the Rosary: Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton” by St. Joseph Communications. This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Jim Fadule, from Wellesley Hills, MA. Congratulations, Jim! 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: 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 February 12, 2012, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” Second Reading for February 12, 2012, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1) Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Gospel for February 12, 2012, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere. Scot said at the end of the second reading, Paul tells us to imitate Christ. One of the way is to do as Jesus did. The lepers were outcast and Jesus reached out to them with compassion with love, when no one else would ever think of even touching them. The leper wanted to be cleaned physically and spiritually. Fr. Mark said Jesus touched someone who was an outsider from society because that wasn’t a barrier for Jesus. Scot said the lepers were hurt by their illness, but they were also hurt by their ostracization from the community. Janet said those with terminal illness will also be ostracized into a second-class category. Scot said when he thinks of St. Paul’s reading, we see how JEsus responded to the lepers in his day. We’re not going to see actual lepers today, but there are many figurative lepers in society today: people who were considered ugly or unattractive or bodily afflictions; people with metal illness or disabilities; spiritual or moral lepers, public sinners; economic lepers, the homeless and the very poor; emotional lepers, those who feel alone. It doesn’t take us long to find people who are outcasts in society that we can reach out to with the love of Christ. Fr. Mark points out in this reading the role of the Church. The man was healed and rejoiced in it, but Jesus told him to go present himself to the priest who would declare him clean. Jesus respected the Church’s role in society. There is a role of the Church to protect the outcasts of society. Janet said Christ’s love is so powerful that it can even heal the spirit in addition to the body. The Psalm doesn’t say accidentally, “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.” Scot suggested that someone who wants to reconcile with Christ and the Church to receive spiritual healing through the Sacrament of Confession.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of The Anchor, the newspaper of the Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese 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: Cardinal Seán’s homily on assisted suicide; Little Sisters of the Poor; Honorary Ibo chief; Defense of marriage Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Greg Tracy discuss the news of the week including an advance look at Cardinal Seán’s homily on assisted suicide that will be heard in parishes throughout the Archdiocese; the Little Sisters of the Poor in Somerville who truly show what death with dignity looks like; a pastor in Hyde Park who’s been made an honorary chief in a Nigerian tribe; and how the defense of marriage is linked to the defense of religious freedom. WQOM is having an emergency fund drive to raise $105,000 to meet operating expenses for the next three months. During the show on Wednesday and Thursday, our regular segments will be interspersed with fundraising appeals from the Station of the Cross network headquarters in Buffalo. Every gift matters. If you want to donate go to their website or call 888-711-6279. 1st segment: Scot welcomed Susan, Fr. Roger, and Greg back to the show. He said the biggest story in the Pilot this week is a preview of Cardinal Seán’s homily that will be played in the parishes of the Archdiocese with his remarks on the assisted suicide ballot initiative. Greg said the Cardinal has taken on this issue full force to make sure people are educated on this issue. Susan said the Cardinal talks about the slippery slope, noting how in the Netherlands after euthanasia was legalized, doctors are now killing people for non-terminal ailments and sometimes even without their permission. He also quotes from the Hippocratic Oath, which says the doctor will not prescribe a lethal dose. Fr. Roger said many schools no longer administer the oath. Greg said the original oath also said the doctor would not perform abortions. Cardinal Seán’s homily on Doctor-Prescribed Suicide initiative Fr. Roger said the Cardinal says the assisted suicide proponents use euphemisms for killing and suicide. He said the Cardinal’s leadership is very important and he hopes the cardinal’s words are repeated by people throughout Massachusetts. Scot quoted from the homily: The 5th Commandment states “Thou shall not kill.” This certainly includes killing to alleviate suffering. Doctor-assisted suicide occurs when a doctor assists the patient to end his own life, even though does not directly administer the lethal drug. It is doctor-prescribed death. Blessed Pope John Paul II said: “To concur with the intention of another person to commit suicide and to help in carrying it out through so-called “assisted suicide” means to cooperate in, and at times to be the actual perpetrator of, an injustice which can never be excused, even if it is requested.” Scot said the slippery slope is true when it comes to life issues. The more we devalue human life, the worse it becomes in the future. susan said there is much confusion about Catholic teaching on end of life care and we need education for this. Greg said in the proposed law it says that the death certificate wouldn’t say suicide. If suicide is okay, why won’t they use the word? 2nd segment: Scot talked about an article in the Pilot this week about the Little Sisters of the Poor in Somerville who are serving the elderly and terminally ill at Jeanne Jugan Residence. Greg said the Pilot wanted to have a story that was a counterpoint to the assisted suicide advocates. These woman witness to the dignity of human life by the care they show to the dying. Susan said they accompany those at the end of life and provide for the poorest who have no one else to take care of them. They stay with the person, even up to 24 hours a day. She quoted the sisters who said St. Jeanne Jugan did not found nursing homes, but founded homes for these elderly poor people and this is why they are called “little sisters”. Scot said this is truly death with dignity and there are many Catholics who are willing to care for the dying. Fr. Roger said Pope John Paul II wrote that seeing suffering in others unleashes love in us. Scot said also in the Pilot this week is a story on Fr. Paul Keyes, who helped grow St. Michael’s in Andover to the largest parish in the Archdiocese. He’s been given senior priest/retirement status. One of Susan’s favorite stories is about Fr. Peter Nolan who’s been named an honorary chief in a tribe in Nigeria. In recognition of the accomplishments of his ministry there 50 years ago, elders and tribal leaders made Father Nolan an honorary chief of the Ibo tribe at a ceremony on Dec. 31 celebrating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries in the town of Nimo. Fr. Nolan is a Holy Ghost Father who came to Boston years ago from Ireland to study at Boston College. Susan said he originally lived at her parish, St Theresa’s in West Roxbury. He’s now pastor of Most Precious Blood in Hyde Park. 3rd segment: Scot said Fr. Roger’s editorial this week connects the defense of marriage with the Church’s battle for religious freedom. Fr. Roger said religious leaders in the US signed a letter connecting the two topics. The Obama administration has failed to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. As soon as we begin to change the meaning of marriage we start to lose religious freedom as we’ve started to see in states that have legalized same-sex marriage. Town clerks and owners of wedding-related businesses are being fined and sued if they follow their own conscience on the meaning of marriage. He said this letter is a consicise and beautiful statement on these connections. Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods that Stand or Fall Together (PDF) Greg said in a story this week that the 9th Circuit Court of appeals in San Francisco ruled a voter-passed law defending marriage is unconstitutional and violated the 14th amendment. Scot said the circular logic of the ruling was ridiculous because it based its decision on those who married during the brief period after a court created the right to marry. “Government has no authority to redefine marriage, say Catholic leaders”, The Pilot/CNS, 2/8/12 Greg noted that everywhere the people have voted on same-sex marriage, they have voted to defend the traditional definition of marriage. It’s not like the civil rights fight of the 60s because in that case it was a few states fighting against the majority of the country, but here it’s the courts stepping to undermine the will of the majority. Susan said she is interested to see whether this reaches the Supreme Court level. Fr. Roger said he thinks the Supreme Court will have to confront this issue and we have to pray for our Supreme Court Justices. Once the court makes its decision—which should be to defend marriage—then we’ll have to see if we can overturn it at the state level. At the least we’ll have to re-evangelize and educate people on the definition of marriage.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Dan Hennessey, Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston Today’s topics: Vocations Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Fr. Dan Hennessey discuss the discernment of lifelong vocations as well as God’s will in the small moments of every day. Meanwhile, WQOM is having an emergency fund drive to meet operating expenses and Scot spent those breaks talking with Rick Paolini from the Station of the Cross network in Buffalo. 1st segment: WQOM is having an emergency fund drive to raise $105,000 to meet operating expenses for the next three months. During the show on Wednesday and Thursday, our regular segments will be interspersed with fundraising appeals from the Station of the Cross network headquarters in Buffalo. Every gift matters. If you want to donate go to their website or call 888-711-6279. Scot said WQOM is having an emergency fund drive to cover costs until the Spring Fund Drive in May. Fr. Dan is covering for Fr. Matt Williams who’s down with the flu. Scot asked Fr. Dan how vocations is going. He said between Christmas and Easter is a time when a lot of men want to meet with him about being open to the possibility of the priesthood. They then discussed the number of men studying for the archdiocese, increasing from 30 a few years ago to 70 now. Fr. Dan said it’s the result of people praying for priestly vocations. All young men and women should be asking them what life God desires for me. Every person’s meaning of life is to figure out what God desires of us to get to heaven. Scot the question just doesn’t lead people to becoming priests or religious, but integrates into their daily lives to figure out what God wants us to do each day or at this moment. Fr. Dan said we shouldn’t equate vocation with career. What we should ask is what mode of life is God calling us to lay down our life for him? Priesthood, married life, single life, religious life? 2nd segment: Scot said he knows some seminarians at St. John’s Seminary who listen to the The Good Catholic and they hear many priests talking about their own lives as priests. Fr. Dan said the witness of good priests is invaluable and hearing from the priests how they came to hear the call from God to the priesthood is a beautiful part of The Good Catholic Life. Fr. Dan said a culture of vocations is a Catholic culture and having the Catholic faith on the radio builds that up. Scot said the Vocations office is planning discernment retreats from men under 40 and men over 40. He aid this weekend are two retreats. The first one is for men age 18-40 at Connors Family Retreat Center and St. John Seminary. It’s in two locations because they didn’t have enough space in the seminary. The cardinal gives three conferences on Saturday, there’s a seminarian witness, small-group discussions, Mass, and Rosary. For men over 40, there’s a retreat this weekend as well at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary. Go to VocationsBoston.org for more information and to contact Fr. Dan.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Links from today’s show: USCCB Conscience Protection website Cardinal Seán’s letter on HHS ruling USCCB News Release: “White House misrepresents its own contraception mandate” “ObamaCare and religious freedom”, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan Today’s topics: The Obama administration’s assault on religious liberty Summary of today’s show:Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor go in-depth on the Obama administration’s recent ruling that Catholic institutions must violate their religious beliefs and conscience in providing healthcare to employees. They consider Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan’s forthright remarks that show how extreme the administration’s policies on religious freedom are; the three key points highlighted by the US bishops that define this issue; a series of common questions and answers to clarify what’s at stake; the USCCB’s point-by-point rebuttal of the White House’s response; and a particularly egregious column by the Boston Globe’s Joan Venocchi. 1st segment: Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor caught up with their activities of the past week and discussed today’s topic. Fr. Chris said it’s outrageous what the Obama administration has done with Health and Human Services regulations on the contraception mandate for health insurance coverage. Scot said they will get behind the soundbites and slogan and examine the issue in-depth. 2nd segment: Scot said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan has been on the forefront of this issue and read from his recent op-ed: Religious freedom is the lifeblood of the American people, the cornerstone of American government. When the Founding Fathers determined that the innate rights of men and women should be enshrined in our Constitution, they so esteemed religious liberty that they made it the first freedom in the Bill of Rights. In particular, the Founding Fathers fiercely defended the right of conscience. George Washington himself declared: “The conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and tenderness; and it is my wish and desire, that the laws may always be extensively accommodated to them.” James Madison, a key defender of religious freedom and author of the First Amendment, said: “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” Scarcely two weeks ago, in its Hosanna-Tabor decision upholding the right of churches to make ministerial hiring decisions, the Supreme Court unanimously and enthusiastically reaffirmed these longstanding and foundational principles of religious freedom. The court made clear that they include the right of religious institutions to control their internal affairs. Yet the Obama administration has veered in the opposite direction. It has refused to exempt religious institutions that serve the common good—including Catholic schools, charities and hospitals—from its sweeping new health-care mandate that requires employers to purchase contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage for their employees. He played the Cardinal’s video statement from the USCCB website on this issue. Scot further explained the Cardinal-designate’s point about recent Supreme Court cases and how even justices appointed by Obama are saying the administration’s interpretation of the first amendment is getting more and more extreme. Fr. Chris said he hears priests refer to it as the persecution of faith. He said this isn’t the Church’s war on Obama, but the Church calling for the protection of the freedom of conscience. Scot and Fr. Chris pointed out that our rights do not come from the will of the government, but that they are ours by right of our birth and given to us by God himself and this has been emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI, quoting our own Declaration of Independence. Scot said the contraceptive mandate imposed on health plans by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violates freedom of conscience, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment and several federal laws. The Bill of Rights says we are free to live by our religious beliefs. Forcing all of us to buy coverage for sterilization and contraceptives, including drugs that induce abortion, is a radical incursion into freedom of conscience. Never before in U.S. history has the federal government forced citizens to directly purchase what violates their beliefs. The Supreme Court recently declared in the Hosanna-Tabor case that the Constitution gives a priority place to Freedom of Religion. Scot and Fr. Chris discussed how this isn’t just a Catholic issue. The first amendment protects, for example, Jewish nursing homes from having to serve pork in meals to non-Jewish residents. The government cannot force them to under the Constitution. Scot said HHS created this mandate after Congress asked it to develop a list of services all health plans should provide without co-pay. Instead of keeping with the prevention of diseases like breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and gestational diabetes, HHS took it upon itself to include sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs. It treats pregnancy as an illness like breast cancer. Fr. Chris said we should talk about ensuring life, not discarding it. Obama is asking Catholics to support something that is radically against what we believe at the core of our faith. Scot said the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have been publishing numerous documents to help us understand this issue. One of the key points is that the mandate treats a healthy pregnancy as a disease in need of “prevention,” like breast cancer or AIDS (which other “preventive services” on HHS’s list do legitimately seek to prevent). In reality, some of the mandated contraceptives are associated with an increased risk of AIDS, blood clots leading to stroke, and other ailments. Inclusion of these drugs places HHS’s effort to prevent disease at war with itself. Militant pro-abortion people in the administration is trying to stick it to the Church. Fr. Chris said this is why he’s so glad the USCCB is mobilizing and people are hearing what this is called for. Scot said the second point they make is that HHS wants abortifacient drugs to be required in every health plan. These drugs cause abortions and employers must subsidize abortion and individual Catholics must pay as part of their general premiums for everyone else’s abortion drugs. Fr. Chris said the Church will not support this. Scot said the third point is that the rule violates religious freedom and rights of conscience. The rule has an incredibly narrow religious exemption for “religious employers” (not insurers, schools with student health plans, or families purchasing insurance). Even religious employers are exempt only if their purpose is to inculcate religious doctrine, they hire and serve mainly people of their own faith, and they qualify as a church or religious order in a very narrow part of the tax code. Most religious institutions providing health, educational or charitable services to others have no protection. The head of Catholic Charities USA said even Jesus wouldn’t qualify for the exemption because he healed everyone regardless of their belief. Fr. Chris said the bill protects individual churches. Scot said it would not include churches if they have a food pantry that serves non-Catholics. It would force the Church to stop providing public services. Fr. Chris said institutions that don’t buy in are threatened with fines and those fines could bankrupt them. It’s as if the Obama administration wants to put Catholic charitable organizations out of business. 3rd segment: Scot and Fr. Chris discussed a list of questions and answer put out by the USCCB. the first question is “How important is the right of conscience in American tradition?” Scot quoted Thomas Jefferson: “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority”. In the past, has the federal government respected conscientious objections to procedures such as sterilization that may violate religious beliefs or moral convictions? Yes. For example, a law in effect since 1973 says that no individual is required to take part in “any part of a health service program or research activity funded in whole or in part under a program administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services” if it is “contrary to his religious beliefs or moral convictions” (42 USC 300a-7 (d)). Even the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which requires most of its health plans to cover contraception, exempts religiously affiliated plans and protects the conscience rights of health professionals in the other plans. Currently no federal law requires anyone to purchase, sell, sponsor, or be covered by a private health plan that violates his or her conscience. How has the Department of Health and Human Services departed from this policy? By issuing a mandate for coverage of sterilization and contraceptives (including long-lasting injections and implants, and “morning-after pills” that may cause an early abortion) in virtually all private health plans. In August 2011 HHS included these procedures in a list of “preventive services for women” to be required in health plans issued on or after August 1, 2012. On January 20, 2012, HHS reaffirmed its mandate while deferring enforcement against some religious employers until August 2013. Scot noted that the timing means President Obama won’t have to stand for re-election with this issue hanging over him. Fr. Chris noted Mitt Romney’s recall of how Catholic Charities in Boston had to get out of the adoption business because of this kind of overreach into religious liberty. Scot noted that many Catholics who supported Obama in 2008 who have said how they are disappointed by this ruling and that they won’t be supporting Obama in 2012 unless this changes. Obama won in 2008 with a greater portion of the Catholic vote than John McCain. They discussed prominent Catholic Doug Kmiec who supported Obama in 2008 and later was named Ambassador to Malta by Obama has said this has gone too far. Isn’t this an aspect of the Administration’s drive for broader access to health care for all? Whether or not it was intended that way, it has the opposite effect. People will not be free to keep the coverage they have now that respects their convictions. Organizations with many employees will have to violate their consciences or stop offering health benefits altogether. And resources needed to provide basic health care to the uninsured will be used instead to facilitate IUDs and Depo-Provera for those who already had ample coverage. This is a diversion away from universal health care. Scot said the bishops weren’t very strong opposing the initial mandate in the law because they expected the religious exemption to be included and now the only provision was giving the Church an extra year to figure out how to violate our consciences or drop health care coverage for employees and face massive fines. Fr. Chris said Dolan met with Obama in November and came out of that meeting confident of this conscience clause so this is a real shock to the Catholic bishops. Fr. Chris said the media has reported first that the administration was reconsidering, but then said only that they would listen to concerns. What solution to this dispute would be acceptable? Ideally, HHS can leave the law the way it has always been, so those who provide, sponsor and purchase health coverage can make their own decisions about whether to include these procedures without the federal government imposing one answer on everyone. If HHS refuses, it will be especially urgent for Congress to pass the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act” (HR 1179/S. 1467), to prevent health care reform act from being used to violate insurers’ and purchasers’ moral and religious beliefs. 4th segment: Scot said the USCCB issued a response to the White House’s contradictory statements on its own contraceptive mandate. The Obama administration, to justify its widely criticized mandate for contraception and sterilization coverage in private health plans, has posted a set of false and misleading claims on the White House blog (“Health Reform, Preventive Services, and Religious Institutions,” February 1). In what follows, each White House claim is quoted with a response. Claim: “Churches are exempt from the new rules: Churches and other houses of worship will be exempt from the requirement to offer insurance that covers contraception.” Response: This is not entirely true. To be eligible, even churches and houses of worship must show the government that they hire and serve primarily people of their own faith and have the inculcation of religious values as their purpose. Some churches may have service to the broader community as a major focus, for example, by providing direct service to the poor regardless of faith. Such churches would be denied an exemption precisely because their service to the common good is so great. More importantly, the vast array of other religious organizations – schools, hospitals, universities, charitable institutions – will clearly not be exempt. Most religious organizations, not just Catholic, would be forced to provide such services. Claim: “No individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe contraception: The President and this Administration have previously and continue to express strong support for existing conscience protections. For example, no Catholic doctor is forced to write a prescription for contraception.” Response: It is true that these rules directly apply to employers and insurers, not providers, but this is beside the point: The Administration is forcing individuals and institutions, including religious employers, to sponsor and subsidize what they consider immoral. Less directly, the classification of these drugs and procedures as basic “preventive services” will increase pressures on doctors, nurses and pharmacists to provide them in order to participate in private health plans – and no current federal conscience law prevents that from happening. Finally, because the mandate includes abortifacient drugs, it violates one of the “existing conscience protections” (the Weldon amendment) for which the Administration expresses “strong support.” Scot said this is about forcing insurers to include them in their plans and individual Catholics must then subsidize those immoral acts. This isn’t about directly providing the drugs. Claim: “No individual will be forced to buy or use contraception: This rule only applies to what insurance companies cover. Under this policy, women who want contraception will have access to it through their insurance without paying a co-pay or deductible. But no one will be forced to buy or use contraception.” Response: The statement that no one will be forced to buy it is false. Women who want contraception will be able to obtain it without co-pay or deductible precisely because women who do not want contraception will be forced to help pay for it through their premiums. This mandate passes costs from those who want the service, to those who object to it. Claim: “Drugs that cause abortion are not covered by this policy: Drugs like RU486 are not covered by this policy, and nothing about this policy changes the President’s firm commitment to maintaining strict limitations on Federal funding for abortions. No Federal tax dollars are used for elective abortions.” Response: False. The policy already requires coverage of Ulipristal (HRP 2000 or “Ella”), a drug that is a close analogue to RU-486 (mifepristone) and has the same effects.1 RU-486 itself is also being tested for possible use as an “emergency contraceptive” – and if the FDA approves it for that purpose, it will automatically be mandated as well. Scot said the White House is trying to pivot from an unfavorable question to a more favorable. This isn’t about a particular drug, but a class of drugs. Claim:“Over half of Americans already live in the 28 States that require insurance companies cover contraception: Several of these States like North Carolina, New York, and California have identical religious employer exemptions. Some States like Colorado, Georgia and Wisconsin have no exemption at all.” Response: This misleads by ignoring important facts, and some of it is simply false. All the state mandates, even those without religious exemptions, may be avoided by self- insuring prescription drug coverage, by dropping that particular coverage altogether, or by taking refuge in a federal law that pre-empts any state mandates (ERISA). None of these havens is available under the federal mandate. It is also false to claim that North Carolina has an identical exemption. It is broader: It does not require a religious organization to serve primarily people of its own faith, or to fulfill the federal rule’s narrow tax code criterion. Moreover, the North Carolina law, unlike the federal mandate, completely excludes abortifacient drugs like Ella and RU-486 as well as “emergency contraceptives” like Preven. Scot said some states have policies on this, but they would be overridden by federal law. The state laws don’t affect religious employers because federal exemptions sweep them away,but those exemptions would be done away by this. Fr. Chris said the White House is comparing apples and oranges. Claim: “Contraception is used by most women: According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, most women, including 98 percent of Catholic women, have used contraception.” Response: This is irrelevant, and it is presented in a misleading way. If a survey found that 98% of people had lied, cheated on their taxes, or had sex outside of marriage, would the government claim it can force everyone to do so? But this claim also mangles the data to create a false impression. The study actually says this is true of 98% of “sexually experienced” women. The more relevant statistic is that the drugs and devices subject to this mandate (sterilization, hormonal prescription contraceptives and IUDs) are used by 69% of those women who are “sexually active” and “do not want to become pregnant.” Surely that is a minority of the general public, yet every man and woman who needs health insurance will have to pay for this coverage. The drugs that the mandate’s supporters say will be most advanced by the new rule, because they have the highest co-pays and deductibles now, are powerful but risky injectable and implantable hormonal contraceptives, now used by perhaps 5% of women. The mandate is intended to change women’s reproductive behavior, not only reflect it. Fr. Chris went back to Pope Benedict who said that the Church’s teaching is not based on popularity. It is based on the truth communicated by Jesus Christ. Claim: “The Obama Administration is committed to both respecting religious beliefs and increasing access to important preventive services. And as we move forward, our strong partnerships with religious organizations will continue.”  Response: False. There is no “balance” in the final HHS rule—one side has prevailed entirely, as the mandate and exemption remain entirely unchanged from August 2011, despite many thousands of comments filed since then indicating intense opposition. Indeed, the White House Press Secretary declared on January 31, “I don’t believe there are any constitutional rights issues here,” so little was placed on that side of the scale. The Administration’s stance on religious liberty has also been shown in other ways. Recently it argued before the Supreme Court that religious organizations have no greater right under the First amendment to hire or fire their own ministers than secular organizations have over their leaders– a claim that was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court as “extreme” and “untenable.” The Administration recently denied a human trafficking grant to a Catholic service provider with high objective scores, and gave part of that grant instead to a provider with not just lower, but failing, objective scores, all because the Catholic provider refused in conscience to compromise the same moral and religious beliefs at issue here. Such action violates not only federal conscience laws, but President Obama’s executive order assuring “faith-based” organizations that they will be able to serve the public in federal programs without compromising their faith. Scot said the bishops are encouraging everyone to contact their Senators and Representatives to ask them to support proposed legislation to protect religious liberty. 5th segment: Scot and Fr. Chris turned to discuss a recent op-ed in the Boston Globe by columnist Joan Venocchi. “Catholic Church’s unfair attack against Obama” But not all employees of Catholic institutions are Catholics. Why should their employers impose their religious beliefs on them and deny coverage for birth control and other medical care? As long as those Catholic institutions are getting taxpayer money, they should follow secular rules. That’s the Obama administration’s argument, and it makes sense. Scot said Venocchi doesn’t remember that it’s the taxpayers who provide the money that the government disburses to provide services to people. Fr. Chris said the majority of Americans are religious believers, so she forgets that the majority of the people paying the taxes are believers in God who want to protect their conscience. On the larger health care reform issue, this president has the moral high ground, if only he would take it. A church that is supposedly dedicated to feeding the hungry and clothing the naked wouldn’t want to leave it to insurance companies and free markets to decide who gets to see a doctor and who gets care - would it? Fr. Chris said he’s doesn’t understand her point. It’s a red herring. People have been receiving health care all along. All the Church is saying is that we cannot support contraception, sterilization, and abortion. Scot said the argument is that if you support universal healthcare, you have to support this mandate. Obama isn’t trying to regulate religion or undermine Catholicism. He’s telling Catholic leaders they can’t regulate the beliefs of those of other faiths. That’s fitting in a country that treasures religious freedom, but also values separation of church and state. Scot said Obama is indeed telling Catholics that they can’t regular their own beliefs. He said separation of church and state is also misrepresented. It only means the government can’t name a particular religion as official. Fr. Chris said this is exactly what the Church wants: freedom from the interference of the state. Scot ended by reciting the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of religion is not just how we pray in Church on Sunday, but we live our whole lives every day. This law prohibits the free exercise thereof.

Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Dr. Kevin Ryan, Mrs. Marilyn Ryan, educators, Pilot columnists, and grandparents. Links from today’s show: Kevin and Marilyn's editorial, "Why homeschool your children" from the January 20th 2012 edition of the Pilot newspaper Laura Berquist's book on designing a classical homeschool curriculum Today’s topics: Catholic homeschooling Summary of today’s show: Scot sits down in today's show with Kevin and Marilyn Ryan, career educators and grandparents of a set of entirely homeschooled grandchildren. Kevin and Marilyn share their wisdom, advice, and opinions on the research, and explain why Catholic homeschooling is entering the mainstream. Scot and the Ryans discuss the academic benefits, social benefits, and most importantly faith benefits to parents guiding their child's learning in the home. Full show notes for this program will be available later tonight at TheGoodCatholicLife.com. We thank you for your patience.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell Today’s guest(s): Dr. Mary Grassa-O’Neill, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and Jim Walsh, Associate Superintendent for Finance and Administration Links from today’s show: Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Boston Today’s topics: Catholic Schools Week: Wrapup Summary of today’s show: In our last show of Catholic Schools Week, Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell welcome Mary Grassa-O’Neill and Jim Walsh from the Catholic Schools Office to give listeners more examples of how Catholic schools around the Archdiocese celebrated, including students performing in Chinese at Boston College High and a human rosary at Holy Family in Rockland. They then discussed the success of Catholic schools in Boston, including the first rise in enrollment in decades and tools for principals and pastors to use to better ensure financial viability and strategize for future success in ensuring every child who wants an education steeped in the Catholic faith can have one. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Mark discussed the Super Bowl on Sunday then discussed the meeting of the Cardinal’s Cabinet. Fr. Mark said the meeting was very forward-looking. Fr. Mark said it’s also the Feast of St. Blaise and he’s been blessing many throats today. On the day after the Feast of the Presentation, on which the candles are blessed, the candles are used for the blessing. He offered the same blessing to anyone who hadn’t been able to receive it today. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Mark welcomed Mary and Jim to the show. Scot asked Mary for her highlights of the week. She said it’s exciting because there are so many activities. She said it begins with the special themed Masses, many of which take place in the parishes last Sunday and others which have them each day. BC High had a program this week called “Chinese Idol,” in which students performed in Chinese, to encourage them to continue to learn Chinese and learn Chinese culture. They were accompanied by an all-strings orchestra from Beijing. They offer nine levels of Chinese instruction and send students to China each year. She said we have to do more in our schools to prepare students for engaging Asian cultures in the future. Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Neponset also had a big Chinese celebration. Meanwhile, Holy Family School in Rockland did a human rosary, with each student being one of the prayers. St. Agatha’s in Milton had a standing-room only Mass that had over 600 students plus more from the community. Trinity Catholic in Brockton had the mayor and public school superintendent come in to read to the children and they had career days. That is a big school as well with 560 students on two campuses. Mary said the National Catholic Education Association provides suggestions, but schools come up with their own ideas. Quincy Catholic Academy students learned about filmmaking and made stop-motion movies. Other schools take educational field trips. Scot said there seems to be three purposes: school spirit, highlight the Catholic identity, and market the schools to potential students. Jim said it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the sense of community. Many honor and give tribute to the religious orders that founded and staffed those schools, teaching about former principals and teachers, for example. They welcome in former students as well as parents and grandparents to see what’s going on in the schools. Fr. Mark talked about the connection between the pastors of the parish and the schools. Mary told a story of one child with cancer at St. Mary in Melrose who had chemo but was afraid to come back with no hair so the pastor, Fr. Sullivan, got a local barber and five classmates (with permission of their parents) and they all shaved their heads in solidarity, Fr. Sullivan too. Scot said Catholic Schools Office has three main themes: Strengthening Catholic identity, enhancing academic excellence, and giving vitality to finances. Mary said academic excellence is critical because it’s using God’s gifts to their fullest. Fr. Mark said not all students are Catholic and we have a mission to educate everyone. Mary said 82% of students are Catholic, and non-Catholic students know they will be asked to participate in the Catholic life of the schools. Scot said Jim also participates in Catholic Schools Week as a parent with children at Xaverian Brothers in Westwood and St. Catherine of Siena in Norwood. He talked about how his own kids took part in events at their schools. He said they had open houses for potential students and their families next year. 3rd segment: Mary told a story of how the students and teachers of St. Catherine’s in Norwood lined the streets during the funeral procession of a soldier who died in Afghanistan. The students held their hands over their hearts and waved flags silently to give comfort to the soldier’s family and promote the Gospel ideal of laying one’s life down one’s friends. Jim said there are 123 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, 89 of them are Archdiocesan parish or Archdiocesan-related schools. Some schools are separately incorporated or owned by religious orders. All of the schools participate in archdiocesan events. The five Catholic colleges also participate and cooperate with the Catholic Schools Office. Mary said there are many Catholic school leaders and the team at CSO help focus on Catholic identity, excellence in academics, and a strong and viable business plan. She said one example of a Catholic school that’s taken their help to heart is St. Agnes in Arlington. They had an assessment of their business plan and completely redesigned it so that the parish no longer has to provide financial support to the Catholic. The CSO undertook a study of the business plans and finances of all the Catholic elementary schools and came up with a snapshot of each school and a tool to help monitor and track how the school is doing over time. It gave a whole new vocabulary to pastors and principals because they’re not usually trained in business. In the past, the Archdiocese would sometimes hear of a school in distress at the last minute and this tool helps the CSO to monitor schools and give assistance long before the situation gets desperate. Scot asked Jim how the CSO helps schools that are in the danger. He noted that school enrollment in Catholic schools is up for the first time in decades. Jim said schools have generally fallen into three zones, red, yellow and green. They’ve used this “dashboard” tool to help schools under the metrics that drive the viability of schools, keeping in mind the competitive environment for private schools. The CSO has had several workshops to teach school leaders to understand the metrics and develop a strategy. For example, they’re showing schools to strategize their funds to increase ongoing income as opposed to single-time gifts. Scot said a key to a successful Catholic school is the principal and asked how they look for a good fit for each school. Mary said they have helped 45 schools find a new principals in the past few years. They help the school define the job requirements and what they’re looking for, hold parish meetings, help form screening committees, and provide other assistance. Mary said our principals are very talented, especially when you see the results. Catholic school students are far outpacing their public school peers in achievement of all kinds. Yet the principals are being compensated, in general, at well below market rate. Scot said a part of the success is getting the word out about the value of Catholic education. Mary said we have to promote our own good news. Catholic school students graduate at a 98% rate, ethnic minorities do better than their public school counterparts, and Catholic school students attend college at a higher rate. Part of the reason is that our people really care about Catholic education, invest a lot of themselves, and focus on what it is they’re trying to accomplish. Jim said he’s proud of a number of initiatives and recommendations that have taken place in recent years. One of the first was the opening of Trinity Catholic Academy in Brockton. It has a stable enrollment base and many pastoral, educational and social service programs such that the school is often the best thing happening in those kids’ lives. He then spoke of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy which has 1,300 students on four campuses in Boston’s inner city. They’ve now create a Xaverian Brothers-sponsored Catholic high school in Lowell, which is now at capacity with a waiting list. Jim said these intiatives help build the Church in urban areas, but also help stabilize neighborhoods. He cited the example of the St. Peter teen center at Pope John Paul II that provides a place for children well into the night. Mary said Catholic schools provide benefits that surpass your expectations including learning in a Christ-centered environment that promotes a sense of teamwork, community, and caring. 4th 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 February 5, 2012, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Job 7:1-4, 6-7) Job spoke, saying: Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. If in bed I say, “When shall I arise?” then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again. Gospel for February 5, 2012, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 1:29-39) On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee. Scot said in these readings, suffering is very present. In the first reading we only hear part of the story of Job, in which people doubted Job’s faithfulness because he was so blessed. So the blessings were withheld and remained faithful to God. In the Gospel there was much suffering as well and those sufferers came to Jesus and were healed. Fr. Mark said the message of Job is incomplete. The completion of the message of sacrifice and the problem of pain is in the healing message of Jesus. Mary said the first reading makes her think how love of God and faithfulness comes from within. Scot said in the Gospel Jesus healed people one on one. He didn’t heal whole crowds at once, but brought his love to the individual. Jim said when we are praying, our prayer sustains us in those difficulties. Often when we pray, we can recognize those who come into our lives as an answer to prayer. Our prayer life sustains us. Fr. Mark said Jesus is the busiest person around. He’s got three years to do everything and people are flocking to him, but notice how the Gospel writers say he rose and went to prayer. He always found time to pray. There’s no one busier than our Lord, but he finds time to pray.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of The Anchor, the newspaper of the Fall River diocese; and Antonio Enrique, editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese 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: Chancellor steps down; HHS ruling and religious freedom; Proposed pastoral clusters; Mass. Citizens for Life on assisted suicide Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott are joined by Fr. Roger Landry and Antonio Enrique this week to discuss the headlines in The Pilot and The Anchor, including the resignation of Jim McDonough, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston for the past six years; the release of the proposed list of parish clusters as part of the continuing pastoral planning process; the US bishops react to the unprecedented attack on religious freedom via the Health and Human Services regulations related to Obamacare; the Mass. Citizens for Life annual assembly addressing assisted suicide proposals; and the retirement of a popular priest from our largest parish. 1st segment: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott discussed the birth of her eighth grandchild, Louise Sinead Cavanaugh, 8lbs 8oz. this past week. Scot said Rico and Ashley Ciricola had their first child, Isaac, this week. Rico works in the Pastoral Center and this is their first child. Scot said today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and for many years it was ordination day in the Archdiocese so for many priests ordained in the 50s and 60s, this is their anniversary. 2nd segment: Scot and Susan now welcome Antonio Enrique and Fr. Roger Landry. Scot said the top story is the resignation of Jim McDonough as chancellor for the archdiocese and John Straub will be succeeding Jim as interim chancellor. “McDonough to conclude his tenure as chancellor”, The Boston Pilot, 01/31/12 “Archdiocese of Boston Announces James P. McDonough to Conclude his Tenure as Chancellor” Antonio said Jim became chancellor six years ago. Last year, he renewed his five year commitment, but told the Pilot that it was not a good idea to leave his office vacant at the same time as the vicar general was changing. Six months after Msgr. Deeley came as vicar general, now is the right time. Scot said that even though John is interim chancellor, Msgr. Deeley said he expects John will be named permanent chancellor. They hope to use this interim status as a time for John to listen to the voices of the constituencies and perhaps in six months the title of interim will be dropped. Susan said the announcement was a surprise in the Pastoral Center. She said she loved how he said that at 61 years old he thinks he has another game in him and if he waits too long it will be cribbage. She was also touched by his interview with the Pilot. Scot said the chancellor is one of the top three leaders in the Archdiocese with the cardinal and the vicar general. The chancellor is the chief financial officer. During his tenure, he addressed the clergy pension funding and recommended the creation of an independent board to oversee its implementation. He also oversaw the move of the archdiocese’s central administration from the former Brighton campus to the Pastoral Center in Braintree in 2008. He also was able to balance the central ministries’ budget. John Straub said his focus will be on helping parishes realize the sorts of savings as they have found for central ministries as well as help with pastoral planning in parishes. Fr. Roger said in Fall River, the chancellor is a priest who is also a pastor as well as dealing with financial matters and canonical requests. Scot said Boston has had lay chancellors for about the past 25 years and John Straub, if he’s appointed, will become the sixth lay chancellor. 3rd segment: Scot said over the past two weeks the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission has been charing throughout the archdiocese proposed groupings of two, three, or four parishes that would share one pastoral service team and one pastor. Scot said the aim is to get feedback on the groupings. Antonio said Msgr. Fay told the Pilot that this is the third phase of the consultation process and they emphasize that this is just a proposal, not a decision and it is definitely not mergers. In the next phase they will meet with all vicariates, parish staff, pastoral councils and finance councils. Proposed Criteria for Grouping Parishes into Pastoral Collaboratives and the Proposed Collaboratives “The key point of all of this is what we are looking at is really managing the life of the parishes in very constructive ways to be able to strengthen evangelization in the diocese and to build up the Church mightily, and strongly for the future,” Msgr. Fay said. “The first phase was to lay out a proposal—and that is all it is— from the APCC,” Msgr. Fay said. He said the second phase took place in January as the APCC presented more detailed proposals on pastoral collaborative groupings at regional meetings through the archdiocese. “The purpose of phase two was to say, ‘Now that you understand the proposal, here is what we suggest the collaboratives might look like,” Msgr. Fay said. Scot and Susan emphasized that people shouldn’t listen to anyone else about what the proposals are, but should read it for themselves (at the link above). 4th segment: Scot said there has been much coverage in the media about the actions taken by the Dept of Health and Human Services that would curtail Catholics’ religious freedom and the reaction of the US bishops. Fr. Roger’s editorial this week was dedicated to this topic. He said this is all part of the Obamacare bill that was passed last year that mandates that contraception and abortifacient morning-after pills and sterilization would have to be covered under mandatory preventative care by every private health care plan. The new regulations do not allow for a religious exemption for institutions that hire or serve people who are not part of their religious belief system. Most Catholic institutions would be forced to pay for these in violation of our conscience. Fr. Roger said this rule violates the law passed by Congress that put a condition on such regulations in that it had to prove a compelling need to violate consciences. Nearly every US bishop has voiced his disapproval. The reaction of Catholic leaders to the trampling of conscience has been swift and strong, not only by Catholic bishops but also by people like Sister Carol Keehan. president of the Catholic Health Association, and Father John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, both of whom have defended President Obama and his initiatives in the past. Perhaps the most powerful response of all, however, come from Pope Benedict himself in a very strong January 19 address to a group of U.S. bishops making their ad limina visits in Rome. Just four years after citing President Washington and praising America on the White House Lawn for our country’s promotion and defense of freedom, he lamented that “powerful new cultural currents”, opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition and increasingly hostile to Christianity as such” were eroding our nation’s respect for liberty. This culture is based on a “radical secularism,” an “extreme individualism” that is seeking to promote “notions of freedom detached from moral truth.” Of particular concern, he declared, are “certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. … to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. … to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.” “In public letter, Cardinal O’Malley urges action on HHS ruling”, The Boston Pilot, 02/02/12 “HHS move amounts to ‘to hell with you,’ bishops says as protests mount”, Catholic News Service, 01/27/12 US bishops’ website on conscience protection Antonio said there are some very liberal voices at work in the administration that want to reshape how we believe as Catholics. We need to defend our religious rights and conscience rights. Scot said many believe that this is about the push to redefine marriage and normalize same-sex relationships, pushing religion out of the public square in order to advance this message. Scot said Cardinal Seán has read a letter to the faithful of this Archdiocese and read it on the air. (See the link above.) Fr. Roger said Cardinal Seán repeats that this letter forces our conscience. That is unprecedented in our nation. Fr. Roger said the agenda is to copy what the Church has done with school and social services and the like, then to force the Church out of the work unless she is going to compromise herself. This has already happened with adoption services. Scot said once you lose your rights, you don’t get them back. Now is the time for all Catholics to stand up for their rights. Susan quoted Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan’s column in the Pilot: The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease. 5th segment: Scot said the Massachusetts Citizens for Life annual assembly strongly condemned physician-assisted suicide as proposed in Massachusetts. Wayne Cockfield was a guest on The Good Catholic Life last Friday before his address to the assembly. HE was quoted as saying: “Once people get used to killing, the pool of death always expands.” Antonio said we have examples of this from other countries, like the Netherlands, where the killing has grown beyond the original group. The law is supposed to teach and when it becomes deformed, the society forgets. In the Netherlands, it is now legal to kill children with deformities after birth. This would have been unthinkable before legalized euthanasia. Antonio notes that in Oregon where assisted suicide is now legal studies have shown that people are killing themselves, not because they are suffering unbearable pain, but to not be a burden on others. Scot said there is also a column in the Pilot by Drs. David and Angela Franks called “Love never abandons the suffering.” They ask whether we should be trying to eliminate suffering or the sufferer. Susan said there was a presentation at the Pastoral Center on assisted suicide by Fr. Michael Sheehan and Peter Cataldo this week and it was wonderful. Scot said an edited video of the workshop will be placed on BostonCatholicVideos.com very soon.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today’s guest(s): Dr. John McEwan, president, and Cathy Demers, head of the religion department at Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton Links from today’s show: Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton Today’s topics: Catholic Schools Week: Cardinal Spellman High School Summary of today’s show: For the third day of Catholic Schools Week, Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams welcome Dr. John McEwan, president, and Cathy Demers, head of the religion department at Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton, to talk about their unique school. From the famous school Masses that have priests on waiting lists to celebrate them to the model of 1st segment: Scot said we continue Catholic Schools Week. Fr. Matt is a product of Catholic schools. He was born in East Braintree and he attended Sacred Heart School in Weymouth, Xaverian Brothers High School, Stonehill College, and St. John Seminary so it was a Catholic education his whole life. His parents worked very hard and sacrificed to put them through Catholic schools. He said the Sisters of St. Joseph modeled the love of Christ, but they also put the fear of God into the students as well. Fr. Matt also remembers the joyful witness of Fr. O’Donovan, the pastor at Sacred Heart at the time. Today we profile one of our leading Catholic high schools at Cardinal Spellman in Brockton, but first Fr. Matt went on a Cursillo retreat this past weekend. He’d been invited so many times and had wondered what makes Cursillo so different. When he was invited, he saw he had a free weekend and he invited his uncle to come along. To sum it up, it was a beautiful foretaste of the communion of saints. The saints in heaven share in the eternal love of God and that overflows to us. In heaven, everyone is in sync with beautiful harmony and sharing of life. On Cursillo, you experience people’s authentic gift of themselves, pure love directed at you from a number of different angled and you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the love of God coming through people. He recommends anyone to go, especially his brother priests, as an opportunity to renew your faith or discover it for the first time. There were people there who haven’t been to church in years and who are regular worshippers. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed John McEwan and Cathy Demers to the show. Scot was inspired to know that John is not just the president, he was a student, the parent of a student, and a teacher too. John said Cardinal Spellman has changed quite a bit in the 60 years since he came there as a freshman. His was the fifth class to graduate from the school. Prior to Spellman he had been in 9 schools because his family moved a lot, and it became a home for him. He also received a full scholarship in his sophomore year which left him ready for the rest of his life. He went to the seminary for four years, but later left and ended up back at Spellman as a student-teacher and then on staff. He also married his wife, who had been in the same class as Spellman with him. Years later he has become the first lay president of Cardinal Spellman. He was very nervous to follow in the footsteps of Sr. Thomasina who was retiring and had been the first president of the school. Cathy also grew up at Sacred Heart in Weymouth, but this is also her second stint at Cardinal Spellman. She said it’s like her second family. She had her first teaching job there. She went to Regis College for her undergraduate work and went to work at Spellman until she had kids and stayed home with them. Ten years ago she came back and hasn’t regretted it. Scot asked what makes Cardinal Spellman distinctive. Cathy said it starts with their admissions program and Sr. Pat Lynch, CSJ, who runs admissions. The eighth graders come in and are “called by name” by the seniors and freshman who give them tours and have lunch with them so they already have a social connection when they come back in the fall. They also have a big brother/big sister program. John said Spellman was founded in 1958. There are 678 students and 75 staff members. They have made major changes in curriculum and the way the faculty work together. They’ve also enhanced athletics, arts, and sciences facilities. They are working on the cafeteria right now to make it like a food court. The classrooms have enhanced technology. He said it’s due to ensuring they have good finances, fair and reasonable tuition, and good alumni. Cathy said the faculty have had some ongoing workshops for faculty development and enhancement. Scot said Spellman is not named after a bishop of the diocese, but instead is named for native son of Massachusetts who went to become archbishop of New York. Cardinal Spellman grew up in Whitman. Cardinal Cushing built the school in honor of Cardinal Spellman and Cardinal Spellman built the auditorium in honor of Cardinal Cushing. The auditorium has numerous murals on its walls of the life of Cardinal Spellman. 3rd segment: Scot asked Cathy what are the goals for faith formation for students. Cathy said they first want them to know that Jesus loves them. Right from the beginning of the religion curriculum, the teachers are ministers in the classroom. They have to balance ministry and teaching theology. She said they get a lot of support from administration for their mission. Fr. Matt said faith is not something that’s taught, but it’s caught and caught from people living authentic Christian living. He asked why they need to evangelize in the classroom and what it means to minister in the classroom. Cathy said Christianity is counter-cultural and even parents are having the voice of theChurch drowned out for them. So they show the students how to be counter-cultural and strong in their faith. The seniors’ classwork is ministry work. They split up the different responsibilities of the Church and give them to each of these groups. They have a peer ministry program and food drives, but they also put a new kind of spin on it, including adoration ministry (every First Friday the religion classes pray in adoration all day), small prayer service ministry (chaplet of divine mercy), art and decoration ministry (decorating the auditorium for the monthly Mass), witness ministry educating the younger kids about the lives of the saints, and pro-life ministry. In pro-life ministry, they took kids to the March for Life in DC and are educating the seniors who will be voting this year on physician-assisted suicide. Fr. Matt said school Mass at Spellman is one of the most beautiful and spirit-filled liturgical experiences in his years as a priest. They have 126 members of the Choir-Band. One in 6 students belong. They have weekly rehearsals on Wednesdays. John said the Masses are a full house with families and friends and community members who want to be part of that. Cathy said the kids continue their fervor in college and even their school t-shirts get attention and they become evangelists for the faith and for the school. Fr. Matt said it’s easy to see why the Mass is so fervent because the leaders in the school are so animated by their faith and their love for the Eucharist is a good example for the students. Everyone has an obligation to evangelize to young people by their example. John said this is the most important priority and the reason for their existence is to show the love of Christ. They want to be a highly rated 21st century school, but they want to be a highly respected Catholic school most of all. When they ask the kids their favorite part of the school, they say overwhelmingly its the Mass. Of the three things they don’t want to change is the religion classes, adoration and other prayer experiences. John said one lesson for parishes looking to increase Mass attendance is that there is responsive. The kids see that it is thoughtfully done, is personal and communal. Cathy said Deacon Joe Nickley is the chaplain and he is responsible for bringing in priests for the Masses, but they actually have priests coming to them and there’s a waiting list. 4th segment: It’s time to announce this week’s winner of the WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prizes this week are the book “Parent Power” by James Sedlak and a copy of the CD “Catholic Answers Live: IS Anything Deviant Anymore?” signed by Teresa Tomeo and Jerry Usher. This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Mary Kate D’Souza from East Weymouth, MA. Congratulation, Mary Kate! 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. 5th segment: Scot said Cardinal Spellman is embracing the latest in technology with an iPad initiative. John said two years ago they set up a special technology committee of parents, students, faculty, and community leaders to look at the next step in education. They decided that the Apple iPad and etextbooks are the future to replace outdated books and heavy backpacks. In December they started meeting with Apple to be one of the first schools to do this. They visited Burlington High which is the first in Massachusetts to do this. For Christmas they gave all the teachers new iPads to get them started and familiar with it. They encouraged them to spend Christmas break coming up with ideas on how to use it. Every classroom has an electronic whiteboard and they’re using AppleTV to allow the teachers to write on the board from her iPad wherever she is in the room. After February vacation, the teachers will be able to use them. Tonight, they will meet with parents that they will tell parents that every child will receive an iPad next year. They are meeting with textbook publishers to talk about ebooks. They don’t anticipate every textbook will be replaced in September, but John guesses that in 3 to 5 years all their textbooks will be replaced by ebooks. Cathy said she’s excited that a lot of textbooks are from the 90s and new ones based on the bishops’ new curriculum won’t be ready for a few years. They will have a chance to write their own textbooks. John said it’s technology to enhance teaching, learning, communication, and organization. It prepares students for their future lives. He thinks this positively affect all subjects. With all the apps available they affect and enhance English, math, and science. Teachers can put together learning and testing materials. Scot said he is so proud that one of our schools is so much on the cutting edge to prepare our students to use this technology well. John said he wishes he was 25 and just starting his teaching career because it’s an amazing new opportunity. Scot said students come from 41 communities. John said they are planning to rebuild an on-campus former convent to provide more space, but right now they’re almost at capacity. Cathy said for Catholic Schools Week the seniors have come up with their own theme and they come up with t-shirts. The “Prayer Posse” organizes it and their theme is “Have it God’s Way”. They started with a prayer service on Monday and their question is “Are you down with the King?” and they search for students performing random acts of kindness. On Tuesday, they did an opening ad drive for the program for their annual musical and play religious family feud, teachers vs. students. It was also Hawaiian day, which is just a spirit week sort of activity. Today was the annual faculty-student basketball team. The seniors compete for the privilege to play the faculty. Tomorrow is Mass with Bishop Dooher and ending the week with adoration. Fr. Matt said he keeps hearing how they help the kids discover their gifts to give to the community and encourage their creative genius in those gifts. When young people are invited to relationship with Jesus they respond. For those interested in attending Spellman, call Sr. Patricia Lynch in admissions at 508-584-3004.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): William McIvor, headmaster, and John Robinson, music director of the Archdiocesan Choir School; and Fr. Michael Drea, pastor of St. Paul Parish, Cambridge Links from today’s show: Boston Archdiocesan Choir School Boston Archdiocesan Choir School on Wikipedia St. Paul Parish, Cambridge Today’s topics: Catholic Schools Week: The Boston Archdiocesan Choir School Summary of today’s show: Boys’ choir schools are an ancient tradition in the Church going back hundreds of years and the Archdiocesan Choir School is the only choir school left in the United States. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor talk with Fr. Michael, William McIvor, and John Robinson about the unique school and how it prepares boys with an excellent education and musical skills that put them ahead of even college-level freshman in most instances. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris caught up on their past week. Scot said there was a big announcement today in the Archdiocese. Jim McDonough, the chancellor for the Archdiocese for the past 6 years, is retiring as of March 2 and he will be succeeded by an interim chancellor, John Straub. Scot said this news will be discussed on our Thursday news show. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed today’s guests and asked how the Archdiocesan Choir School started 49 years ago. Fr. Michael Drehe said the school started with 25 boys in 1963 with a primary focus on music. They area choir with a school in that the music is the lifeblood of the choir. But academics are not given short shrift. The founder was Dr. Theodore Marier. John grew up in England and he said choir schools in that country are very common, but St. Paul’s is the only Catholic choir school in the US. He said that focus on music helps with academics. The discipline and hard work of music train them in the skills needed to succeed in education and Catholic formation helps that. Bill said the boys sing Mass every day of the week at St. Paul’s. You can’t help having that part of your everyday life but it will affect your faith. It becomes a platform for their formation. The school is currently grades 5-8 and they will be opening a grade 4 next year. Bill said he came from public education where he worked for 40 years and working at the choir school is a delight. Fr. Chris asked about the unique role of the pastor in the choir school. Fr. Michael said it is the opportunity to be with young people and to present the love of the priesthood and share it with them, to see men who are happy in serving the Lord and the Church. This is an important aspect of his ministry. He also works with Bill and John on the administration: academics, finances, music, and more. With only about 40 students, it has unique challenges and requires a lot of work to maintain. When the boys graduate, they have the opportunity to attend some of the best schools in Massachusetts. Fr. Chris asked John how he imparts a love for music and for liturgical music to the young boys. John said he’s amazed how the boys coming to the music for the first time find something intrinsic to it that they love. He believes it’s some of the greatest music in the world and these boys are coming into contact with it and carrying on a tradition literally thousands of years old. Fr. Michael said he hears from some of the students when they go away on vacation and come back, their comments when they come back is that they are happy to be able to sing the music they can at Mass. They understand the beauty of the music and how it elevates the soul in worship. Scot asked Bill what it means for them that they’re the only boys choir school in the country. Bill said it gives them a sense of pride in that they have this unique school. Some of the staff have been at other schools and they have come together to realize what a true treasure they have. Because they are involved every day of the week in the parish and school, it becomes a part of their life. He said they are also proud that their academics are strenuous and they believe the students to be studying a grade ahead. Every student takes French every year and in 7th and 8th grade they study Latin. Every boy studies music theory and they all study piano and are graded on performance, in addition to the recorder and handbells. He said he often hears from Catholic high schools looking for more graduates of the school. John said the 4th and 5th grade will sing together and then 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will sing together. It works perfectly that there will be 20-25 among them. In the upper grades the boys voices can start changing. Once their voices change, they don’t sing in the choir anymore, but then serve the Mass. They use the same amount of training and study for that service as they do in singing. Fr. Chris said there is a major commitment by the family to the choir school. John said they try to tell prospective families that it is quite rigorous. The days start with a 7:50am choir rehearsal and the day ends at 3:30pm, although some boys stay later a couple of days for vespers or to practice for Sunday morning. Fr. Michael said one of the hallmarks of Ted Marier’s founding is the working scholarship. While the basic tuition is about $5,000, the cost is about $15,000 and so the boys work off their costs through various performances and fundraising activities involving the parents. Bill said the decision to expand to 4th grade came from John. He said in England choir schools start at 4th grade because of how long it takes to train a boy before his voice changes. For the boy to enjoy it more, you start earlier. They don’t have as rigorous schedule as the older boys but the musical foundations begin. Fr. Chris asked what they are looking for when they audition. John said they are looking for potential, not a finished product. They’re looking for a musical ear, for the ability to hold a tune. Fr. Michael said at a recent audition a young boy came who had prepared with Gregorian chant and it was beautiful. 3rd segment: Scot said you can get their CDs by purchasing them on their website. John said the aspiration when they graduate is for them to pick up a piece of music and to be able to understand and perform the music. When they begin, most have never read music so the first year is music theory, understanding the nuts and bolts, especially if they go on to become composer or arrangers. In the sixth grade they sing different liturgical music every day and they have to be able to read music. He said the music theory course by the time they leave is the equivalent of a first-year college course. The boys actually achieve far beyond the ability of most adults, including musical performers. John said he thinks they’re the only choir school that insists all students learn piano. It helps them to hear music, especially when there are multiple notes. He said the bells are wonderful because it’s challenging to play them all together as one. Bill said there is a transference from learning to read and write music to all the other subjects and they use the three styles of learning—auditory, kinesthetic, and reading. Some of the eighth graders are taking algebra. All of the kids are very good writers. It teaches them to stay on task and focus, to look and read critically. More importantly, it lays a foundation for decision-making which comes into the spirituality. and because they serve at so many Masses, they hear homilies from four excellent priests on a daily basis and have in them marvelous role models. It makes a formation for a solid Catholic and dignified young man. The music alone and the kinds of experience they get means the eighth graders are at a college level of music. Scot asked Fr. Michael about what it’s like to sing the Mass among all these great singers. He deferred to John’s assessment. John said Fr. Michael have a lovely, strong singing voice that is very holy. Fr. Michael said the new Roman missal presented a new challenge because he didn’t know how to read the new music and so John has helped him to read music and understand it as a priest and appreciate the new setting in a much better way. Fr. Michael said Fr. Bill Kelly of St. Mary in Dedham and Bishop Peter Uglietto as alumni of the school. Fr. Michael said when he came back to celebrate the alumni Mass after being ordained bishop picked it up like he’d never left. They also have a seminarian at St. John Seminary as well. Fr. Michael said they also have a number of lawyers and businessmen and politicians in Boston who are alums as well. They also have some other alums who have come back and joined the Men’s Schola which performs on Sunday mornings, which is a good witness to the boys. Fr. Chris asked John who is his favorite composer and why. John said he always says he can’t bear to choose, but he’s always amazed by J.S. Bach and how he would compose a sonata each week. He also thinks of the 16th century composers and Palestrina and how they illustrate how faith can affect their music. Scot said single-sex schools are rare today and asked Bill how it helps the boys. Bill said the boys are just driven so much by the music and academics and service without all the other distractions. He said keeping that legacy has had tremendous benefit for them. Fr. Michael said studies show boys love to be challenged academically and to be called to excellence. He said in a single-sex school that the distractions that boys encounter in adolescent years aren’t present. It allows them to dig deeper in discovering God’s gifts and not be shy about expressing them. Fr. Michael said they reinforce the Catholic identity in the school by celebrating the sacraments with the boys regularly and coming into the school for events such as question-and-answer. He hopes someday to be able to teach a religion class, particularly with the eighth graders. Bill said as the boys leave the school, they find the students are going into second and third year French and they hope to do that with Latin as well. They also have new technology, including Smartboards in the classrooms and a website where parents can go and see what homework assignments have been assigned. There are auditions coming up for boys in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. On Feb. 4 at Immaculate Conception, Malden; Feb. 11, Quincy Catholic Academy; and Feb 25, St. Julia’s, Weston. All are from 10am-noon or by appointment. Tuesday through Friday at 12:10pm the boys sing the Mass. Wednesdays at 5:15 they sing Vespers. Sunday at the 11am, they sing the solemn Mass with the Men’s Schola and on Saturday at 5pm, the 5th grade sings the Mass. All Masses are at St. Paul in Cambridge. In May they have their principal fundraising event of the year, their Gala dinner. This year it will be at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. There will be a live and a silent auction, dinner, and performance by the boys.

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Paul O’Brien, Pastor of St. Patrick’s, Lawrence, and Sr. Lucy Veilleux, Principal of Lawrence Catholic Academy Links from today’s show: Lawrence Catholic Academy St. Patrick Parish Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Today’s topics: Catholic Schools Week: Lawrence Catholic Academy Summary of today’s show: Lawrence Catholic Academy may be only two years old, but it builds on more than 100 years of Catholic education in Lawrence. Fr. Paul O’Brien and Sr. Lucy Veilleux talk to Scot Landry about the challenges facing their school in the poorest city in the state where 75% of kids come from single-parents families and the crime rate is skyrocketing. While the public school system has been taken over by the state, LCA had 100% graduation rate. What is their secret? And how did they manage to bring together two different schools with long traditions of their own in such a short time? 1st segment: Scot said it’s Catholic Schools Week, a time to focus on the importance of Catholic schools in the life of our Church and for society to recall the important impact our Catholic schools have had on our nation. Especially in inner cities, Catholic schools have helped students to excel and rise out of poverty and become leaders. Scot said it’s up to this generation to continue this legacy. He welcomed Fr. Paul O’Brien and Sr. Lucy Veilleux from Lawrence Catholic Academy. It was founded in 2010 with the St. Patrick School and Our Lady of Good Counsel came together. Fr. Paul said having a full school located at the parish in the inner city is great. The school now has more than 500 students. Sr. Lucy said families are very impressed by the faculty, how dedicated they are to the students. Fr. Paul said there were three Catholic elementary schools in Lawrence: Our Lady of Good Counsel in Lawrence was small, St Mary was a little bigger, and St. Patrick was biggest. They wanted to avoid the pattern of closing one by one, but combined for the greater strength of Catholic education for the entire city. It was a sacrifice for everyone. St. Patrick’s which could have survived gave up its identity in order to bring together more students and keep a strength of Catholic education for the city. Sr. Lucy said they put a lot of effort into bringing the students into the new school with the changes. Fr. Paul said the middle school kids had the hardest time assimilating into the new school. He said it took most of the first year to integrate the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders socially. Sr. Lucy said giving up the uniforms was the biggest change and they took the effort to choose a new uniform for everyone. They are planning to open up another second grade class next year, but that will put them at capacity. Fr. Paul said the parents were the ones most concerned about the future viability of schools and he was surprised by how the parents accepted the change. From the beginning the parents said they didn’t want to give up their own schools, but they need this what they needed to do. It’s a credit to the honesty of the school leaders and transparent. He said people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are very realistic about the challenges of living in Lawrence and the need to keep the schools open. He said a desire for a Catholic education overrode school or parish loyalties. Scot said others may want to know how to integrate two separate communities into one. Sr. Lucy said the first step was to work with the staff. They had an off-campus retreat day for the staff. People were angry and had to seek forgiveness or forgive others. After that they were worked together as one to form Lawrence Catholic Academy. She said every event that the individual schools had was evaluated in order to create a new tradition. People felt like it wasn’t one school taking over another, but that this was a new school. Scot said St. Patrick had a school for 100 years. Fr. Paul said as a parish they affirmed that they were as committed to the school as they were before. The pastors are ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees of the school. It’s an expansion of Catholic education, not a contraction. Sr. Lucy said 20% of students are non-Catholic. 38% are Hispanic, about 20% are Anglo, and the rest are a combination of other immigrant groups and African-American. In Lawrence, about 75% of households don’t speak English at home. Most kids in Lawrence don’t speak Spanish as their first language, though. Scot said in recent months, the public school system in Lawrence was taken over by the state for academic non-performance. Fr. Paul said Lawrence is about 80,000 people in the economically poorest city in the state. Two-thirds of kids are born to single moms. Gangs and crime are rampant. The public school system is consistently the lowest performing community on MCAS tests. Lawrence Catholic Academy is educating the same kids. While they have a higher percentage of middle-class families, they also have many of the kids in the worst circumstances. They have a 100% graduation rate. Sr. Lucy said the secret is the dedication of teachers to the students. The lack of a union helps. The parents believe in the program and ensure that students do the homework. And the students want to be in the school and they know what the alternative is. They include the parents in activities. This week they had a Mass for Catholic Schools Week. Parents help with fundraising, they come in for meetings with teachers. Fr. Paul said the parents understand the standards of the school and they also buy-in to the tuition. Whether they are paying full rate or getting scholarships, they are investing a significant amount. They have a 99.9% payment rate of tuition receivables. Sr. Lucy said many families work 3 jobs, leave work on lunch break to pick up their kids or the kids stay at an afterschool program for late-working parents. Parents give up lunch hours to participate in programs during the day and spend time with the kids doing homework at night. They see this as the children’s way out of Lawrence. Scot said a key factor is how teachers in Catholic schools love their students. Fr. Paul said the teachers are involved in the school out of their faith. They could be making more elsewhere, but they are here because of their faith. Catholic eduction works because we believe God created these kids, He loves them, and we love them. A child may respect an adult and their message, but that may not override the other influences in their life. But if it’s God giving them the message, then it’s God they are responsible to. Sr. Lucy said they permeate respect in school for all students and all people. If students or teachers don’t respect each other, they don’t stay in the school. They see examples of love and respect and respond to that. There is a zero-bullying policy in the schools and they want the kids to feel safe. Fr. Paul said Cor Unum meal center is one-block from the school and so kids who are hungry can eat there with their families. They also have free or reduced cost meals at the school itself. They also also have kids who go to Cor Unum get sponsored for their complete education at LCA. They have about 20 kids on full scholarships. Sr. Lucy said they also have a lot of students who volunteer at Cor Unum. 2nd segment: Scot said this year’s Catholic Schools Week theme is Faith, Academics, Service. He said academics is hard to achieve. Fr. Paul said last year 61% of kids go on to Catholic high schools, while the rest go on to the good public schools in their area. The best public schools require an interview to get in and they are regional schools. Sr. Lucy said the teachers try to know and appreciate each student for who they are, to know their gifts, and to teach them in the way they learn. They raise the bar, helping students to try to achieve more than they are if they can. They work with the parents. They evaluate their academic programs on a yearly basis. Part of the board focuses just on the curriculum. Every classroom now has a Smartboard. Fr. Paul said the Catholic Schools Foundation has been very generous with them and has given them a few extra grants, including the funds for the Smartboards. Sr. Lucy said their program is based on the Massachusetts Frameworks, because they know if the students leave their school they will have to pass the MCAS. Scot asked if there is something in the pedagogy at LCA that gets better results. Fr. Paul said in 7th and 8th grade every kid has to do an oral presentation every week, which gives them an important life skill. He said one of the things that kids repeat about why they are different at LCA is that they do it the hard way; they don’t take the easy route. Scot asked why LCA is able to get high achievement with fewer dollars than public schools. Fr. Paul said part of it is that the public school system has to educate special needs. But public schools in Lawrence spend $16,000 per pupil, while LCA spends $4,000. Money doesn’t solve the problems. The one thing LCA needs is more money for capital needs. They have all they need for academic excellence. Sr. Lucy said what struck her in the interviews with the teachers applying to work at LCA was their faith. They wanted to work in an environment where they could live and work their faith and be able to talk to students about their faith. They have an inner commitment to loving and working with kids. Fr. Paul said there are teachers who would be happy to work with kids in public schools, but the system doesn’t allow them to get at the roots problems. Scot noted that LCA has more religious teaching there than any other Catholic school in the Archdiocese. There are 6 religious sisters who have all been working in the schools for about 20 years. She doesn’t like to separate religious and lay teachers as they are all living the mission. Fr. Paul said these are real sisters, living the poverty and other evangelical counsels, giving inspiration and spiritual direction for the school. Sr. Lucy said many of the lay faculty have been there for 20 years. Some teachers leave for public schools and then want to come back. Fr. Paul pointed out that many of the teachers are sacrificing financially to teach there, trying to support their own families while serving their students. He said in the inner city, people can read motivations very easily. If someone was in it for the wrong reason, they know. If someone is doing it out of love, faith, and commitment, then they know. Fr. Paul said the students are actively engaged in many service projects, including green community recycling, serving those in the military and so on. Sr. Lucy said they also have a program where the older students form as role models for the younger kids. Also high schools students who graduated from the schools come back to serve as homework helpers. They also plug them into the activities of the parishes. The students come from Lawrence, Methuen, Andover, No Andover, Amesbury, Chelmsford, Dracut, Haverhill, Lowell, Medford, Salisbury, Tewksbury, Boston, and even the Salem NH, area. Many of them are from families that lived in Lawrence and they moved but have chosen to continue to attend LCA. Sr. Lucy said one of the reasons is that there is a welcoming spirit and they want to be part of the community. The students themselves have identified that as an identity of the school. Fr. Paul said there are bad things going on in Lawrence and it’s a wonderful place to live because of the people in the community. If you can avoid the bad stuff, they love it. So when they leave, the school still has that wonderful community. Scot asked Sr. Lucy how they help the kids stay safe outside of school. She said they get them to believe that they don’t need the gangs to stay safe. They give them a safe environment during the day. Fr. Paul when kids do get in trouble, they often come back to the parish or school or Cor Unum for a place to rebuild their lives because they are places of love when they have had no other experience of love in their lives. Fr. Paul said everyone listening to the show should send all their money to LCA. They have three buildings on the campus that need renovation which is an $8 to $10 million capital need. They know from Cor Unum, which went from 0 dollars to being built, that when people hear the story they respond. Fr. Paul said helping Catholic schools is a mission of the entire Catholic Church. Catholic education is the best kind of education for every kid.