Pope Francis says that in healthcare
‘We are responsible for the most vulnerable’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Catholic News Agency
Vatican City - When it comes to healthcare and using our resources wisely, we have a responsibility to protect and take care of the most vulnerable in society, especially the elderly, Pope Francis told members of the Italian bishops’ conference.
“To optimize resources means to use them in an ethical and responsible manner and not to penalize the most fragile,” he said.
“It is necessary to be vigilant, especially when patients are elderly with a heavily compromised health, if they are suffering from serious and costly diseases for their care or are particularly difficult, such as psychiatric patients,” he continued.
“Together with lights, though, there are some shadows that threaten to exacerbate the experience of our sick brothers and sisters,” he said. The most important thing is that the dignity of the sick person is always at the center of all healthcare, because when it is not, he said, the attitudes caused can lead people “to take advantage of the misfortunes of others. And this is very serious!”
Francis condemned, for example, business models of healthcare which, “instead of optimizing the available resources,” instead consider most people to be a type of “human waste.” When money is the guiding principle of policies in healthcare and administrative decisions, there can be a temptation to lose the protections to the right to healthcare, such as that “enshrined in the Italian Constitution,” he said.
Rather, “the growing health poverty among the poorest segments of the population, due precisely to the difficulty of access to care,” he said, should “not leave anyone indifferent and multiply the efforts of all because the rights of the most vulnerable are protected.”
Pope Francis praised the many health institutions in Italy founded on Christian principles, expressing his appreciation for the good that they have accomplished and encouraging them to continue to do even more to help the poor and vulnerable.
“In the present context, where the answer to the question of the most fragile health is becoming more difficult, do not even hesitate to rethink your works of charity to offer a sign of God’s mercy to the poor that, with confidence and hope, knock on the doors of your structures,” he said. One of St. John Paul II’s goals for the World Day of the Sick, “in addition to promoting the culture of life,” Francis said, was also to involve dioceses, Christian communities, religious, and families in understanding the importance of pastoral healthcare.
There are many patients in hospitals, of course, but there are many more people in their homes and frequently alone, he pointed out.
“I hope they are visited frequently, so they do not feel excluded from the community and they can experience, because of the proximity of one who meets them, the presence of Christ which passes now in the midst of the sick in body and spirit.”
He praised the advancements in scientific research which have found cures for some diseases, or eradicated them altogether, while noting that we can’t forget also the more rare and neglected diseases, which are not always “given due attention, with the risk of giving rise to further suffering,” he said. Quoting from his message for this year’s World Day of the Sick, the Pope said, “In the first place is the inviolable dignity of every human person from the moment of conception until its last breath.”
“We praise the Lord for the many health professionals with the knowledge and belief that they live their work as a mission, ministers of life, and participate in the effusive love of God the Creator,” he said. “Their hands touch every day the suffering flesh of Christ, and this is a great honor and a serious responsibility.”
“Likewise, we welcome the presence of many volunteers who, with generosity and competence, are working to alleviate and humanize the long and difficult days of so many sick and lonely elderly people, especially the poor and needy.”
Diocese celebrates the gift of matrimony
Nearly 50 couples, their friends and family, came to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe Oct. 21 to celebrate the gift of matrimony at the annual Matrimony Anniversary Mass, celebrated by the Most Rev. John B. Brungardt. His homily is below. See the names of the couples at bottom.
La homilía del obispo John Brungardt está abajo.
Welcome to all as we celebrate God’s wonderful gift of Matrimony: One man and one woman who freely give themselves to each other, in love and fertility, until death do they part.
In July, we hired a new director of our Matrimony, Family Life, and Natural Family Planning Office. Janeé Bernal is our new director. She has many years of experience at Newman University. Thanks to your generosity and sacrifice in our Vibrant Ministries: Uniting our Church appeal, we have Janeé to assist the diocese in this important part of God’s plan for our lives.
Matrimony, Family Life, and Natural Family Planning Office: why such a long title? Each part is so important, so I decided not to abbreviate. Let’s look at each aspect on this Matrimony Anniversary Celebration:
Matrimony
The new Matrimony Rite (The Order of Celebrating Matrimony – Ritual Del Matrimonio) has recently been approved by the US bishops and confirmed by the Holy See. It uses the word Matrimony. Unlike the word marriage, which society defines any way it wishes, the word Matrimony is a covenant from the Lord. From the Consent in the Rite:
Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony, …
In this covenant, this holy promise, a man and a woman gives their lives to each other, in love and openness to children, until death do they part. This is what the Lord sacrificed for us, as prophesied in Isaiah: “He gives his life as an offering for sin.”
Family Life
Like the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, this couple becomes co-creators with God in bringing forth children. From the Rite:
Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?
I have said many times, that the most important responsibility of parents to their children is not to put food in their stomachs, not to put clothes on their backs, not to put a roof over their heads: all these pass away. The most important responsibility of parents is to raise their children in the Catholic faith, to teach them that God loves them more than they can ask or imagine. In this way, the children will deepen their love, knowledge, and service of the Lord, their neighbor, and themselves. Jesus said in our Gospel that he “did not come to be served but to serve,” thus we are called to teach this to our children.
Natural Family Planning.
“The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church” is the opening sentence of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the family. Our Holy Father writes: “Through their union in love, the couple experiences the beauty of fatherhood and motherhood, and shares plans, trials, expectations and concerns; they learn care for one another and mutual forgiveness” (88).
Openness to children is part of God’s beautiful plan for the man and woman who received the great gift of Matrimony. Pope Francis continues: “We need to return to the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae of Blessed [now Saint!] Pope Paul VI (50th anniversary of his prophetic teaching!), which highlights the need to respect the dignity of the person in morally assessing methods of regulating birth” (82). Natural Family Planning is a way that couples can grow in their communication with one another, discern biological signs of God’s gift of fertility, and cooperate with the Lord’s plan in their lives. Investigate Natural Family Planning by speaking with Janeé, your pastor or other parish staff members.
- • •
Matrimony, Family Life, and Natural Family Planning:
Married couples and your families, Jesus loves you immensely! Trust in Him as you “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Hebrews).
Bienvenidos a todos a celebrar el maravilloso regalo de Dios del Matrimonio: Un hombre y una mujer que libremente se entregan el uno al otro, en amor y fertilidad, hasta que la muerte los separe.
En julio, contratamos a una nueva directora de la Oficina de Matrimonio, Vida Familiar y Planificación Familiar Natural. Janeé Bernal es nuestra nueva directora. Tiene muchos años de experiencia en la Universidad Newman. Gracias a su generosidad y sacrificio en nuestra Petición de los Ministerios Vibrantes: Uniendo a Nuestra Iglesia, tenemos a Janeé para asistir a la diócesis en esta parte importante del plan de Dios para nuestras vidas.
La Oficina de Matrimonio, Vida Familiar y Planificación Familiar Natural: ¿por qué un título tan largo? Cada parte es tan importante, decidimos no abreviar. Veamos cada aspecto en esta Celebración de Aniversario de Matrimonios:
Matrimonio
El nuevo Rito de Matrimonio (El Orden de Celebrar el Matrimonio - Ritual del Matrimonio) recientemente ha sido aprobado por los Obispos de los Estados Unidos y confirmado por la Santa Sede (Roma). Usa la palabra Matrimonio. No como la palabra casamiento, que la sociedad define de cualquier forma que desea, la palabra Matrimonio es una alianza del Señor. Del Consentimiento en el Rito:
Ya que su intención es entrar en la alianza del Santo Matrimonio …
En esta alianza, esta santa promesa, un hombre y una mujer entregan sus vidas uno al otro, en amor y apertura a tener hijos, hasta que la muerte los separe. Esto es lo que el Señor sacrificó por nosotros, como fue profetizado en Isaías: “él ofreció su vida como sacrificio por el pecado.”
Vida Familiar
Como la Sagrada Familia, Jesús, María y José, esta pareja se convierte en co-creadores con Dios en dar a luz hijos. Del Rito:
¿Están dispuestos a recibir de Dios responsable y amorosamente hijos y a educarlos según la ley de Cristo y de su Iglesia ?
Muchas veces he dicho, que la responsabilidad más importante de padres y madres a sus hijos no es darles de comer, no es vestirlos, no es darles techo: todo esto pasa. La responsabilidad más importantes de padres y madres es criar a sus hijos en la fe católica, enseñarles que Dios los ama más de lo que puedan pedir o imaginar. De esta manera, los hijos profundizarán su amor, conocimiento y servicio del Señor, su prójimo y ellos mismos. Jesús dice en nuestro Evangelio que él “no vino a ser servido sino a servir,” por eso somos llamados a enseñar ésto a nuestros niños.
Planificación Familiar Natural
“La alegría del amor que se vive en las familias es también el júbilo de la Iglesia” es la primera declaración en la Exhortación Apostólica sobre la familia del Papa Francisco. Nuestro Santo Padre escribe: “En su unión de amor los esposos experimentan la belleza de la paternidad y la maternidad; comparten proyectos y fatigas, deseos y aficiones; aprenden a cuidarse el uno al otro y a perdonarse mutuamente” (88).
Apertura a tener hijos es parte del hermoso plan de Dios para el hombre y la mujer que recibieron el gran regalo del Matrimonio. El Papa Francisco continua: “Es preciso redescubrir el mensaje de la Encíclica Humanae vitae de Beato [¡ahora Santo!] Pablo VI, (¡50 aniversario de su enseñanza profética!), que hace hincapié en la necesidad de respetar la dignidad de la persona en la valoración moral de los métodos de regulación de la natalidad” (82). Planificación Familiar Natural es un modo que las parejas pueden crecer en su comunicación el uno con el otro, para discernir las señales biológicas del regalo de la fertifidad de Dios y cooperar con el plan del Señor en sus vidas. Investiguen la Planificación Familiar Natural hablando con Janeé, su párroco o otros miembros del personal de la parroquia.
- • •
Matrimonio, Vida Familiar y Planificación Familiar Natural:
Parejas casadas y sus familias, Jesús los ama inmensamente! Confíen en Él y
“acerquémonos con plena confianza a la sede de la gracia, a fin de obtener misericordia y hallar la gracia del auxilio oportuno” (Hebreos5:16).
HONOREES
The listing below is of all those who registered for the Oct. 21 Matrimony Anniversary Mass. If we missed anyone, or any information is incorrect, contact Dave at 620.227.1519, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
St. Joseph Parish, ASHLAND
Gerald and Pat Krier, 63
Christ the King Parish, DEERFIELD
Richard and Connie Braun, 50
Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish,
DODGE CITY
Norma and Bernard Brown, 66
Adan and Gloria Cisneros, 10
Gerardo and Carmen Molinar, 50
Leon and Maureen Flax, 51
Joseph and Rebecca Gleason, 40
Robert and Marlene Littrell, 40
Juan and Zelma Lozano, 17
Miguel and Maria Martinez, 15
Rosa and Alejandro Peña, 15
Russell and Sandra Schartz, 61
Leroy and Donna Schawe, 55
Maurice and Shirley Stein, 55
Frank and Virginia Sumaya, 47
St. Joseph Parish, Ellinwood
Jerome and Eileen Huslig, 52
St. Dominic Parish, GARDEN CITY
Charles and Janice Nunn, 50
Prince of Peace Parish, GREAT BEND
Don and Loretta Kuhlman, 55
Donald and Lilly Penka, 55
Chuck and Mary Skolaut, 45
St. John the Evangelist Parish, HOISINGTON
Hutch and Sandy Moshier, 55
St. Mary Parish, HOLCOMB
Salvador and Sharon Aldana, 35
St. Stanislaus Parish, INGALLS
Farrel and Mary Ellen Bleumer
St. Lawrence Parish, JETMORE
Ron and Theresa Bach, 40
Jerry and Mary Whipple, 52
St. Nicholas Parish, KINSLEY
Norman and Pauline Herrmann, 57
Charles and Clara Schmitt, 69
St. Michael Parish, LA CROSSE
Benny and Ardis Viegra, 50
St. Anthony Parish, LAKIN
Harold and Twila Smith, 61
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, LARNED
Leonardo and Sonia Mabugat, 50
Holy Rosary Parish, Medicine Lodge
Ernest and Ellen Young, 54
Sacred Heart Parish, Ness City
Sergio and Jaqueline Rios, 25
St. Joseph Parish, OFFERLE
Vic and Julie Miller, 40
St. Ann Parish, OLMITZ
Terry and JoAnne Riese, 40
Daniel and Stephanie Schneider, 5
St. Alphonsus Parish, Satanta
Encarnacion, Jr. and Connie Maturey, 49
St. Joseph Parish, SCOTT CITY
Harl Dean and Patricia Ann Burdick, 55
William and Carolyn Simpson, 40
St. John the Baptist Parish, Spearville
Gilbert and Sandy Ackerman, 50
Ervin and Connie Burkhart, 50
Melvin and Patricia Habiger, 52
Steve and Julie Knoeber, 50
Dwaine and Louise Lampe, 60
John and Berna Mae Stegman, 59
David and Rosanne Tasset, 50
Mary, Queen of Peace Parish, ULYSSES
Primitivo and Maria Isabel Corona, 35
St. Andrew Parish, WRIGHT
Kenneth and Hattie Stein, 55
Larry and Mary Tenbrink, 60
Blaine and Rita Venters, 58
Protecting God’s Children
We must be aware of the signs of ‘grooming’
Editor’s Note: The following is one of a series of articles provided in response to the deeply troubling news regarding priestly abuse of children. The Most Rev. John Brungardt, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City, is presenting the series in hopes of providing information, education, and ministry in regards to this important topic. The following comes from VIRTUS, a program which offers periodic on-line lessons. It is part of the Protecting God’s Children program and is a requirement for all those working or volunteering for the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City.
By Paul Ashton, Psy.D., D.Min.
National Catholic Services
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.”
—Psalm 27:11-12
As some point, we all have been “duped.” Afterwards, we are likely left with raw feelings of bitterness, anger, and resentment—not to mention embarrassment. For the purposes of protecting children, it is important to remember that pedophiles and ephebophiles specialize in their own particular way of duping society. In order to get closer to a potential victim, they engage in the process referred to as “grooming.” When preying upon young people, they use these grooming techniques to gain control of a child, and therefore cooperation.
The term “grooming” refers to the way in which predators try to mold, fashion, build up, and set up victims and their families in the way that best suits their needs in order to molest the child, all the while appearing innocent of any crime. Sometimes predators can spend weeks, months, or even years grooming their victims using calculating, manipulative, and deceptive methods all the while being very patient as they seek to gain control over their victims.
We need to be careful to note that perpetrators groom families and caregivers as well. They are clever at deception and seem to know when and where they are needed most in a family situation. Through anticipating the needs of families, sexual abusers are quick to align themselves to the family of a possible victim. They use many of the same grooming skills on families as they do with children.
Offering to baby-sit, pick children up from school, help with school projects, fixing needed repairs in the household, etc., are just some of the things that predators do to gain the trust of parents and families.
There are basically three types of grooming:
Physical
Psychological
Community
Physical grooming involves touch. Starting with innocent pats on the back or arm, an acceptable form of touching a younger person, the predator progresses the touch to hugging, tickling, and wrestling.
This conditions the child to increasing levels of physical contact. The perpetrator uses subtle, innocent appearing moves to touch a child. All the while the child feels that nothing is wrong. They might even interpret the touch as like one given from a loving parent; however, each and every touch of the predator is sexual in nature.
Over time the predator uses his or her skills to make the child receptive to their touch all the while progressing to sexual contact.
Psychological grooming comes in many forms for both the child and their family. Offenders spend time with their victims; they show children attention and use any possible method of communication that allows the targets to feel they are on the perpetrator’s level and that the offender understands them. This is a key factor in this process.
Perpetrators become peers to their victims—peers with power and thus, control. Special gifts, treats, breaking of rules, foods, trips, and attention allow for a deep connection to be forged by the perpetrator.
When the child pulls away, the perpetrator shows signs of rejection and unhappiness, and the child feels guilt and confusion. At other times perpetrators resort to physical threats to their family, pets, or friends if the child wants to discontinue this “special relationship.”
Psychological grooming, playing games with the innocence of a child’s mind, preying upon the guilt of parents who feel good that another adult is showing their child attention—all of these tactics are part of psychological grooming.
Community grooming is the way in which a molester creates a controlled environment around himself or herself. The perpetrator projects an image (false and misleading, of course) to adults, that they are responsible and caring citizens. They mimic the behavior of good people to get closer to children so that they might molest them. When an allegation comes forward, it is easily explained away by other adults who have been groomed by the perpetrator to think that they would never harm a child.
When employing these grooming tactics with a child, secrecy is the key. They manipulate the child to keep the abuse they are experiencing secret. This secrecy binds the child to the molester. Perpetrators often employ the following tactics to keep secrets:
Bribery — “I’ll let you stay up late and watch TV if you let me do this.”
Threats of Harm to the Child — “You are really going to get it if you tell anyone.”
Threats of Harm to the Offender — “If you tell, I’ll go to jail.”
Withdrawal of Affection — “I won’t like you anymore if you tell.”
Implications about the Child’s Family — “This would really hurt your mother if she knew.”
Taking Advantage of the Child’s Innocence — “It’s OK, everybody does this,” or “if you tell anyone, I’ll just say you were lying.”
One of the first rules that a family should establish is “no secrets!” Mothers and fathers should never ask their children to keep a secret from anyone. By forbidding secrets, parents create an atmosphere where a child learns that no adult can force them to keep something secret or hidden.
Yes, we all have been duped at some point in our lives. As adults, we know how difficult it is to read the motives of many people who interact with us. Consider how much more difficult is it for a child to distinguish this behavior.
At Youth Rally, students learn that
Every life is precious
By ADAM URBAN
Editor’s Note: Adam is the Director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City, and the primary organizer of the Middle School Youth Rally.
When Luke Maxwell, keynote speaker at the Oct. 7 Middle School Youth Rally in Dodge City, was 16, he crashed his family’s full-size van into an oncoming vehicle in an attempt to kill himself.
Instead of cutting short his young life, he was led on a miraculous journey, the story of which he shared with 300 middle school students, catechists, Directors of Religious Education, and parents gathered together for the rally, held at Dodge City High School.
Sadly, it’s a timely topic. Multiple communities in the diocese have been stricken with teen suicides and rising rates of teen depression and anxiety.
Maxwell is the founder of “U Can’t Be Erased” ministry out of San Diego, which is designed to “break the stigma of teen depression and stop the epidemic of suicide in our country today, especially among Catholic youth.”
Maxwell gave a powerful testimony and witness of healing and hope. He speaks to thousands of adults and young people all over the country about mental health and how to unlock their potential.
After miraculously living through his suicide attempt, Maxwell, a cradle Catholic born and reared near San Diego, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after seriously injuring another driver. He was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.
Maxwell sought healing and made the decision to change his life. He has since made it his mission to speak about how to heal the mind, body, and soul — replacing despair with hope. His practical testimony talks about sharing one’s struggles, taking care of the body, and prayer for the soul. He has even become close friends with the man whom he injured in the crash.
The day-long rally also included time to focus on community, prayer, and amidst it all, fun.
“Wichita Adores Ministry” provided music, dancing, sound and lights, and the environment was truly electric. The day concluded with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Do you know someone who missed out on the day? Don’t miss next year’s rally on Sunday, October 13, 2019 in Dodge City!
Diocese mourns death of Bishop Gerber, third bishop of Dodge City
The Most Reverend Eugene J. Gerber, bishop emeritus of Wichita, died Sept. 29. He was 87. Bishop Gerber was the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Wichita (1983 to 2001), and third bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City (1976 – 1983).
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Wichita Oct. 9. Bishop Carl Kemme presided. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, Bishop John B. Brungardt and Bishop Emeritus Ronald M. Gilmore of Dodge City, and Bishop Gerald Vincke of Salina were among the concelebrating bishops. Bishop Gilmore was the homilist at the vigil; Bishop Kemme was the homilist for the funeral. Interment was at Ascension Cemetery in Wichita.
Eugene Gerber was born April 30, 1931 at a hospital in Kingman, the son of Cornelius J. and Lena (Tiesmeyer) Gerber, members of St. Louis Parish, Waterloo. He took his college studies at Wichita State University and Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo. He completed philosophy and theology studies at St. Thomas Seminary, Denver. There he received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Religious Education and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Mark K. Carroll at St. Patrick Church, Kingman on May 19, 1959. He served as assistant pastor at St. Anne and Church of the Magdalen parishes in Wichita before being named vice chancellor in 1961.
Father Gerber taught religion at Mt. Carmel Academy from 1961 to 1963 when he was named an assistant at Holy Savior Parish in Wichita. He returned to the Chancery in 1963 as vice chancellor.
The following year he was named an assistant to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Wichita, and as assistant to Bishop David M. Maloney. Father Gerber was again named vice chancellor in 1965.
He served as business manager for the Catholic Advance beginning in 1967 and was named an assistant at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception the next year.
In 1973 Father Gerber was named pastor of Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Wichita. He was named chancellor in 1975, while continuing as pastor of Blessed Sacrament.
Several months after his appointment as chancellor in 1975, Bishop Maloney sent him to Rome for post-graduate studies in theology and scripture at the St. Thomas Pontifical University where he earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology.
In June of 1976, while continuing as chancellor, he was appointed vicar for religious education. From 1969 to 1976, he served on the governing board of Hoy Family Center for the mentally challenged and from 1970 to 1976; he was moderator of the diocesan Cursillo Movement.
He was 45 years of age when he was appointed to serve as the third bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City. Bishop Gerber was ordained to the episcopacy Dec. 14, 1976, by Bishop David Maloney at St. Mary Cathedral, Wichita. Assisting in the ordination were Bishop Marion F. Forst, second bishop of Dodge City, and Bishop Richard Hanifen, auxiliary bishop of Denver. Archbishop Jean Jadot, apostolic delegate, and Cardinal John Carberry, archbishop of St. Louis, presided at the ordination
The following day, installation ceremonies were held in the Civic Center in Dodge City. The installing prelates were Archbishop Jadot and the Most Reverend Ignatius J. Strecker, archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas. Clergy, religious, and laity made up the more than 1,600 persons in attendance.
Bishop Gerber was the first native of Kansas to lead the Dodge City diocese. Under Bishop Gerber’s leadership the ministries continued to grow with the establishment of the Apostolate with Disabled Persons, the Vicariate for Spanish-Speaking, Permanent Diaconate, Aging Ministry, Rural Life Program, RENEW, Vocations Program, Evangelization and the Peace and Justice Office.
On Nov. 23, 1982, after only six years in Dodge City, Bishop Gerber was appointed to lead the Diocese of Wichita. He was installed Feb. 9, 1983, at Century II in Wichita.
Bishop Gerber would serve in his home diocese for nearly 20 years. He resigned at the age of 70 in 2001. The Lord’s Diner, a Wichita food ministry that has served 5 million meals to the poor; the Spiritual Life Center, a retreat and conference facility in Bel Aire; and the Bishop Gerber Science Center at Newman University now stand as living memorials to his life and ministry.
(Additional information on Bishop Gerber’s funeral and remembrances will appear in the next issue of the Catholic.)
Vibrant Ministries Appeal brings services to family life office
With a Little Help from My Friends
Vibrant Ministries Appeal brings services to family life office
By Dave Myers
Southwest Kansas Catholic
Due to the generosity of Catholics who donated to the Vibrant Ministries, Uniting Our Church Appeal, many people across the diocese were able to go to the movies.
It wasn’t just any movie.
“Sexual Revolution, 50 Years since Humanae Vitae,” examines Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae against the backdrop of the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
Janeé Bernal, Director of the Matrimony, Family Life and Natural Family Planning office, purchased rights to show the movie on three nights. It wasn’t cheap. Recognizing the importance of the movie, she utilized funds from the Vibrant Ministries Appeal to present the important program across the diocese.
This is just one of many ways that the funds have benefitted the newly formed office.
“Funds were also used for my Pastoral Ministry coursework,” Bernal stressed. “They purchased educational resources for distribution in the diocese (including materials on matrimony as a sacrament, cohabitation, pornography, chastity, natural family planning, contraception, etc...).”
The office, which opened its doors a few months ago, was one of the goals of Bishop John Brungardt.
Quickly after Bernal was hired, she was able to attend the National Catholic Family Life Ministers Conference and Midwest Catholic Family Conference.
Additional training included FertilityPro, so that Bernal may be certified as an instructor for the diocese, as well as training in the Theology of the Body Certification Program.
Funding from the appeal has also been provided to support efforts of the Respect Life/Social Justice committee for the March for Life (Topeka and Washington D.C.), and purchased materials for instructor use during Natural Family Planning training sessions.
Last but far from least, the generosity of Catholics resulted in the hiring of Bernal to lead the new ministry.
All You Need is Love
The secret to discipleship and raising children
By Dave Myers
Southwest Kansas Catholic
“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” — St. John Paul the Great
Being a parent of young children would be a lot easier if the job came with a survival manual.
Fortunately, one exists. Well, not a manual so much as a plan. A method. It’s called “discipleship,” a method first introduced by the Son of God, and then shared with participants at the annual Stewardship Conference in August.
When Janeé Bernal, Director of the Matrimony, Family Life and Natural Family Planning office, began her presentation, “How to be a Disciple While Parenting Young Children,” one of the first things the audience learned is that the married mother of three loves the Beatles.
Each “chapter” of her presentation was headed with a theme taken from a Beatles song.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
“Ahh, isn’t this a nice thought?” she said. “It made a great song back in 1968 by the Beatles. Is this reality in the world we live in today? Is discipleship really that easy?”
According to Pew research, parents spend a mere 20 minutes a day interacting with their children. This includes “Get your coat,” “Where are your shoes?” “Go brush your teeth,” and a host of other parental requests/demands.
“I thought, Only 20 minutes?! That can’t be right,” Bernal said. “But then I really started paying attention to how we operated within my own family. After working all day and running kids here, there, and everywhere, by the time we get home, make dinner, take baths, and do homework, then it’s time for bed! Looking at our schedule, I believe that I, too, fell into the trap and only engaged in 20 minutes of meaningful conversation with my children. I had to change that - so I started studying.”
She learned that she and her husband, Jesse, need to be a positive example for their three children. She learned that they need to deepen their faith life. To pray together.
“Pope Francis has urged mothers and fathers to remember the weight of their example in forming their children in faith, reminding them that whether praying or arguing, ‘your children are always watching you.’ How many times have my children seen their father and I argue? How many times have I lost my patience and been completely at a loss in handling a situation at home? Has this severely damaged the kids?
HELP!
“So, now I’m at the point where I know we need to pray together more as a family,” she said. “But surely there is more that I need to know about how to be a disciple while parenting my children. I turned to our friend Pope Francis. At the World Meeting of Families in 2017, he held up the family as vital to building the church for the future. He said love must be freely shared for faith to grow. ‘That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith,’ he said. ‘Little gestures’ of love exist daily in the lives of family and serve to carry on God’s love as well, Pope Francis explained. ‘These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family. They get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion,’ he said.”
“I was beginning to understand that our family needed to …
COME TOGETHER
“One way that we can witness to our children, no matter their age, is to work, play, talk, and pray together every day,” Bernal said. “We must use those gifts God has given us to better our home and family. When it comes to working, our family usually empties the dishwasher together or we pick up the living room together. The children see that when we all work together it goes very quickly and sometimes it’s me standing there telling them exactly where to put something, but after doing these kind of jobs together everyday, our children are beginning to see that this is a way to serve God.
“After we do our ‘work’ then we take some time to play together. It might just be putting on a silly Youtube video and having a 30 second dance party. Or it could be playing a game all together. The most important one, I believe, is talking together. This is difficult because you want to have meaningful conversation with everyone. Not just a ‘How was your day?’ ‘Fine’ type of conversation. This has led me to figure out new ways to ask my children what is going on in their lives.
WE CAN WORK IT OUT
“Sometimes the plates will fly,” Bernal said, quoting Pope Francis. But “after the storm has passed,” things have to be worked out as soon as possible, “with a word, a gesture,” so no one ends up “isolated in this bitter broth of our resentment.”
Sister Rose Mary Stein, OP, to offer ‘spiritual refreshment’ across western part of diocese
Sister Rose Mary Stein, OP, to offer ‘spiritual refreshment’ across western part of diocese
Retreats empower lay-people to empower each other
By Dave Myers
Southwest Kansas Catholic
Sister Rose Mary Stein, OP, wants people the western part of the diocese to know that she is free; free to spread the Gospel through Saturday retreat experiences, to empower laypeople through the simple offering of a “few short hours where they can feel refreshed.”
If you know Sister Rose Mary, you know it’s an offer that’s difficult to refuse. Some people put you on edge, after all, on your guard. But Sister Rose Mary?
She’s among those special people who do just the opposite. You drop your guard. You share what’s in your heart. And you value her response.
As a former teacher, coach, missionary, director of several offices such as the Office of Aging and Parents (1994-1998), her most beloved role has been that of leader of small faith communities. Many small faith communities. For the elderly. For women. For men. For teachers….
For the last two decades, she has served at Sacred Heart Cathedral (and later Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe) providing just such leadership.
As she recently left her role at the cathedral after 20 years, Sister Rose Mary decided to devote her time to empowering people through Christ’s loving message through a mini retreat on a Saturday morning until early afternoon from parishes that invite her from western rural Kansas.
“I feel God is just asking me to share my experience and wisdom as I’ve come to know Jesus in a personal, genuine and wholesome way, through reflection, prayer, scripture, and the experiences of other people” she said. “My focus is with adults—men and women, a retreat where people have more than an hour or two, but not overnight—just a small few hours, where they can be refreshed.”
Leading the retreat with Sister Rose Mary will either be a person local to that parish, or, if no one is available, someone brought with Sister Rose Mary to the parish. The invitation will always be there.
“My real passion is to empower lay people, to believe in their gifts and use their gifts,” she said. “It’s not just me doing the retreat. We’ll share faith stories and give presentations.”
In a farewell letter read to the cathedral parish from the pulpit at Masses May 31, she wrote, “…. In our culture we can sometimes forget where our true worth lies …. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we have to linger with Jesus. ... We are all disciples of Christ and your gifts are needed for that someone who is waiting for a caring, loving person to reach out to him or her.”
Although she will reside in Dodge City, her new role will be in conjunction with the Heartland Center for Spirituality in Great Bend, for which she is one of the staff.
To schedule a retreat in your parish, contact Sister Rose Mary at: home-office 620-225-7112, cell 620-789-2101 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Catholic vision of just immigration reform
Editor’s Note: At press time, more than 1,600 immigrant children had been reportedly relocated from shelters and foster care homes throughout the country to a tent camp near El Paso, Tex.
By JD Flynn
Catholic News Agency
Denver, Colo. - A Honduran woman told an attorney back in June that federal immigration authorities took her daughter from her arms as she breastfed the child. When she reached out for her daughter, she says she was handcuffed; she stood powerless as her daughter was taken away.
The woman was in a detention center—a jail—in Texas. She was waiting to be prosecuted for illegal entry into the United States.
Her story is heart-wrenching. It cries out for justice.
Catholics see in every nursing mother an icon of our own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who nursed the infant Jesus at her breast.
We see in the bond between mothers and their children a reminder of the life-giving and nurturing love of God, and the first means through which God’s love brings us into being, guides us, and protects us.
“You drew me forth from the womb,” the Psalmist wrote to the Lord, “made me safe at my mother’s breasts.”
We don’t know what happened after that Honduran girl was taken from her mother’s arms.
We don’t know if she was taken to a warehouse, to be housed with hundreds of other children who had been separated from their immigrant parents. We don’t know if she sat strapped in a car seat, squalling for her mother, near the big kids who let themselves cry only as they fall asleep on gym mats spread across the floor, behind a chain link fence.
We do know that policies that indiscriminately separate children from their migrant parents at our national border violate the sacred sovereignty of families.
But it’s not enough to condemn the treatment of a mother separated from her child without asking what should happen instead. There have been, unfortunately, too few solutions proposed to address a real problem: how should the identity of family members be verified at the border, to ensure that children are not being trafficked? That issue needs more than moralizing or grandstanding. It needs a real solution.
It’s also not enough to call for an end to family separation at the border without asking what led to this humanitarian crisis, and what kind of reforms will really make a difference.
For that reason, no matter how discouraged they are, Catholics need to lead efforts to develop comprehensive immigration reforms rooted in the principles of justice. Only serious reforms, which create a system that protects security and the right to migrate, will end humanitarian crises at the border, mass detentions and deportations, and the deaths of migrants crossing through the desert.
Among the principles of Catholic social teaching are five that seem particularly relevant to just immigration policy: That nations have a right to security; that families have the right to migrate for safety, freedom, or economic opportunity; that justice obliges countries who can receive immigrants without detriment to the welfare of their citizens to do so; that wealthy and stable nations ought to assist unstable and poor countries; and that the family is sacred, sovereign, and prior to the state.
The United States has the right to security: Porous, unsafe, and uncontrolled borders do an injustice to those who cross them, and to our country’s citizens.
The United States also has the right to call on Central and South American countries to reform their economies and to quell the violence and disorder that spurs emigration. The United States has the means, and the obligation, to help those countries work for stability, and to hold them accountable when they do not.
But the United States also has the capacity to receive legally many more immigrants than we do now. We’re facing a labor shortage that won’t be resolved by the restrictive caps and quotas we now place on immigration, or by the byzantine processes that make waiting times for legal migration longer than people’s lifetimes. And importing labor also expands our tax base and our domestic consumer base.
Those benefits outweigh the costs—measured in the provision of social services—associated with increased immigration.
Beyond the economic reasons for making it easier to come to this country are the moral reasons. We are a wealthy and safe nation. Poor people, from poor countries, have the right to migrate for work and security. Our wealth and safety will not be fatally compromised by their arrival. This is not a matter of charity. It is a matter of justice. “The money you have hoarded,” St. Basil the Great wrote in the fourth century, “belongs to the poor.”
In 1948, Pope Pius XII wrote to the bishops of the United States. He said that he was “preoccupied” and following with “anxiety...those who have been forced by revolutions in their own countries, or by unemployment or hunger to leave their homes and live in foreign lands.”
“The natural law itself, no less than devotion to humanity, urges that ways of migration be opened to these people,” the pope wrote. “For the Creator of the universe made all good things primarily for the good of all. Since land everywhere offers the possibility of supporting a large number of people, the sovereignty of the State, although it must be respected, cannot be exaggerated to the point that access to this land is, for inadequate or unjustified reasons, denied to needy and decent people from other nations, provided of course, that the public wealth, considered very carefully, does not forbid this.”
Seventy years later, the pope’s words remain true, and important. The United States needs a program of immigration reform that recognizes our moral obligation to allow broader participation in our economy. Catholics must lead the way toward this reform.
We cannot hoard our prosperity. We cannot exaggerate our national sovereignty. Our land, our jobs, our prosperity itself exists primarily for the good of all. God did not make the land on which we live, or bless the country we call home, so that we could live in comfortable security while those outside our gates suffer violence, chaos, and hunger.
The rule of law matters—it’s not reasonable or safe to expect that law-breaking at the border should continue unabated, or go unnoticed. But the justice of our laws matter too: no one can call for would-be immigrants to follow our nation’s laws without being sure that those laws are just. Our laws, measured against the Church’s criteria, are not just.
Comprehensive immigration reform, though, will be a long-time coming. It will require statesmanship, sober reflection, and serious analysis - these are not things we have come to expect from our national leaders. That both parties have reprehensible records on this matter demonstrates just how difficult our task will be. But we have to work for justice.
In the meantime, we need to insist that the sovereignty of the family is respected. There are times when parents and children should be separated - when parents have been abusive or neglectful, or when they pose a danger to their children or others. Adults who enter this country with children should be scrutinized - for the sake of the children, we should ensure that those adults really are their parents, that the children are not being trafficked or abused. But we need to do this without taking children from the arms of their mothers, or sending toddlers to live in detention facilities.
Using family separation as a deterrent for migration was and is an intolerable and contemptible injustice.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” Pius XII wrote, “living in exile in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are, for all times and all places, the models and protectors of every migrant, alien and refugee of whatever kind who, whether compelled by fear of persecution or by want, is forced to leave his native land, his beloved parents and relatives, his close friends, and to seek a foreign soil.”
Catholics are called to work for justice for the Honduran woman and her daughter, separated during the intimacy of nursing. We’re also called to work for a just system of migration to this country, to be its architects and champions. We are called, like Mary and Joseph, to be protectors of migrants, aliens, and refugees, especially those seeking peace as our neighbors.
Kinsley resident elected to top
International Daughters of Isabella office
By Dave Myers
Southwest Kansas Catholic
KINSLEY — Patricia O’Brien has begun brushing up on her French, an exercise that bears evidence to her having recently received a great honor, not to mention bragging rights for the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City.
At the August convention of the International Circle of the Daughters of Isabella in Montreal, Canada, O’Brien was elected one of only two American International Directors of the 121-year-old charitable group.
“I’m very excited about this new office,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great organization.”
As an International Director, O’Brien will oversee two international committees. The positions requires occasional travel not only across the country, but outside its borders to such places as French speaking Quebec. In fact, O’Brien’s application to run for the office had to be translated into French.
“The farther you move up, the more you need to learn a little French,” she said with a chuckle.
The position will be challenging; it will be rewarding. But the joy of her new elected position will be nothing new to O’Brien; it’s a joy she has experienced since joining the Daughters 25 years ago.
“It’s the friendship and the unique spirit of the people that you meet,” she said. “I love the charity work and get-togethers with people—doing a project for the good of others.”
The motto of the Daughters of Isabella is “Unity, Friendship, Charity.” Their multi-focus includes giving to those in need while offering a strong support base for their own members.
“I have people ask me how I have the time, but it’s like anything else: you make time for the things that are important. We support the parish, the community, and we do civic work.”
The Daughters are organized by circles, each of which represent a community of members. It may include one parish or several. Each circle picks its own name. Kinsley’s circle is St. John Circle 494, which was founded some 86 years ago. The smaller the number, the older the circle. One of the oldest is the St. Rita Circle in Dodge City, numbered 210. If a circle were to form today, it would be numbered around 1,500.
“Each circle finds its own niche,” its own ways to serve,” O’Brien explained. “The international circle doesn’t say you do this and this. You choose what fits your circle, parish and community.”
Projects of the Kinsley Circle include the “Blessing Box,” a monthly contribution to Catholic Charities to support those in need in our diocese. State-wide, the Daughters maintain a seminary burse in each diocese and support the Knights of Columbus sonogram program.
And there are simple, close-to-home learning projects designed “to last a lifetime”. For example, the Kinsley Daughters recently hosted a program for the public at the St. Nicholas Parish Center on how to bake an apple pie. A simple premise, but one that could be housed firmly in the hearts of the participants for years and years.
Future “Learning for a Lifetime” projects include a session in which an extension agency representative will teach how to balance a check-book. Later, an instructor will teach car maintenance. The workshops are open to all members of the community.
Service is at the heart of the Daughters of Isabella community.
“At our International convention it was announced that organizational wide the Daughters had donated $2,266,477.97 and 2,338,078 hours of service work within the last year,” O’Brien said proudly.
The Daughters of Isabella was formed in 1897 by Father Michael McGivney as an auxiliary to the Knights of Columbus, which he also founded. The organization is no longer an auxiliary, and is an independent entity, O’Brien stressed.
If you think that the Daughters include only middle age or older women, O’Brien is happy to say that a 16-year-old recently joined their ranks in Kinsley. And, of course, there’s O’Brien’s own daughter, Shena, who also joined at 16, a decade ago. “She loves it,” O’Brien with a smile.
“At first when she joined at 16, she said it was like having 30 instant grandmothers,” she added, laughing. “As she’s gotten older, her opinion has matured with her age. There are many women to meet and to do projects with; they are truly a lot of support for a young person. You have people checking in on you, helping to guide your faith and your future.”
And here, O’Brien mentions one other significant bragging right, this time for the people of the state of Kansas.
“Of the hundreds of circles and thousands of members across the United States and Canada, the area with the largest numbers of Circles and members–larger than any other state or Canadian province–is right here in Kansas.”
For more information on the Daughters of Isabella, visit www.daughtersofisabella.org. (As if to highlight the popularity of Kansas among Circles, the first article on the international DofI website as of Oct. 3 brought to light the efforts of St. Vincent de Paul Circle #211, Spearville, Kansas.)