End is just the beginning 
for PMF class of 2010 graduates
Five students of the Pastoral Ministry Formation program of the Diocese of Dodge City received their diplomas as well as the appreciation of Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore, at a special graduation ceremony Aug. 13.
There, Father Robert Schremmer, vicar general, thanked all those involved with the program, including the recently retired Msgr. Brian Moore, whom he called a “force for good in the diocese.”
He said that those who commit the time and energy to the program do so because “they love people and love the Lord.”
Use of new Roman Missal to
begin in US at Advent 2011
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics in the United States will begin using the long-awaited English translation of the Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent in 2011, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said Aug. 20.
The cardinal’s announcement as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops marks the formal beginning of a more than 15-month period of education and training leading to the first use of the “third typical edition” of the Roman Missal at English-language Masses in the United States on Nov. 27, 2011.
Vatican: rumor of assassination attempt on Pope Francis 'unreliable'
by Elise Harris
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2015 / 06:11 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told journalists Tuesday that rumors circulating about a possible assassination attempt on Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines are unfounded.
“In the last few days there's been talk of this hypothesis of an assassination attempt during the trip to the Philippines. Cardinal (Luis Antonio) Tagle, who has his good sources, said the information is unreliable,” the spokesman said Feb. 11.
Philippine media have reported that a man affiliated with Al-Qaeda had planned to place a bomb to be detonated along the route of the papal convoy, but police had gotten wind of the plan and altered the route.
Due to Cardinal Tagle’s closeness to the situation in the Philippines as Archbishop of Manila, Fr. Lombardi agreed that the rumors are “unfounded.”
Fr. Lombardi’s comments came during a press briefing on activities of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, who are meeting this week to discuss matters of Church governance and reform.
Pope Francis traveled to the Philippines Jan. 15-19 for an apostolic visit to the country, where he met with victims of the country’s recent typhoons as well as former street children.
Annual Stewardship Day 
encourages people who
‘do church’ to be a people
who ‘are church’
By DAVID MYERS and TIM WENZL
Southwest Kansas Register
Haunting music rose from the grand piano in the worship area of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe Aug. 28 as pianist Patrice Egging stopped intermittently to share a message oft repeated throughout this annual Diocesan Stewardship Day, that stewardship is about far more than just placing money in the collection basket.
Stewardship is, more than 200 participants would learn, a way of “being Church” – a way of creating better parish communities and families, and of bringing ourselves closer to God.
News Release
Catholic Social Service Hosts Workshop on Infant Adoption
Special to the SKR
Have you and your spouse ever thought about adopting a baby? Admittedly, it’s not a small decision! There are many things to consider: can we afford to adopt? Why should or shouldn’t we adopt? What does it entail? What kind of protections and support would we have? What information do we need to know about raising an adopted child that’s different from raising a child that was born to us? How do we respond to our adopted child’s questions later on?
While there are many unknowns, it is also possible for couples to be armed with some of the most current information available so that they can make the best decision about adoption for themselves and their family. Catholic Social Service is hosting an Adoption Workshop on Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 9 am - 4 pm in room 22 at Newman College, 236 San Jose, Dodge City KS. Lunch will be provided. If you are interested in learning more about adoption, this workshop will help to demystify the journey. Registration is required.
“Catholic Social Service is committed to providing education and support for birth-parents as they make their adoption plan, and to the adoptive families,” said Lori Titsworth, Adoption Social Worker. “I believe so many times that people are interested in adoption but believe it is too expensive, there is a long waiting list, or they have a misunderstanding of adoption, let alone an ‘open adoption.’ We encourage families who want to learn more about adoption to join us for this educational opportunity. You won’t be sorry.”
As part of a national Catholic Charity network that has been looking after the needs of children, parents and families for more than 100 years, Catholic Social Service is licensed by the State of Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and has been providing adoption services in southwest Kansas for 50 years. For more information about adoption services at Catholic Social Service, or to register for the adoption workshop series, please contact Lori Titsworth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by phone at 620-792-1393
St. Joseph Church in Greensburg stands in ruins four days after the May 4, 2007 tornado destroyed much of the town. Catholic Social Service of the Diocese of Dodge City helped the town, as it has helped victims of natural disasters around the world, to rebuild.
Catholic Charities, CSS,
helps victims of natural disasters
Soon after the violent tornado struck Greensburg and the surrounding region in May 4, 2007, Catholic Social Service began working with other agencies to provide needed help.
“We primarily distributed the donations that were received through CSS and the diocese to help individuals build or repair homes when they had no other resources to do that,” commented CSS Executive Director, Debbie Snapp. “We worked with the South Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization (a part of the Kiowa Ministerial Alliance) to determine eligibility. We also used some of that money to help with emergency needs -- replacing eye glasses, prescriptions, etc….”
In late July, Catholic Charities, one of the major organizations providing relief to Gulf Coast residents impacted by the BP oil spill, reported that its agencies in the that region had provided services to more than 20,000 individuals and more than 7,000 families since the spill.
After the tornado and severe flooding in Rapid City, SD, Catholic Charities worked with residents from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The majority of their residents do not have health insurance. Catholic Charities provided case management to more than 100 elders affected by the tornado, as well as food assistance and vouchers to women and children that were left homeless by the tornado.
Catholic Charities continues to work both in the United States and abroad, including, most recently, in Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
Monument to Kansan unveiled in South Korea
By ASHLEY ROWLAND
Stars and Stripes Online
SEOUL, South Korea — A chaplain who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for refusing to abandon troops during combat finally has been recognized with a monument in the country where he died more than six decades ago.
The dark gray granite stone, erected by U.S. Army Garrison Daegu in front of the Camp Walker chapel, includes an image of Capt. Emil Kapaun supporting an injured soldier and the inscription, “He paid the ultimate sacrifice and consecrated the soul of Korea.” The monument, about four feet tall, was unveiled Dec. 19.
It’s the first memorial on the Korean peninsula for Kapaun, who died in a prisoner of war camp in May 1951 after being captured at Unsan the previous November. Although U.S. forces were surrounded and ordered to evacuate, the Roman Catholic priest stayed behind to comfort the wounded, despite the certainty of capture, and made rounds even as hand-to-hand combat broke out between U.S. and Chinese troops.
“We need inspiration and motivation to continue to serve the country,” deputy garrison chaplain Maj. Moon Kim said of Kapaun’s legacy. “People get easily discouraged or demotivated. But we see those forefathers who have gone before us and died, and they inspire us.”
The chaplain, a native of Pilsen, Kan., was awarded the Medal of Honor in April 2013.
“This is the valor we honor today,” President Barack Obama said during the award ceremony, “an American soldier who didn’t fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all: a love for his brothers so pure that he is willing to die so that they might live.”
After being captured, Kapaun pushed aside a Chinese soldier who was about to execute a U.S. soldier, saving his life, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Before contracting dysentery and pneumonia and suffering from a blood clot in his leg, Kapaun ministered to other soldiers in the POW camp.
Kim said few South Koreans know Kapaun’s story, though some American troops have heard of him through spots on the American Forces Network or seen his picture in the Camp Walker chapel.
Kapaun Barracks and Kapaun Chapel in Kaiserslautern were named after the chaplain in 1955. Both have since been transferred to the Air Force and renamed Kapaun Air Station. A bust of the chaplain is also located outside the chapel.
Kapaun, whose body is thought to be buried in a mass grave, is being considered by the Vatican for sainthood.
Kim said the priest’s life is an inspiration for military chaplains, “especially when we deploy or go to other places.”
“He gave his life,” he said, so Kapaun is a motivation “to not complain, to do your best. We all need those kinds of heroes.”
In Dodge City, an evening class will begin Friday, Feb. 13, and continue with morning and afternoon classes Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentines Day, and finish on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Marriage for Keeps classes will be held at the Dodge City Community College in the Student Union Building’s Ford County Room.
The Friday night meeting will include registration and a meal from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by the class from 6 to 9 p.m.
Saturday’s meeting will begin with a light breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and will include lunch. The class will end at 5 p.m., and will resume Sunday, beginning with lunch at noon and ending at 4 p.m.
Walmart gift cards of up to $100 will be given to couples participating. Call Rhonda Goodloe at (620) 272-0010 to register to attend.
Marriage for Keeps Healthy Relationship Program
CSS program offers couples a marriage tune-up
By Charlene Scott-Myers
Southwest Kansas Register
Perhaps there isn’t any married adult in Kansas who would not benefit by enrolling in the Marriage for Keeps Healthy Relationships Program, a ministry of Catholic Social Service.
Tips on communication, drawing closer together, and having more fun with each other are included in the program, according to Rhonda Goodloe, LMSW, and Marriage for Keeps regional director in Garden City. Classes in English and in Spanish are held in several southwest Kansas cities.
In Dodge City, an evening class will begin Friday, Feb. 13, and continue with morning and afternoon classes Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentines Day, and finish on Sunday, Feb. 15 (see sidebar at top).
“Within Our Reach classes are not for counseling or therapy,” Goodloe pointed out. “The classes teach skills for healthy relationships and are for people who will be attending class with a partner. Attending does not mean a couple has a bad marriage, but that they want to learn more about marriage.”
Classes for individuals, “Within My Reach,” also are offered to people who want to improve their communication skills among friends, relatives or in the workplace. There is no charge for any of the classes, and meals and workbooks are provided at no cost.
An extra perk is the fact that “We also give up to $100 gift cards to Wal-Mart to each couple who attend,” Goodloe said.
The classes for married persons come with the workbook “Within Our Reach,” which asks such questions as: “Have you ever taken a hike together in the mountains, slept in your husband’s tee-shirt, given your husband a hair cut, sang a song for your partner, or called in “sick” just to spend time with your partner?”
Four major communication danger signs are discussed in the workbook:
1. Escalation (responding back and forth negatively with each other), which often spirals into increasing anger and frustration.
2. Invalidation (putting down the thoughts, opinions or character of the other), which often causes more damage than couples realize.
3. Negative interpretation (making a negative and unfair assumption about what your partner was thinking). Couples must look within themselves and question negative beliefs about their partner for this to change.
4. Withdrawal (and avoidance). This can be anything from getting up and leaving the room to just “turning off” or “shutting down” during an argument.
“The original classes went for 30 hours, but now they are held for 12 clock hours,” Goodloe explained. “We received a federal grant eight years ago, and classes are open to the public. We have offered these classes in Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Ulysses, and Great Bend.”
Included in the couple’s workbook is a communication quiz that each person is advised to answer by themselves and not with their partner. Participants record in their workbook whether the statements occur almost never, once in a while, or frequently.
For example:
“My partner criticizes or belittles my opinions, feelings, or desires.”
“My partner seems to view my words or actions more negatively than I mean them to be.”
“I hold back from telling my partner what I really think and feel.”
“I feel lonely in this relationship.”
“When we argue, one of us withdraws…that is, doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, or leaves the scene.”
The classes teach participants the keys of good communication and speaker listener techniques. The workbook also presents “The Top Ten” hidden issues that couples experience, and an exercise in the book to write down what their personal issues are.
Safety in the marriage for adults and children is an extremely important issue, in other words, no physical or emotional abuse can be tolerated, stressed Goodloe, who has a Masters degree in social work.
“There has to be physical and emotional safety in a marriage and in any type of relationship to be healthy,” she emphasized. “We need to be committed to safety in marriage and also in work and other relationships.
“My boss may not be hitting me, but if he is hostile to me, that is not healthy. If you have a child, you have to be committed to the child. A child has to feel that Mom or Dad will be there for them physically and emotionally and committed to their safety.”
A whole page in the workbook is dedicated to “What I like about You,” and includes what you appreciate about your partner, something your partner does for you that helps you, what you like about how your partner looks or acts, and what you admire about the partner’s character.
“We teach skills and techniques,” Goodloe added. “We are not dealing specifically with problems; we do not delve into that. But we would refer a couple on to someone who does deal with problems. We don’t do therapy.”
Relationship expectations also are discussed in the classes: “To a large degree, you will be disappointed or happy in life based on how well what is happening matches up with what you think should be happening,” the workbook states.
“Some expectations come from your experiences of different kinds of relationships, while others come from your core beliefs or religious values.”
Couples are encouraged to talk about and become aware of their expectations and their styles of loving in their marriages.
“We have classes for auto mechanics, so why not have classes for marriage?” Goodloe asked. “We go to college to learn to be a journalist or bookkeeper, but what do we do to learn about marriage? People get married, and then what?”
Goodloe admitted that the relationship classes have helped her in her own marriage of 16 years and in her work relationships.
“We want to make our relationships healthy,” she said. “A husband and wife both should be able to say, ‘I am feeling safe in my relationship,’ and should be able to tell the partner what they need in the relationship. We teach how to let your partner know your wants and needs in a way that the other person will be receptive to it.”
For more information or to register for a class, call Goodloe at (620) 272-0010.
‘Search and Reunion’ program brings
together adoptees, birth parents
“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning; no matter what our attainments in life, there is the most disquieting loneliness.” -- Alex Haley (Author of Roots)
By PATTIE MCGURK, LBSW
Catholic Social Service
Adoption is not a one-time event, but a method of forming a family that affects the parents, the child, the siblings, and future generations.
The practice of adoption has undergone dramatic changes in the last 30 years. An explosion of evolving understanding has influenced practice and philosophy throughout the United States. Instead of secrecy and barriers to contact, there is an increased emphasis on openness and knowledge. The voices of those impacted by the adoption journey have clamored to be heard. Adopted persons, birth-parents and adoptive parents have educated professionals about the complexities of living with adoption. What was believed to be a simple journey has instead resulted in being a highly complex life experience. 1
At 100, Catholic Charities works
to find new answers to end poverty
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) -- Catholic Charities USA officials Father Larry Snyder and Candy Hill say they honestly hope the agency never reaches its 200th anniversary in 2110.
If there’s no celebration marking the second century of the church’s nationwide charitable network, it means the agency will have achieved the lofty goal of eradicating poverty in the United States.
The goal is no small task, acknowledged Father Snyder, the agency’s president, and Hill, senior vice president for public policy and government affairs, in an interview with Catholic News Service amid preparations for Catholic Charities’ 100th anniversary convention in Washington opening Sept. 25.
But they believe the goal can be met with plenty of hard work and a “sea change” in the country’s attitude toward the poor.