Can death be beautiful?
A response to Brittany Maynard
By MARY REZAC
Catholic News Agency
Brittany Maynard plans on ending her life on Nov. 1.
The 29 year-old has been diagnosed with an advanced brain tumor, and in April was given a prognosis of six months to live. Not long afterwards, after researching her options, Maynard and her family left their California home and moved to Oregon, where Maynard could opt for physician-assisted suicide via the Death With Dignity act.
She carries a prescription in her purse that will kill her if ingested. If she changes her mind, she won’t take the pills.
In an op-ed written for CNN, Maynard said: “I’ve had the medication for weeks. I am not suicidal. If I were, I would have consumed that medication long ago. I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms.”
A few states to the south and east, Kara Tippetts of Colorado is preparing for the end of her life.
She knows it will come sooner than later. Tippetts, like Maynard, knows great suffering. She has been battling an aggressive form of breast cancer for two years that has metastasized throughout her entire body.
A parish bands together
St. John youth come to rescue of two elderly women
By DAVID MYERS
Southwest Kansas Register
ST. JOHN -- “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” but helping them move comes a close second.
Young parishioners of St. John Parish were not only up to the task, but offered their services freely and willingly to two women whom they had never met.
“When our mission is to grow in service to our community and beyond, a solution is not far away,” said Sister Catherine Therese Paulie, CSJ, parish life coordinator for St. John.
It all happened very quickly. Sister Catherine learned of two women who needed help moving from St. John to Stafford, and made an announcement at the end of Mass. The youth and several adults went from Mass, to lunch in the parish center served by the Knights of Columbus, and then directly to the home of the women to begin moving.
“It was not only a great opportunity for a community service project for our [confirmation class], but for our parish as well,” said Jarrod Taylor, whose wife, Michelle, and four children, ranging in age from 7 to 14, also volunteered. “We had several adults from the parish who chipped in trailers, trucks, and their manpower. We went out at 1 p.m. and finished by 3. After that we all went and had ice creams sodas. It was a great day of community service and fellowship. It was a very worthwhile project.”
Julia Taylor, 14, is studying for her confirmation.
“It felt really good,” she said. “I knew that without our help, they wouldn’t have been able to move. I helped carry boxes to the truck, and then we drove to Stafford and helped unload it.”
She didn’t know either of the women that they helped that day.
“They were grateful,” Julia said. When asked if she would like to be of service to others in the future, the St. John High School student replied, “Of course. It’s such a great feeling.”
Among the youth who volunteered were (photo on Page 1): Itzel Garcia, Miranda Garner, Torre Fisher, Paige Doran, Julia Taylor, Damian Rios, Jordan Taylor, Rogelio Loya, Eddy Ibarra, Luke Mercer, (front row) Joslyn Taylor and Jace Taylor.
“The Knights of Columbus provided a hearty brunch,” Sister Catherine said. “Additional adult volunteers from the parish came to give support and muscle power: Chris and Amanda Staub, Tom, Sabrena and Bryce Garner, Jarrod and Michelle Taylor, Todd Meyer. and Kevin Davis.”
“Sister Catherine did a beautiful job,” Jarrod said. “She got up after church and tied the project into the Gospel that Sunday. She did a great job rallying the troops. Hats off to Sister.”
Who's who in the Official Appointments
Father Wesley Schawe
Father Wesley was born April 7, 1977. He was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City, on May 22, 2004, by Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore.
He has served as parochial vicar at the Cathedral parish, Dodge City; and Prince of Peace, Great Bend. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Father Wesley serves as diocesan coordinator of Pro-Life Activities, and has taught Pastoral Ministry formation classes. He has been pastor of St. Dominic, Garden City, and St. Stanislaus, Ingalls, since Feb. 26, 2008.
200,000 activists tell Europe: stand up for persecuted Christians
By ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI
Rome, Italy, Oct 20, 2014 / 04:26 pm (CNA) - More than 200,000 people have signed a petition asking European leaders to offer “real help” for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities around the world.
Luca Volonté, a board member of CitizenGo and president of the international foundation Novae Terrae, told CNA that the petition seeks to address the “critical plight of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East and in many other part of the world.”
Volonté urged “the Council of Europe, the European Union’s foreign ministers and the European Parliament to put into action policies of asylum and humanitarian aid, to bring this horror to an end.”
Novae Terrae launched a petition in August on CitizenGo, an online platform for human rights advocacy, asking the Council of Europe and other continental leaders to step up in tacking religious persecution on a global scale.
St. John Parish, family and friends
mourn loss, celebrate a miracle
By CHARLENE SCOTT
Special to the Register
ST. JOHN, KANSAS -- St. John the Apostle Parish in St. John mourns the death of a mother and son in violent winds of an EF2 tornado that yanked a large tree from its roots and flung it onto the family’s car May 24 in rural Stafford County.
Linda Gleason, 56, wife of Jim Gleason, and their son Jeffrey, 17, were killed and daughter Kristin, 21, injured when a cottonwood tree crushed the car after Linda drove into a driveway off U.S. 281.
“It was a terrible and tremendous loss for us,” said Sister Catherine Therese Paulie, St. John’s Parish Life Coordinator. “We lost our organist (Linda) and our cantor (Jeffrey). They were our music ministry.”
DREs take a tour of the
ministries of the diocese
Educators look at ways their ministry
can benefit from diocesan programs
By DAVID MYERS
Southwest Kansas Register
H.E.A.R.T.S.
It seems that children are becoming more attuned to their sexuality earlier in life, but when a kindergartner told her mother that she wanted “sexy” clothes, the mother was understandably shocked.
“What did you tell her?” asked Debbie Sheehan, one of the speakers at the June 1 DRE (Directors of Religious Education) Day at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Nothing!” the mother responded.
Formation for marriage can't end at the wedding, Catholic couple says
By ANN SCHNEIBLE
Rome, Italy, Oct 21, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News) - As the Church continues to reflect on the pastoral needs of the family following the recent Synod of Bishops, there has emerged the need for marriage formation lasting well beyond the day a husband and wife take their vows.
Marriage preparation was one of many topics on the agenda for the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which concluded Oct. 19, with the synod fathers acknowledging the importance of improving marriage formation.
“There is a real need for the creation of a standard for the preparation and formation for marriage,” said John Noronha, a PhD candidate in bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, in an email interview with CNA Oct. 2.
John and his wife Ashley, both known for having hosted the EWTN series "Vatican Report's Art & Faith," moved to Rome shortly after their marriage in 2008.
Pope Francis: Christ restores peace by breaking walls of division
By ELISE HARRIS
Vatican City, Oct 21, 2014 / 10:30 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Christ wants to see us reconciled rather than living as enemies, Pope Francis said in his homily at Mass on Tuesday, explaining that a true Christian lives with this hope.
“We all know that when we are not in peace with others, there is a wall. There is a wall that divides us. But Jesus offers us his service to break down this wall so we can meet,” the Roman Pontiff told those gathered in the Vatican’s Saint Martha residence chapel for his Oct. 21 Mass.
The Pope centered his reflections on the day’s readings, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians and the Gospel of Luke. Quoting from the Gospel passage, the Roman Pontiff said, “blessed are the servants who await their master’s return from a wedding with lighted lamps.”
In the biblical scene following the day’s passage, Christ speaks of how the disciples should prepare for his return like servants who, knowing the will of their master, await his arrival by keeping alert and putting everything in order.
Father Wesley Schawe appointed
Director of Priestly Vocations
By DAVID MYERS
Southwest Kansas Register
Father Wesley Schawe, pastor of St. Dominic Parish, Garden City, and St. Stanislaus Parish, Ingalls, has been appointed full-time Director of the Office of Priestly Vocations.
Effective July 6, Father Schawe will occupy an office at the Catholic chancery in Dodge City, at which time Father Rene Labrador will begin serving as pastor of the two parishes.
“It’s incredibly sad to leave two places that you love,” Father Schawe said. “I will certainly miss St. Dominic and St. Stanislaus, but I really feel that this is where God wants me to be and where the bishop wants me to be.
“Doing God’s will, I can’t help but be excited.”
‘Sweet sounds to my ears’
Donald Eugene Bedore
ordained to the priesthood
By DAVID MYERS
Southwest Kansas Register
(See the photo slide show above) Surrounded by family and friends, Donald Eugene Bedore, a former meat cutter from Jetmore, stood proudly yet humble before the Most Rev. John Balthasar Brungardt at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe May 28, as he took his final journey toward the priesthood.
It was the first priestly ordination for the young bishop, and the first priestly ordination in the Diocese of Dodge City since Fathers Wesley Schawe and Trong Tran were ordained together May 22, 2004.
“Father Donald Eugene Bedore,” Bishop Brungardt said, smiling. “Father Bedore … Father Don … Father. Those are sweet sounds to my ears.