U.S. Catholic Church in mission overseas

® September/October 2020 maryknollmagazine.org

At God’s Service

MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 1 FROM THE EDITOR FEATURED STORIES DEPARTMENTS

et me start by apologizing to all of our readers who missed the July/ August issue of Maryknoll. Due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 Opening a Digital Window 2 From the Editor Lpandemic, Maryknoll, like so many other organizations, has been forced by Lynn F. Monahan 12 to cut costs drastically. One of those cost-saving measures was not printing 4 Photo Meditation and mailing the July/August magazine. A Heart for Mission However, the July/August issue is available online at maryknollmagazine. by Giovana Soria 18 8 Spirituality org and can be downloaded in its magazine format onto a computer or tablet. To those who cannot access the Internet, we sincerely apologize and Honoring George Floyd 10 Missioner Tales hope you will understand our decision was made in the best interests of on 38th & Chicago 24 Maryknoll’s ministries. by Gregory Darr 30 Orbis Books Sadly, as of this writing, the coronavirus is still on the rise in many parts of A Voice for Nuclear Victims the United States and in countries around the world. The toll in human life 56 World Watch and suffering and the full economic impact of this crisis are as yet impossible by David R. Aquije 34 to assess. In light of this and to maintain first and foremost Maryknoll’s 58 Partners in Mission commitment to serving the world’s most vulnerable people, we will be making At God’s Service further changes. by Maria-Pia Negro Chin 40 Readers' Responses Beginning with the next issue of Maryknoll, which will be mailed in late 61 November, we will publish quarterly—four issues a year instead of the six that Walking with Jesus Today we have produced for the last decade. We remain committed to telling stories by Annapatrice Johnson 44 2020 Student Essay of Maryknoll missions, and we invite you to visit us on the web and on social Contest, page 23 media as we continue adapting to God’s ever-unfolding plan for our world and Riding Out the Pandemic FRONT COVER: its inhabitants. by Abby Belt 50 Maryknoll Brother Joseph Bruener Lynn F. Monahan from Port Edwards, Wis., has served the Church for 27 years. Editor-in-Chief It’s All About Relationships by Santa Orlando COVER CREDITS: 54 Front: Nile Sprague/Hong Kong Back: Gregory Darr/U.S. “To those who love God, all things

® work together for good...” U.S. Catholic Church in mission overseas Romans 8:28

Editorial Staff: Maryknoll, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of Raymond J. Finch, M.M., Publisher America, Inc., was established in 1911 by the U.S. Lynn F. Monahan, Editor-in-Chief bishops to recruit, train, send and support American Margaret Gaughan, Editor missioners in areas overseas. Maryknoll is supported David R. Aquije, Editor, Misioneros by offerings and bequests. Maria-Pia Negro Chin, Associate Editor Giovana Soria, Staff Writer Maryknoll (ISSN 0025-4142) © 2020, Catholic Mary Ellen Manz, M.M., Maryknoll Sister Liaison Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. All rights Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M., Contributing Editor reserved. Maryknoll is available in audio without 18 34 44 Diane Mastrogiulio, Art Director charge from Xavier Society for the Blind: (212) 473- Kimberly Asencio, Senior Graphic Designer 7800. The title Maryknoll ® is registered with the Michael Calvente, Graphic Designer United States Patent and Trademark Office. Facebook.com/MaryknollSociety Twitter.com/MaryknollFrsBrs Instagram.com/MaryknollSociety Regina Gelfer, Graphic Designer Visit MARYKNOLL online The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners share the Direct all correspondence to: MaryknollMagazine.org Maryknoll name and charism of commitment to the mission of Jesus Christ, sharing God’s love with people worldwide. Raymond J. Finch, M.M., Publisher MisionerosMaryknoll.org/RevistaMisioneros While these three Catholic organizations often work together in mission, each is responsible for recruiting and supporting P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0302 Magazine of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers 914.941.7590 its own missioners. The Maryknoll Affiliates is a movement grouped into local chapters both in the United States and abroad of lay people who seek to reflect the Maryknoll charism within the context of their own lives, careers and communities.

2 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 3 Photo reflection on Creation The First Sacrament By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M.

Let all that is and was and will ever be praise God who made everything not just to reveal glory and power and majesty but also to share love and life—eternally.

In him all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible were created through him and for him. He is before all else that is and in him we live and move and have our being: the farthest galaxy and nebula no more nor less than the peacock, the peony and the porcupine.

skeeze from Pixabay

4 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 5 Creation, then, is the first sacrament And so it shall be on that day instituted by Christ, through Christ the mystic and the scientist shall meet and, finding its fulfillment only in Christ, on the very same mountaintop, the power that compels the heavens having climbed up from opposite sides to declare and the seas and all they contain by very different paths over many years. to proclaim God’s grace to all. They shall stand regarding one another in silence suspicion giving way to admiration as they exchange gifts till arm in arm they descend looking at the world and one another with new eyes.

O let there be light! rottonara from Pixabay

6 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 7 Spirit of Mission

Upon this rock By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M.

ast Ash Wednesday we wistfully Her dilemma reminded me of my wondered what we might give up own personal confrontation with evil Lfor Lent: Movies? Coffee? Des- over the years. For example, once a sert? Or perhaps we would do some- visitor in our Maryknoll dining room thing extra: daily Mass? Volunteer at made a casual, anti-Semitic remark. church? Visit shut-ins? I was as stunned as I was conflicted. Little did we know God would ask Had a Maryknoller made the com- much, much more of us this year. ment, I’d have felt freer to say some- As the COVID-19 pandemic spread thing. But this was a guest. When to and we had to shelter-in-place, with speak and when to keep silent? breathtaking speed, movies, shop- In our present climate, with frustra- ping, sports, dining out, work, school, tion, fear and even rage bubbling to the Mass, even the Eucharist itself the surface, feelings we never knew were taken from us. Visiting family we had or wish we hadn’t now pop A parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Alberta, Canada, receives Holy or friends, shaking hands, hugging, up unexpectedly. The good news is Communion in June at the first public Mass celebrated there since the COVID-19 all became verboten. No weddings, that, although we are separated from pandemic closed churches throughout the country. (CNS/Matthew Bodnarek, Grandin Media) wakes or funerals. Bereft of external one another, we do not face these aids to our faith, we suddenly found perilous times alone. Jesus promised ourselves having to rely on faith to remain with us always. He prom- Roman Catholic Church: “You are the Jesus turned Simon’s weakness- alone. And all alone. ised to send us the Holy Spirit. And Christ, the son of the living God.” es into strengths and promised that Surely, the unprecedented and un- although the Eucharist and Mass So profound an answer merited the gates of hell (evil, sin and death) certain times in which the world now were out of our reach for a time, we not just a change of name, but a new would not prevail against the commu- lives, with the pandemic, protests and always have the Scriptures, especial- identity and role. Henceforth, Simon nity of faith built on this rock. political divisions tearing communi- ly the Gospels, to comfort, guide and would bear the sobriquet “Cephas,” So maybe we don’t always do or ties and families apart, have tested strengthen us. Aramaic for “Peter,” which is Latin say the right thing. Maybe some- our faith like never before. In the mid- When all else is taken from us, our for “rock.” Christ promised to build times we’re afraid to speak up, or de- dle of the lockdown and in the midst faith in Jesus as the Son of God is the his Church precisely upon this rock. fend the weak, or confront injustice. of the nationwide protests following one steady rock upon which Christ Jesus recognized in Simon more than Sometimes we do not live up to our the murder of George Floyd, a friend promised to build the Church. someone with the correct answer. Si- calling as followers of Christ. Like Pe- called me up, very upset. “My neigh- Which brings us to St. Peter. One mon displayed the correct attitude. ter, we cannot let our past mistakes bor made the most outrageous racist day, Jesus put Simon on the spot. But why “rock”? paralyze us. Do we believe Christ is remark,” she confided. “Out loud and As recorded in Matthew 16:13-20, A rock is hard; Peter was hardhead- the Son of the living God? Perhaps in public. I didn’t know what to say, Jesus asked him: “Who do you say ed. A rock is dense; Peter was usually the only thing God ever asks us to so I said nothing. Was I wrong? What that I am?” He blurted out a response clueless. A rock is difficult to move; give up, during Lent or during lock- should I have done?” that has formed the foundation of the Peter was notoriously stubborn. But downs, is our ego.

8 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 9 Missioner Tales

n Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, Bend, Ind., I was invited to partic- in your application to journalism school there was a special ceremo- ipate in a virtual camp based in by Christmas.” And that was that. My Ony for the blessing of the South Bend for at-risk adolescents. missionary adventure began. first child of Emmanuel and his The camp focuses on lifting self-es- Joseph G. Healey, M.M. wife Angelina at their modest tent teem and building healthy social home. Emmanuel is a member of skills for 10- to 13-year-olds around he streets of Arequipa, Peru, our Church choir at our U.N. camp the world. Every day at noon for were never made for the traffic in Malakal, South Sudan. two weeks I have been offering Tthey have supported in recent During the celebration, the choir a 20-minute session on mindful- years. One day when I went to do an sang and we prayed in thanksgiving ness and yoga. Everyone including errand, I drove through the Plaza de to God for the gift of this newborn me needs to adjust to the limits of Armas, where you could never find a baby boy. When I asked the parents technology. On the first day after a place to park. Lo and behold, I found the name of their child, they told short, silent meditation, a young girl one! I eased our Volkswagen Beetle me his name is Bedjuok, which in from Trinidad and Tobago blurted into the space and went on my way. the Shilluk language means “living out, “I couldn’t hear the teacher!” About 20 minutes later, I returned for God.” What a beautiful name to Kathleen Bond, MKLM only to find a policeman putting some give a child! It reminded me of what sort of notice on the windshield of the life is all about: to be living for God very Maryknoller dreams of car. “What’s that for?“ I asked. and making a difference in the lives going into the Superior Gener- He quickly answered, “You’re in a no of those around us. The celebration Eal’s office and being told, “You parking zone.” concluded by asking God to bless are assigned to …” be it Japan or I responded, “There’s no sign here and protect Bedjuok as we look for- Tanzania or Chile, or wherever the saying I can’t park in this space!” ward to the day of his baptism in missioner hoped to be posted. He answered, “I didn’t put the sign our church. Well, I got my assignment in the out yet.” Michael Bassano, M.M. laundry room in the basement of With that, he nonchalantly went up the Maryknoll Seminary at Mary- behind one of the archways of the pla- ith the COVID-19 shelter- knoll, N.Y., in November 1965. I had za walk, dragged out a NO PARKING ing-in-place restriction, just finished throwing my dirty laun- sign on a roller, and placed it next to Wmy ministries here in João dry into the washing machine when my car. Then he walked on, most likely Pessoa, Brazil, have moved online. Father Albert Nevins, the director to catch another poor offender who Even though I miss being physical- of the Social Communications De- didn’t see an invisible sign! ly present with people, technology partment of the Maryknoll Fathers When I went to pay the fine, I told has opened up new possibilities. and Brothers, came by. “Joe, you the judge what had happened and he Through a connection at my alma are being assigned to study journal- tore up my ticket. mater, St. Mary’s College in South ism,” he said. “Make sure you send Helen Phillips, M.M.

10 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 11 Sean Sprague/Tanzania OPENING A Maryknoll priest helps Small Christian Communities A DIGITAL WINDOW in Kenya get online during COVID-19 pandemic crisis By Lynn F. Monahan

hen the Kenyan govern- ment ordered the country Winto lockdown to curtail the spread of the coronavirus earlier this year, Maryknoll Father Joseph Healey remembered a quote from the movie The Sound of Music: “When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” Father Healey’s primary ministry in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is with Small Christian Communities, which grew out of the call from the Second Vatican Council for more lay involve- ment in the life of the Catholic Church. These communities usually consist of 15 to 20 members who meet once a week and focus on the Gospel read- ing for the next Sunday. Some SCCs are larger, depending on whether they are located in rural or urban centers. When the government there slammed the door on all gatherings in response to the COVID-19 pandem- ic, the Small Christian Community meetings were suspended, along with

Father Joseph Healey meets with Charles Ndege, a Tanzanian layman and artist. Ndege does religious paintings about SCCs and African culture. (Sean Sprague/Kenya)

12 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 13 same day and time as they would ing Mass over the television, but the for their physical meetings. Catholic Church is also looking for a In total, he says, Kenya has more way of responding, and helping the than 45,000 SCCs around the coun- needs of the people.” Through the try. In addition to watching Mass- SCCs, people can bring their needs es on TV and on the Internet, SCC to local community leaders, who members send text messages and raise these to the parish level, where audio and video clips to their week- they may find assistance, he says. ly online meetings, which are being “Online SCCs present an import- conducted on various social plat- ant opportunity for the members to forms such as WhatsApp, Zoom, attend the meetings even if they are Skype and Facebook. traveling or when they have relocat- “Certainly, a couple thousand on- ed,” says Dr. Alphonce Omolo, the line SCCs have started, but we don’t moderator of the St. Isidore of Se- Father Joseph Healey (right, standing) explains how to set up an online meeting in a have solid figures,” he says. ville International Online Skype SCC, Small Christian Communities training workshop in Nairobi. (Courtesy of Joseph Healey/Kenya) “In our SCC meeting we try to a pioneer in online SCCs that has share the same way we share (in been meeting Tuesday afternoons Masses and other church services Kenya have turned the problem of person) but online using Zoom,” virtually since 2012. “Online SCCs throughout Kenya. In addition, closed churches on Sunday into an says Bernard Mberere, the infor- are certainly a sure way to keep four major cities including Nairobi opportunity. mation technology coordinator for SCCs alive for Catholic Christians restricted travel. The 5,500 Small Social distancing is not only diffi- AMECEA in Nairobi. “All together and to give one another social and Christian Communities in the capital cult from a logistical standpoint in through these online meetings they spiritual support especially during were left with a simple choice, “go a country of 48 million people, it have been able to share the Gospel unprecedented times such as living digital or die,” Father Healey says. is also foreign culturally as people of the coming Sunday, discuss the during the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Now a window has opened, tend to live in close families and challenges they are facing because Father Healey, who participates namely online Small Christian Com- communities, Father Healey says. In they can’t meet physically, and how in the St. Kizito Small Christian munities that are also called virtual the cities many live in densely popu- they can assist each other and find a Community at St. Austin’s parish in SCCs and digital SCCs,” the mission- lated neighborhoods. way of doing that.” the Waruku informal settlement, er from Baltimore, Md., says. Instead “Digital platforms are filling a Mberere, who is also the moder- or shantytown, near the Maryknoll of going to a home in their neigh- need, but they are also revealing ator, or leader, of the Blessed Holy residence in Nairobi, noted that the borhood, the parish or another lo- how important our human interac- Rosary Small Christian Community lockdown stranded the SCC’s mod- cation, he says, members of the ju- tions are and make us long for their of St. Christopher parish in the Ruiru erator, Ben Wanjala and his wife muiya—as SCCs are called in Kenya return,” he says. “We experience Kembo area of Nairobi, says many Agnes, the assistant prayer leader, in using the Swahili word for commu- God in and through human per- parishes contain multiple SCCs, usu- the northern city of Kitale. Unable nity—gather online, either via com- sons, especially Jesus Christ. It is the ally formed around a neighborhood. to return to Nairobi, they still par- puter or their mobile phones. human closeness that enables us to Although many SCCs are now able ticipate in the SCC from afar, he says. Father Healey, who has served in understand a ‘distant’ or transcen- to meet online, there are still chal- Digital meetings usually start with Kenya since 1968, quotes Pope Fran- dent God.” lenges for those who cannot get a prayer, followed by sharing among cis to describe how the Catholics of Father Healey, who is the found- online because they do not have a the members about what has hap- the jumuiyas have responded to re- er of the Social Communications smartphone or lack access to a com- pened in the past week, he says. strictions of the coronavirus crisis. Department of the Association of puter and Internet service, he says. They then listen to an audio reading “Pope Francis advises, ‘If you have Member Episcopal Conferences in “We are not going to the Sunday of the upcoming Sunday Gospel. a problem, turn it into a challenge Eastern Africa (AMECEA), has pro- services as we are used to,” Mbere- “In the ‘Gospel sharing’ through and then turn that challenge into moted SCCs for decades. He advises re says. “Now we have resorted to sending text messages from our an opportunity.’ ” Many Catholics in the virtual jumuiyas to meet on the holding Mass over the radio or hold- smartphones, we try to connect

14 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 15 WE’RE GOING QUARTERLY

BEGINNING WITH THE NEXT ISSUE OF MARYKNOLL, WE WILL PUBLISH FOUR ISSUES A YEAR:

Father Healey discusses Bible reflection as central to Small Christian Communities with • WINTER (December, January, February) a group of students from Kenyatta University, Nairobi. (Courtesy of Joseph Healey/Kenya) • SPRING (March, April, May) the Gospel to our daily life today,” sury that helped Kenyans impacted • SUMMER (June, July, August) he says. “In the present crisis of the by flooding and mudslides in Janu- coronavirus we are following the ary and February. Since March they • FALL (September. October, November) example of the sufferings of Jesus have collected donations for those Christ, and Jesus is the Great Healer suffering from lack of work due to and has the power to heal us.” the lockdown, even as church dona- Look for our WINTER issue in late November 2020. During the online prayer, the tions have decreased because of the members typically mention people pandemic, he says. who are sick with the virus and their “What we’re giving them is flour, caregivers, Father Healey says. cooking oil, rice: basic essentials,” “I think we can be proud in Mary- Father Healey says. “The distribu- We regret that the financial impact of COVID-19 has forced us knoll that for many, many years we tion is through the Small Christian to reduce our printing and mailing costs, but we know you will have been a leader in humanitarian Communities.” The SCC members understand that our priority must be supporting our missions relief efforts and food distribution,” know their communities and who he says, “but now the situation is to- are the poorest families, he says. around the world. tally different because of the lock- “So we’re trying both to continue down, because of the quarantine, our practice of prayer—the Bible is We remain committed to bringing Maryknoll stories to you, because of the closing of borders. I essential to our weekly Small Chris- even though less frequently in print. can’t go outside of Nairobi, Kenya, tian Community meeting—and do right now. So we have to find new practical action and outreach.” and creative means of getting food “The digital Church or the online We invite you to visit us on the web at maryknollmagazine.org, and soap and help to the people.” Church or the virtual Church is a new where we are expanding our online coverage of Catholic news Donations from among the SCC way of becoming Catholic Church,” worldwide. members are pooled into a trea- the missioner says. “We have a new kairos. We have a new online prac- FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING tice. Let us seize this moment, carpe Thank you for your faithfulness to the Maryknoll A MARYKNOLL PRIEST, diem, to proclaim the Good News of Society and the people we serve. Contact Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa, M.M., Jesus Christ to all people.” at 914.941.7590, ext. 2416 Email: [email protected] maryknollvocations.org MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 17 Maryknoll priest associate Daniel Chapin at the rectory of Our Lady of La Salette parish in Cochabamba, Bolivia. (Courtesy of Daniel Chapin/Bolivia)

hen Ronald Albarez be- “He encouraged me to pray be- gan his internship in cause it gives us strength,” says Al- psychology last year, he barez. “Young people always need A heart for mission dealt with cases of domestic vio- someone to talk to and it helped me By Giovana Soria W lence, sexual abuse and suicide at- to release the pain I was carrying from tempts. Feeling discouraged about others and to continue my studies.” Priest from Malone, N.Y., lives out his call to mission how much violence and cruelty Father Chapin, 73, has been serv- as a Maryknoll priest associate in Bolivia there is in the world, Albarez turned ing as a Maryknoll priest associate at for spiritual support to Father Dan- Our Lady of La Salette parish for the iel Chapin, who serves at Albarez’s past four years. “Father Chapin is parish, Our Lady of La Salette in Co- enriching our community by sharing chabamba, Bolivia. his missionary life that strengthens

18 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 19 From left to right: Father David Cardozo, pastor of Our Lady of La Salette parish; Father Father Chapin shakes hands with Ronald Albarez, a young parishioner and psychologist, Daniel Chapin and Father Cruz are ready to celebrate Mass. (Nile Sprague/Bolivia) who is helping other parishioners deal with COVID-19. (Nile Sprague/Bolivia)

our faith,” says Father David Cardo- When the COVID-19 pandemic hit meals and housing. Recently they in a small rural community. It was a zo, the parish pastor. Bolivia and a lockdown took effect, raised funds for the purchase of very ecumenical spirit.” Parishioner Magda Atiare de- the parish closed on March 22. Father airline tickets for a solidarity flight The missioner says he was inspired scribes Father Chapin as a person Chapin moved in with the Maryknoll being arranged by Colombia and to serve at an early age. When he full of peace. “I like his calm, simplic- community in Cochabamba. Though the Bolivian Foreign Ministry,” says entered fifth grade at St. Joseph’s ity and how he welcomes us,” she still unable to return to the parish, Father Chapin. “Maryknoll Father school in Malone, he says, he only says. “He is like a person who carries he remains in touch with parishio- Juan Zuñiga and I have contributed knew how to print while the rest of a treasure in a clay pot, because he ners like Albarez, 25, who has just money from our mission accounts to the class had already learned cursive seems so frail, but he is very rich as begun his professional career. cover the cost of two tickets.” writing. He fondly recalls his teach- a priest.” “Using his skills as a psychologist, As for when the apex of the coro- er, Sister Veronica, helping him catch “I do try to listen to people in Albarez has been helping people in navirus will occur, Father Chapin up. “She was this frail little nun with many different situations; this is im- the parish who are experiencing dif- says, “It is difficult to predict, as the glasses,” remembers Father Chapin. portant in both pastoral and spiri- ficulty adapting to the pandemic,” virus determines the timeline.” For “She was so full of joy with such a tual ministry and in general human says Father Chapin. “Other youth now, he will continue to live at the generous spirit to spend the extra interaction,” says Father Chapin. leaders and catechists have been Maryknoll house. time with me. That sister was so “Parish ministry can be hectic and reaching out virtually, including Looking back on his life, Father sweet and kind and that struck me. people’s needs are great and varied, confirmation candidates.” Chapin, from Malone, N.Y., traces I began to think that is something I so listening—really listening—is key At the parish, Father Cardozo had the roots of his vocation to growing would like to do, help people.” in the ability to respond.” been supporting eight soccer play- up with a father who was Method- He was ordained in 1972 as a di- In addition to pastoral and sacra- ers from Colombia, who were in ist and a mother who was Roman ocesan priest from Ogdensburg, N.Y. mental ministries, the parish offers a training in Cochabamba when the Catholic. “She raised us four chil- He served at St. Mary’s Cathedral in school support program, providing pandemic began and Bolivia’s bor- dren Catholic,” says Father Chapin. Ogdensburg for four years before hot lunches to about 200 students, ders were closed. “The parish has “That helped me understand what leaving for the town of Mollendo, who are attending public schools. been assisting the players, providing it means to be a missioner. I grew up in Arequipa, Peru, where his diocese

20 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 21 2020 Maryknoll Student Essay Contest

Pope Francis calls us to build a “Civilization of Love” 1st Place Prize: $1,000 per division

2nd Place Prize: From left: Parishioner Magda Atiare with her three children and Maryknoll Affiliate Jason $300 per division Obergfell at Our Lady of La Salette parish in Cochabamba. (Nile Sprague/Bolivia) 3rd Place Prize: had founded and staffed the parish joined the Maryknoll Priest/Broth- $150 per division of San Martin de Porres. er Associate Program, which offers During his 10 years of pastoral religious priests and brothers and ministry in Peru, Father Chapin diocesan priests an opportunity to came to know Maryknoll Society participate in overseas mission for members serving in Arequipa. “We five years. Since this program began collaborated with each other. Since in 1965, 120 priests and brothers we were from the States, we had a have served as Maryknoll associates. ASSIGNMENT: Write an essay ELIGIBILITY: Students in grades certain bond,” Father Chapin says. “I Currently three priest associates are explaining what you think the pope 6–8 (Division I) and grades 9–12 enjoyed serving the people in Peru serving overseas. means by “a civilization of love.” What (Division II) are eligible. as they knew my heart as a mission- In Bolivia, Father Chapin is waiting signs have you seen during these ex- See MaryknollSociety.org/Essay er. I promised them I would return for the day the pandemic is under traordinary times of people building for official rules. to serve in Latin America some day.” control so he can return to Our Lady a civilization of love? How will you Returning to the Ogdensburg of La Salette parish to accompany build that civilization going forward? DEADLINE: Entries must be sub- Diocese, and for the next 27 years, his community of faith and mentor mitted online or postmarked by Father Chapin served as pastor in six young people like Albarez. ENTRY: Entries should be 500–750 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020. parishes, did chaplaincy work in cor- In the meantime, Albarez follows First-place essays will appear in the rectional facilities and hospitals and the example of his mentor. “There words. Note: Spelling and grammar count. Students may 1) submit es- May/June 2021 Maryknoll magazine. reached out to Spanish-speaking are no words to thank Father Chap- All winning entries will be published migrant farm workers. In the Arch- in. He shows people the kingdom of says online (preferred method) at online at MaryknollSociety.org/Win- diocese of Kingston, Ontario, Can- God,” Albarez says. “I always keep MaryknollSociety.org/Essay ada, along with Holy Cross Sisters, him in my prayers.” (if 13 or older) OR 2) mail essays ners by April 1, 2021. he worked with refugees and to the address below. Mailed essays asylum seekers from Mexico should be typed or neatly handwritten For more educational and catechetical and Central America. He FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING resources, please visit A MARYKNOLL ASSOCIATE, in ink and stapled, each attached to an retired in 2016 with the Contact Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa, M.M., ENTRY COVER SHEET (available at https://discoveryourneighbor.org/. permission of his bishop. at 914.941.7590, ext. 2416 ). In 2016, Father Chapin Email: [email protected] MaryknollSociety.org/Essay maryknollvocations.org MAIL TO: 22 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL 2020 Student Essay Contest, Division _____, P.O. Box 302,MAR YKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORGMaryknoll, NY 10545-0302 23 Call 1-914-941-7636, ext. 2487, or visit MaryknollSociety.org/Essay for more information. An informal memorial to George Floyd drapes bus stop next to the store where he had been right before his death.

ate in April 1992, as I made my geles exploded into riot and arson. way home after dark in a West Across the country, Philadelphia HONORING GEORGE FLOYD LPhiladelphia neighborhood, I hunkered down in fear. Even the was set upon by a small group of homeless men with whom I worked TH youths carrying bats and boards. at Mercy Volunteer Corps were un- ON 38 & CHICAGO Hours earlier, a largely white jury usually subdued. had acquitted Los Angeles police As I walked the final blocks Text and photos by Gregory Darr officers of the brutal beating, cap- home that evening, the group of tured on video, of Rodney King, an youths caught sight of me. They On the site of the murder of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man African-American man detained af- laughed and jostled each other as ter a high-speed car chase. Los An- they crossed the street to trap me. renews his resolve to combat racism

24 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 25 Darr’s wife Charito (l.) and daughter Louisa In the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, three students from Edina High School are among hold banner to divert traffic from the area the many who came out to protest the May 25 torturous murder of George Floyd and where signs denounce police brutality. other victims of racism and police brutality.

I had no time to think or even ex- the same halting breaths—laughing share their grief, their stories, their perience much fear before one of from relief that I returned intact and fears and their hopes. In a fright- them struck me over the head and largely unhurt, and sobbing for rea- ened and besieged city, this intersec- shoulders with a board. As I fell to sons I still don’t quite understand. tion emerged as a singular place of the pavement, he leaned over and This memory returned to me on personal and spiritual refuge. explained, “Tonight, we’re white the corner of 38th and Chicago a It wasn’t long before my wife and you get to be black.” And, with few days after George Floyd, an Af- and two high-school-age daughters that, it was over. He leaned back up rican-American man, had been tor- were enlisted by strangers to help and, together with his friends, am- turously killed there by Minneapolis paint banners, signage alerting ar- bled away in laughter, leaving me police officers. My family and I had riving protesters or police of what sprawled alone on the sidewalk. come to lay flowers at an impro- we and many others already sensed: As I lay in shock, I soon felt an vised but rapidly growing memorial this was sacred space. In the mean- arm reach down and hook itself un- for him and other victims of police time, organizers broke open boxes der mine. It belonged to one of the brutality. A few blocks to the north, and distributed masks to those in youths. He didn’t say anything. He a commercial neighborhood lay in need of COVID-19 protection. Peo- didn’t even look at me. He just lifted smoldering ruins. Later that night, ple did their best to maintain social me up and, when I was steady, let go the riots and fires would return. distancing but, with that crowd size, and walked away just as silently to At 38th and Chicago, however, it was nearly impossible. rejoin his friends. my family and I experienced a sur- As I listened to speaker after After arriving home, I leaned back prising sense of peace. People of all speaker relate experiences of police in safety on the closed door and colors and all walks of life—many of brutality and racism, protests and started laughing and sobbing in them together as families—came to prayers intermingled to the point

26 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 27 rienced an extraordinary degree of mercy from them. I walked home a few bruises wiser and my wallet still in pocket. These young men, on the other hand, walked from the scene down a far harder road. I wondered where it had taken them. Or, for someone like George Floyd, how far. As I asked myself these questions, I watched a young man walk solemn- ly up to a mural painted in memory of George Floyd and other victims of police violence. He knelt, made the Sign of the Cross and prayed. He again made the Sign of the Cross as he stood up and walked away. Near- by, a little girl apparently took note of the man’s prayer. She stepped from her caregivers, returned to the mural where I had seen her wander- ing earlier, and knelt alone in her own sacred way of stillness. Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Jew- ish scholar who, in 1965, participated in the Selma march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., observed, “Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, Following the example of a young man she had seen earlier, a little girl prays at a mural unless it seeks to overthrow and to painted to honor George Floyd and others who were victims of police violence. ruin the pyramids of callousness, ha- tred, opportunism, falsehoods.” where they were no longer distinct. my skin color. But I can broaden my to my feet again. I gave thanks for Prayer brings us to our knees. “How long, O Lord? Will you for- awareness and do my part, in soli- the lessons they taught me. In a mo- But, in matters of racism, justice and get me forever … Having sorrow in darity with others, to lift unjust bur- ment of violence and then compas- peace, it also hooks its arm under my heart all the day?” (Psalm 13) dens that people of color carry on sion, they mocked my privileged in- ours, lifts us up and sets us walking Psalmists and prophets would be my behalf. It won’t be easy, certainly nocence to a point where I could see together on that hard, uncertain “homies” in this crowd, their inspi- for me. It’s going to take patience, it. They lifted me out of my lethargy road ahead. I stepped anew from the ration, if not their words, rendered perseverance and, most of all, grace. and indifference in matters of race. corner of 38th and Chicago and, in now in hip-hop cadence. As I watched the bouquets, signs And, they helped me to understand memory of George Floyd and count- It wasn’t hard for me, a white and written condolences pile high- how racism stunts the emotional, less others, resolved to continue, man, to recognize there’s not much er in memory of George Floyd, I felt mental, physical and spiritual health with my brothers and sisters of color, systemically stacked against me. that grace move my heart. It was of everyone touched by it, including on our way to the Promised Land. Even as a Maryknoll lay missioner in then I recalled that long-ago Phil- those privileged enough to believe East Africa, I lived and worked in a adelphia night and remembered, it’s not their problem. Most of all, Gregory Darr is a vocation minister bubble of racial privilege conferred with gratitude, the youths who considering the violence and pover- for the Maryknoll Fathers and Broth- upon me at birth. I can’t change ambushed me and then helped me ty these youths faced daily, I expe- ers based in Minneapolis, Minn.

28 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 29 fact, the idea forms the basis of Igna- es her fear of exploring the unknown. Orbis Books Spotlight tian spirituality. Jesuits spend a life- It also teaches her to listen more at- time finding the right balance between tentively to the “underlying messages Preview by Paul McMahon contemplation and action, whereby and feelings” that bring her a deeper one’s active ministry feeds the con- understanding of those challenging templative life and one’s contempla- human and, at the same time, insight- tive practice informs the active life. fully divine encounters. In short, her Sister Simone has achieved this meditation “provides an anchor of balance. She begins by sharing her hope in a turbulent world.” contemplative foundation, reflecting Hunger for Hope shares the spiri- on the varied ways she listens to and tual lessons of more than 50 years of senses the divine movements within. religious life and contemplative prac- For many spiritual seekers, experi- tice that have guided Sister Simone encing these sacred moments is the through politically chaotic times and ultimate goal of a healthy spiritual life. experiences. As Sister Helen Prejean, For Sister Simone, however, this is author and advocate for abolish- simply the starting point and the cat- ing capital punishment in the United alyst to go out into the world, where States, rightly testifies about Sister she finds inspiration for and fodder for Simone Campbell: “Her soul is wide… those movements, but also where her and the real-life engagements to which contemplative practice informs and those encounters lead her couldn’t be enables her “to stay open and avoid a shared with us at a better time.” defensive, knee-jerk response,” espe- cially when her own ways of thinking Paul McMahon is acquisitions editor are challenged. Her meditation reduc- for Maryknoll’s Orbis Books.

ister Simone Campbell is known This treasure is the fuel that sus- to many of us for the inspira- tains Sister Simone in her tireless ef- Stional endeavor that she and her forts as a Sister of Social Service in ✁ team at NETWORK Lobby for Catho- bringing justice to those who most M0920 lic Social Justice undertook in 2012 need it. Jim Wallis, the founder and Please send: copies of #378-6 Hunger for Hope @ $16.00 each through Nuns on the Bus. Traveling president of Sojourners, sums it up Standard Shipping: FREE over 2,700 miles across nine states, aptly, “Sister Simone offers deep wis- *CA, CT, DC, FL, IL, KY, LA, MN, NY, OH, TX, WA, WI Sales tax*: she motivated people to get out and dom borne from such rich experience vote to prevent the U.S. House of in both Christian contemplation and ❑ Check enclosed ❑ MC ❑ VISA ❑ AMEX ❑ DISC TOTAL: Representatives’ budget plan from action for social justice—that some- cutting social services to those Amer- times puts nuns on the bus.” Name icans who need them most. Just as her first book,A Nun on the Address E-mail Bus, inspired people into action, this While those who know Sister Sim- City State Zip Phone one might assume that Hunger for book shares the deeper lessons of Hope is about social action and contemplation that drive Sister Sim- Card Number CVV speaking out on issues that affect the one’s social action and are fundamen- Exp: Signature: fabric of our society, they would mere- tal to being a contemplative in action. Orbis Books • POB 302 • Maryknoll, NY 10545-0302 ly be scratching the surface of the Much has been written on the con- 1-800-258-5838 • M-F, 8-4 ET • Online: www.orbisbooks.com treasure being offered here to readers. cept of a “contemplative in action.” In use code M0920 for FREE standard shipping!

30 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 31 Young members of the Yanomami tribe in the Brazilian state of Roraima try on Through the intercession of Mary, Mother protective masks during examinations by a medical team with the Brazilian army of the Amazon, I pray for the poorest and during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS/Adriano Machado, Reuters) the most defenseless in that precious region, . but also for others throughout the world.

— POPE FRANCIS Regina Caeli, May 2020

Caption goes here..eandam quis undit em que provit quatio te receribus.

32 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 33 A voice for nuclear victims

By David R. Aquije, Photos by Sean Sprague

Maryknoll sister advocates for victims of Japan’s triple disaster caused by an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear accident

fter Japan lifted its state of emergency, due to the coronavirus, on May 31, Maryknoll Sister Kathleen Reiley expressed relief that COVID-19 was settling down in the country. But, she said, “The Aproblem with the nuclear accident and what to do with nuclear waste will be around for hundreds of years.”

Maryknoll Sister Kathleen Reiley looks at cattle that have been contaminated by the nuclear accident at Fukushima.

34 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 35 Hundreds of vinyl bags with contaminated dirt seen around Fukushima are tragic Sister Chiaki, a Religious of the Sacred Heart who lives near Fukushima, stands in front reminders of the nuclear accident that occurred there on March 11, 2011. of a house that can’t be rebuilt because of radiation from the 2011 nuclear meltdown.

Sister Reiley, who has served as a 3.5-hour train ride from Tokyo, ing entrance to radioactive waste percent of residents who have come missioner in Japan since 1968, was where she lives, to Fukushima to cleaning crews—many of them back to live in the area and is still referring to the accident at Fukushi- give this Maryknoll reporter a tour immigrants who are temporarily trying to rebuild her life. March 11, ma-Daichi Nuclear plant, which oc- around Haramachi, a town near hired to do a job that could harm 2011, is seared in her memory. She curred on March 11, 2011. The acci- where the Fukushima-Daichi nucle- their health. recalls putting her children into her dent was triggered by a devastating ar accident happened. We also visited the Nuclear Di- car and fleeing toward the moun- tsunami that followed a powerful The area had the feeling of a sci- saster Information Center, a high- tains, watching in horror in her rear- 9.0 earthquake that hit a large part fi apocalyptic movie: A ghost town tech museum built by Tokyo Elec- view mirror the approaching wave of Japan’s northern coast. with abandoned farmlands that tric Power Co. (TEPCO), owner and of destruction as the tsunami swept The quake and tsunami left more could not be used; streets blocked operator of the Fukushima-Daichi over her town. Although she is not than 18,000 people dead or miss- with fences and no-trespassing nuclear plant. The admission-free, a Catholic, she regularly meets with ing and hundreds of thousands of signs; decaying houses damaged by two-story, 1,900 square-meter ex- other survivors at a Catholic kinder- houses and businesses destroyed, the earthquake that cannot be re- hibition space, was opened in No- garten and community center built according to Japan’s National Po- paired because they are contaminat- vember 2018 to inform visitors of to help families that have returned lice Agency. More than 160,000 ed; Geiger counter boxes under the how the nuclear disaster began to the area. people fled the region near the street signs to measure the level of and the progress made on the Auxiliary Bishop James Kazuo nuclear plant because of the melt- radioactivity; thousands of huge safety of nuclear energy. But the Koda was sent from Tokyo to live down and more than 40,000 are black vinyl bags filled with radio- museum offered a stark contrast to with the people. In this town with still unable to return home due to active dirt; security guards wearing the ghost town that surrounds it. very few Catholics, the Church and radiation contamination. masks and radioactive protective Mrs. Tanaka (not her real name to the Catholic relief agency Caritas Last June, Sister Reiley took the gear at checkpoints, only allow- protect her identity) is one of the 10 have built a base for volunteers.

36 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 37 “There are many deep encounters the reactor returned to normal, (ex- among the people and the volun- cept) Haramachi where the need is teers, whether they are Catholic still great for the elderly, different- or not,” says Bishop Koda through ly abled and those people in a low Sister Reiley, who served as an inter- economic bracket. They don’t have preter. “It’s a place to witness God’s the means to move away from the love to all people.” reactor area.” Sister Reiley has striven to show Due to COVID-19 restrictions, God’s love for the people by speak- Sister Reiley has not been able to ing out against nuclear energy in return to Haramachi, or to the chil- a country whose 52 nuclear plants, dren’s ward at the cancer hospital she believes, pose an enormous where she volunteers as a coun- threat to human life. selor, because volunteers are con- After the triple disaster in 2011, sidered non-essential workers. But Sister Reiley responded to the Japa- her commitment to speaking out nese Catholic Church’s call for volun- against nuclear energy continues. A road near Fukushima still bears the signs of the 2011 earthquake that led to a tsunami, which triggered a meltdown at the nearby nuclear power plant, devastating thousands, teers. “Initially I went several times Her concern about nuclear en- a year to several different Japan ergy began in 1979 in her native Caritas bases wherever the need Schuylkill County, Pa. She was vis- Still the missioner works tirelessly Reiley. She explained that the gov- was at the time,” says Sister Reiley. iting home from her mission in to raise awareness about the dan- ernment had asked the owner to kill “But gradually towns far away from Japan when there was a reactor gers in nuclear energy. Nearly 25 the cattle. The cows’ milk could not meltdown at the Three Mile Island years after the 1986 nuclear acci- be sold nor could the cows be slaugh- nuclear plant in nearby Dauphin dent in Chernobyl, in the former So- tered to sell their meat because they County. It is considered the most viet Union, Sister Reiley read an arti- were contaminated. The cows, she serious nuclear accident in U.S. his- cle, in a Japanese newspaper, about continued, were innocent victims of tory, according to the U.S. Nuclear the high incidences of cancer linked problems caused by human beings. Regulatory Commission. to the nuclear accident. The report “But this wonderful man asked “We’re poisoning our earth,” Sis- cited a study conducted by an inter- the government to let the cows ter Reiley remembers her father say- national team of researchers led by live a natural life and die a natural ing shortly after the nuclear accident. the National Cancer Institute. That death,” says Sister Reiley. “In 1999, there was a nuclear acci- gave the Maryknoll sister an oppor- Then she translated a sign at the dent at the Tokaimura [nuclear facil- tunity to question what happened cattle ranch. “We lived here with no ity] in Ibaraki Prefecture,” Sister Rei- at the nuclear facility in Japan. She fear of nuclear energy and now we ley says. “About two years after that visited the newspaper headquarters realize that we lost something that accident happened, I asked the fam- to speak to the editors. can never be returned to us and we ilies [at the cancer hospital], ‘Where “Won’t you please do some re- want people to understand that we are you from?’ ‘Ibaraki.’ ‘Where are search about Tokaimura? About have to say sayonara, goodbye, to you from?’ ‘Ibaraki.’” the accident that happened in nuclear energy.” Out of the 24 beds for children Ibaraki?” she asked. The paper did with cancer at the hospital, at the not respond to her request. She FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING A time, seven children were from was undaunted. Two security officers at one of several MARYKNOLL SISTER, Ibaraki, explains the missioner. “But That somber day in June in Hara- checkpoints in the area near Fukushima. Contact Sister Gloria Ardenio Agnes nobody can document that and say machi, as we drove back to the train 914.941.7575 ext. 5612 absolutely, ‘that’s why [the nuclear station, we saw a farm with cattle Email: [email protected] maryknollsisters.org accident] they got cancer’.” and stopped for a lesson from Sister

38 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 39 At GOD’s service Text by Maria-Pia Negro Chin, Photos by Nile Sprague

A Maryknoll brother teaches that love and dignity come from God

uring his years of teach- raise awareness about the sisters’ ing English in northern mission in Taiwan. D China, Maryknoll Brother That interest led him to a dis- Joseph Bruener has found a unique cernment retreat with Maryknoll way to share God’s love with his uni- in Guatemala in 1977 when he was versity students. a student at the University of Wis- He gives them a class exercise to consin-Stevens Point, majoring in write an affirmation about each of English and drama for secondary their classmates. “By the end, they school teaching. have 24 positive statements (about Maryknoll Brother Wayne Fitz- themselves),” he says, adding, “Most patrick, who helped organize the students are grateful to have the op- retreat, recalls young Bruener as portunity to say something construc- having a strong prayer life, an abili- tive about their classmates.“ ty to form friendships and a healthy Brother Bruener tries to high- sense of humor. “I found Joe to light that everyone is deserving of be someone who was not afraid love, “but not everyone has parents to engage, ask questions, step out who love them, so they are going of his comfort zone, and meet the through life without that,” he says. people,” Brother Fitzpatrick recalls. The 62-year-old missioner from “I think that might have been the Port Edwards, Wis., says the love and teacher in him.” support his parents gave him and While staying with Father Carroll his four siblings nurtured his spiritu- Quinn in the Guatemalan village of al development. “Part of why I am Huehuetenango during the retreat, a brother is to share the love they Bruener attended a First Commu- gave me,” he says. nion. He recalls the three First Com- Brother Bruener credits reading municants dressed in their white Maryknoll magazine at home and dresses looking like angels amid the his education with the Sisters of St. chapel’s dirt floors. “The Catholic Francis of Penance and Christian Church gives people human dignity, Charity with igniting his love for no matter how poor their circum- Brother Bruener prays alongside mission. He was vice president of his stances are,” he realized. students in Hong Kong during a high school mission club and helped Though he felt called to religious Marian celebration in May 2018.

40 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARMARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORGYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 41 Brother Bruener recognizes that schools moved to online learning, the trust people have in missioners Brother Bruener started teaching is a great responsibility, one that the online for Beihua. The mainland uni- humble brother sometimes feels inad- versity had invited him back to teach equate for. “You want to share God’s poetry and business English. He love with people and realize you have hopes to teach in person soon, but to trust the Holy Spirit,” he says. for now he and his students have In 2018, Brother Bruener moved learned to be patient. “China is a to Hong Kong, where he served as very mountainous country, so some- a youth minister and chaplain at times the (online) connections go in the Maryknoll Fathers and Broth- and out,” he explains. “About 25-30 ers School and Maryknoll Second- percent (of the students studying at ary School. He also helped students home) are spread throughout the practice English, one of the subjects country. Many of them did not have they must excel at to get into col- a computer at home and were using lege. “They have so much on their their phone, so it was a challenge for For two years, Brother Bruener supported the English departments at two Maryknoll plate,” he says of the hardworking them to participate in class.” secondary schools in Hong Kong, helping students practice this language. teenagers he met. “(Faith) has to be But the ups and downs of his new an invitation, not just another as- assignment are not deterring this life, Bruener put off his answer until Maryknoll Language School in Taic- signment for them.” teacher, who wants the best for his after he graduated from college in hung, Taiwan. In February, while Hong Kong students. He says constant prayer 1981. He worked different jobs, in- Brother Bruener arrived in Jilin in helps him to be “a force for good” cluding acting in Los Angeles, work- northern China in 1999, and spent and a positive person. ing at his father’s lumberyard in Wis- years teaching English at Beihua— His 27 years as a Maryknoll brother consin and teaching at Milwaukee then a teacher’s college in Jilin—and have transformed him, he says. He is public schools. at the city’s electrical college. He re- continuously inspired by the Mary- In 1989, he joined the Christian turned to the United States to work knoll brothers, who strive to use their Brothers of St. Jean Baptiste de La in vocation ministry and, later, on God-given gifts in areas like health- Salle. “I never felt called to be a the initial formation team, to men- care, pastoral counseling, education, priest, to celebrate the sacraments, tor new missioners in Chicago. After agriculture or spiritual direction. but I did want to be of service to the a year caring for his aging mother, Brother Bruener tells men who Church in other ways,” he says. he was reassigned to China in 2014, feel the invitation to Maryknoll Two years later, when he discerned where he continued teaching En- brotherhood to call the vocations he was not called to be a teaching glish at Beihua University and at the director. “It is a step by step pro- brother in a U.S. classroom, he re- local seminary in Jilin. cess. It takes a lot of courage to membered his initial love for over- “Joe is extremely passionate about make that initial contact,” he says. seas mission. He transferred to the his ministry. He works very hard and “But they would not regret having Maryknoll Society and took his first takes whatever is asked of him very made the call.” oath as a Maryknoll brother in 1993. seriously,” says Brother Fitzpatrick. He went to language school in Co- “He has been so consistent with FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING chabamba, Bolivia, trained in Curico, living out his life with Gospel char- A MARYKNOLL BROTHER, Chile, and in Moho, Peru, and took acteristics, human values. Whether Contact Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa, M.M., his perpetual oath in 1998. in China or Chicago, wherever he is Maryknoll Brother Joseph Bruener, from at 914.941.7590, ext. 2416 Then his focus switched to Asia. stationed, he lives that out in a very Port Edwards, Wis., has served the Email: [email protected] Church with Maryknoll for 27 years. maryknollvocations.org He studied Mandarin Chinese at the faithful manner.”

42 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 43 Walking with Jesus TODAY

Middle school students learn how to respond as Jesus would to world needs today

By Annapatrice Johnson Photos by Peter Saunders

fter a year of participating in the Missionary Dis- cipleship Institute with her class, a student from A St. George Catholic School in Seattle said, “I have loved MDI because we don’t always stay in the class- room to learn how Jesus acted and how he wants us to act, but we also go out and do work as Jesus’ disciples.” The Missionary Discipleship Institute (MDI) is a sev- enth-grade religion curriculum born through the col- laboration of the Archdiocese of Seattle Office for Catholic Schools and Missions Office and the Mary- knoll Fathers and Brothers. In addition to Seattle, MDI is now used in the Chicago Archdiocese. In both cit- ies, archdiocesan leaders and Maryknoll mission ed- ucators form MDI teams that work with teachers to implement the curriculum. Recent studies show that many young people are leaving the Church at the median age of 13, often be- cause they believe the Church isn’t responding to the problems of today’s world. The Missionary Discipleship Institute counters this perception. Students learn that Jesus reached out to people on the margins of society, where we often find missioners authentically living Jesus’ call. The MDI invites students to do the same. Over the course of the year, the middle schoolers identify challenges that our modern world faces, learn about Catholic missioners doing God’s work locally and globally, and then plan an action to make a difference. Learning about the work of Maryknoll missioners Students from Christ the King and around the world, students see that the Catholic St. John’s Schools in Seattle met at 2019 Capstone Day to share what they 44 learned SEPTEMBER about missionary/ OCTOBER discipleship. 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 45 how we can love as Jesus would love in the time of COVID-19. “The core of this class is strikingly relevant right now,” said Amy Hall, MDI teacher at Christ the King Cath- olic School in Seattle. “Perhaps it is more important than ever for our middle schoolers.” Even as the mid- dle schoolers trained to reach out with love to those on the margins of society, COVID-19 expanded this demographic and the students re- sponded with flying colors. They sewed facemasks, designed place cards for meal trays at assist- ed living centers, delivered grocer- ies and flowers to the doorsteps of elderly neighbors, wrote letters to youth in detention centers and much more. Those who had researched top- ics other than COVID-19 worked to make a positive impact in the areas they chose. They raised funds for international projects, made family compost bins, committed to taking Sandra Barton Smith, of future involvement in the Church.” shorter showers, made welcome kits the Seattle Archdiocese, shares what it This last year, the curriculum took for refugee families, wrote advocacy means to be a missionary disciple beyond middle school, as an abrupt turn with the arrival of letters to elected officials and wrote teacher Mari Halley looks on. COVID-19. Drawing inspiration from prayers to pray with their families the missioners they introduce, the for those on the margins. Students Church is indeed responding to the Michael’s parish in Olympia, Wash., MDI team stepped up with flexibil- in one class decided they still want- greatest needs today through em- explains the benefit of MDI in his ity and expediency. Lessons were ed to make a difference together, powerment, justice and the corpo- parish school: “As a (former) Mary- transformed into electronic learn- so they researched statistics on how ral and spiritual works of mercy. Se- knoll missionary priest in Tanzania, I ing activities and assignments, class- many children in nearby schools attle’s Superintendent for Catholic know firsthand how being exposed room planning was done over the were on free and reduced lunches. Schools Kristin Dixon says, “The Mis- to other cultures is transformative on phone and Zoom calls, and students Then they raised funds to offer nu- sionary Discipleship Institute gets to so many levels. I’m grateful for the brought their parents into helping tritional support to those schools. the very heart of why our schools work of the Missionary Discipleship them complete the MDI process. In- Near the end of the year, MDI exist: to help our students fall in Institute in giving middle schoolers stead of the traditional “end-of-the- students traditionally gather to cel- love with Jesus and all God’s people, the opportunity to not only educa- year project,” where students inte- ebrate the work they have done and secondly, to be faith-filled citi- tionally expand their horizons but grate their year-long learning with a and meet other local Catholic school zens to today’s challenges!” also become involved in hands-on class-wide project, each student dis- students who are completing the Father James Lee, a former Mary- ministry that can change people’s cerned his or her individual response program. This year that gather- knoll priest and now pastor at St. lives and lay a foundation for their within the larger classroom context: ing had to be canceled for safety

46 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 47 their own lives, and do activities Knowing these, I now have various Seventh-grade students at MDI both alone and with their families, ways I can help God’s people. Lastly, Capstone Day 2019 ending with a blessing from parents especially in our time at home, I’ve exchange ideas on or godparents and a commissioning learned about how God has a plan discerning your call into lifelong missionary discipleship for all of us, a vocation. He wants us from God. for the rising eighth-graders. to use our gifts and passions to solve At the end of this unique school a need of the world.” year, one student reflected online, Another student typed back, “The “I learned so much through MDI. MDI taught me that everyone is im- First off, I learned more about how portant. Even though we are sepa- God’s mission wasn’t supposed to rated by race, gender, sexuality, age end when Jesus ascended. I learned and country boundaries, we are all about how we, as the disciples of Je- part of God’s family. MDI is one of sus, are to continue his mission on the most important things I have earth by helping all of God’s people, ever done. I wish everyone could especially those on the margins, and have this same experience.” spreading the word of the Lord to anyone we can. Secondly, I learned Annapatrice Johnson is the West- about all the different ways we can ern region director of Maryknoll’s serve God’s people, such as the cor- Church Engagement Division and poral and spiritual works of mercy. young adult outreach team leader.

Seattle middle schoolers learn about life for children around the world by participating in an interactive game at a 2019 MDI Capstone Day.

precautions. Again, the MDI team students who are working to make sprang into action. Rather than hav- a difference in the world. The “Cap- ing a four-hour sharing in the gym stone Day” turned into a week of at Seattle University, the MDI team lessons for the students to listen to Annapatrice Johnson, Western region director of Maryknoll’s Church Engagement recorded videos of local church lead- the pre-recorded talks, learn about Division and member of the MDI team, welcomes students to 2019 Capstone Day. ers and recently graduated college the Christian vocation, reflect on

48 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 49 Lay Missioner Abby Belt sews masks for her neighbors during COVID-19 Riding out pandemic. (Courtesy of Abby Belt)/Haiti) the pandemic By Abby Belt

A Maryknoll lay missioner from Kansas serves with love in Haiti

espite rapidly growing num- were not taking the pandemic seri- bers of cases of COVID-19 ously, if they believed it at all. Dand deaths in Haiti, where I Yet for the three of us serving here serve as a Maryknoll lay missioner, with the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, many people still refuse to believe and the colleagues we work with, the virus is here. Yet those of us our decision to stay is about accom- who know it is here, and has been panying the people and doing what for months, strive to be examples we can, even if that is just setting an of love and caution even as we fear example. When we go out on the that the extent of the pandemic is street, we wear our masks. being drastically underreported. In deciding to stay in Haiti as the When the initial outbreak was pandemic approached and then ar- confirmed in mid-March, some Hai- rived, we figured we could either tian citizens tried to attack those ride out the coronavirus crisis here who tested positive. One radio an- and be able to respond first when nouncer declared the government we do get to the other side of this, was lying to the people and the vi- or we could scramble and try to get rus was made up. In response, sev- home and ride it out there, with no eral of the sanitization stations for known guarantee of when we’d get hand-washing that had been set to return to our beloved Haiti. For up by health organizations were me, even carefully considered, the burned in giant piles. choice was not too hard. Even as the number of cases In the community of Gros Morne, rose—about 5,500 and nearly 100 where we live, we are working to deaths reported as of late June— educate the public and have taken the number of people seen wearing steps to enable people to protect masks here seemed to decrease. The themselves. Jillian Foster, our new- general attitude seemed to be “I’m est Maryknoll lay missioner in Haiti, over it” and a majority of people and I have been making masks for

50 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 51 Suzanne “Sami” Scott, a 24-year ing what we can. Despite all of the veteran of the Maryknoll Lay Mis- uncertainty, fear and overwhelming sioners, continues to work at the moments of powerlessness to truly henhouse project near Grepen, effect change, hope anchors us. It is which provides income for local in the voice of the local people who women, a market for local corn pro- are rallying to educate their peers ducers, and fresh eggs for the wom- about this virus. It is in the doctors en to resell in town or use in their and nurses prepping to do their jobs shops. even knowing they will likely be Nowadays, we try to avoid the overwhelmed with patients. It is in market, which is usually overcrowd- people donating to help purchase ed. We wear masks to work every the equipment for hand-washing day and keep our distance from oth- stations, neighbors continuing to ers as much as possible. Our days are look out for one another, and little rather repetitive, but I believe we’re moments of kindness shared with blessed to be able to continue work- people we pass on the street. ing outdoors during this time. Haitian friends continue checking As of this writing, the current on us every day to ask if our families state of emergency was scheduled are still OK and if we ourselves are to end July 20 and schools were set well. Generosity here is as endless as to reopen in August. The reality is the dust and humidity. that Haitians are essentially on their So, when I make masks, I find joy own because of the lack of resourc- and sew with love. Every stitch is a es to deal with the pandemic. Many smile, just as a friendly call, a kind Haitian families are facing extreme word, or a simple yet profound little hardship because of the signifi- prayer helps us all weave together cant decrease in remittances, that our story. I hope our tapestry in this Jillian Foster, newest Maryknoll lay missioner in Haiti, painstakingly joins in mask making is, money sent home from Haitians time continues to show our strength, shortly after her arrival coincided with the arrival of COVID-19. (Courtesy of Abby Belt/Haiti) living and working abroad. The de- resilience, humor, and, above all, crease is due to the global econom- our great capacity for love. various community groups, thanks down since March 20, my focus has ic decline combined with job losses Alongside our Haitian neighbors, to the generous backing of Mercy shifted to helping in the morning at in the United States, which has the we continue to try choosing love in Beyond Borders, one of my regular an agronomy center known as Gre- largest number of Haitians outside simple ways and weave this beauti- ministry sites when schools are in pen, a joint project of the Montfort of the country. ful, complex story of us. operation. missionary priests and the sisters of Like so many of the world’s poor Normally, my main ministry is the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and and marginalized, many Haitian Maryknoll Lay Missioner Abby Belt, providing continuing education making masks in the afternoon. families rely on the informal econ- from Wichita, Kansas, joined the to teachers at Jesus-Mary School Jill came out of two months of omy and live day to day. Under the Maryknoll Lay Missioners in 2018 and in Gros Morne and assisting with a language school and was here for a stay-at-home order, they are being has served in Haiti since the begin- scholarship and empowerment pro- week when everything shut down. asked to choose between going out ning of 2019. gram for young women at Mercy She has shown tremendous spirit and working to make money for Beyond Borders, a non-profit that and patience as we navigate life in food and risk exposure or staying in- works with marginalized women this time, especially considering she side and dying from starvation with FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING and girls. has not gotten to explore her minis- their children. FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING A MARYKNOLLA MARYKNOLL PRIEST LAY OR MISSIONER, BROTHER, With schools having been shut try options. Meanwhile, we are in place do- Call or text Karen Bortvedt Estrada at Contact Fr. Mike Snyder, M.M., 914.467.8857 Email: [email protected] at 914.941.7590, ext. 2416 www.mklm.org Email: [email protected] 52 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MaryknollVocations.orgMARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 53 It’s all about relationships By Santa Orlando

Members of Maryknoll Affiliates chapters work globally and locally to make the world a better place

ope Francis reminds us we are nie Pospisil and Helen Werner in Le- all called to mission. Being a moa. How wonderful it was to join Maryknoll affiliate has given them for prayer at 5:30 each morn- meP a way to answer my call. ing. The sisters inspired me not only Maryknoll affiliates are lay peo- with their prayer life but also their ple whose lives are centered around constant availability to the people. four pillars: spirituality, global vi- They taught me what it means to be sion, community and action. Sim- a contemplative in action. My life ply put, members work individually was changed. An unknown place and communally to effect positive in my heart was now awakened. I change. Each chapter decides how had found my passion. This was the the members will arrange their start of a beautiful relationship that meetings and each individual de- flourished and allowed our Albany cides how involved he or she will be. chapter to directly support Mary- Chapters have been evolving for the knollers active in mission. My com- past 25 years. I have been a member munication with the Maryknoll sis- of the Albany, N.Y., chapter since its ters increased. We were overjoyed beginning in 2007. when they came to visit us in Albany. I became a Maryknoll affiliate be- How sad we were when Sister Con- Guatemala Maryknoll Affiliates Rosa Maria de Leon (left) and Rosa Beatriz Castañeda de cause it has given me the opportuni- nie died recently. We will continue Larios (front) welcome visiting Albany Maryknoll Affiliates (left to right) Denise Lessard, ty to join those who see the spark of to follow her example. Santa Orlando and Richard Lessard. (Courtesy of Santa Orlando/Guatemala) the divine in all people. In my affili- I have traveled to Guatemala five ate chapter I am accepted for who I times and visited the Maryknoll sisters Like many affiliates, I do my part how they have been affected. am, my voice is heard and my opin- in Panama and Maryknoll lay mission- in the local community. For me, I embrace the Maryknoll charism, ion matters. I have attended other ers in El Salvador. I went to Bolivia teaching ESL allows me to have one- which is centered around relation- chapter meetings and it seems this on a Maryknoll Lay Missioners Friends on-one interactions; others work in ships and calls us to treat all people sentiment is what keeps Maryknoll Across Borders immersion trip. Each soup kitchens, promote eco-justice, with dignity, equality and respect. affiliates together. Members make a trip allowed me to meet the local assist refugees and work for immi- conscious commitment to each oth- people and enjoy their hospitality. gration reform. The list varies from Santa Orlando is northeast regional er, feed each other spiritually and They were people like Isabel in El Sal- chapter to chapter. coordinator of the Maryknoll Affili- challenge each other to continue to vador, who invited me to dinner. Her I believe people are changed ates. She has three grown children cross borders of all kinds. family was eating fish but she had when they experience other cul- and is a high school biology teacher. My parish has had a longtime con- made chicken for me. “I didn’t know tures, which is why I am active in the nection with Guatemala. A parish if you would want the fish,” she said. Maryknoll Affiliate Quo Vadis pro- FOR INFORMATION ON BECOMING trip to that country in 2009 intro- She was delighted that I would eat gram, a forum for groups returning A MARYKNOLL AFFILIATE, duced me to Maryknoll Sisters Con- whatever they were eating. from cross-cultural trips to reflect on Contact Robert Short [email protected] maryknollaffiliates.org 54 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL World Watch

Upholding Human Rights During the Pandemic

By Kathleen Kollman Birch

e are seeing a growing threat government aid, President Rodrigo to human rights norms Duterte ordered military officials to Waround the world during the shoot “troublemakers.” In El Salva- COVID-19 pandemic. Increasingly, dor, those accused of violating the governments are exploiting the emer- stay-at-home order are arbitrarily de- Gang members are secured by police at Izalco prison in El Salvador, where the nation’s gency measures imposed to slow the tained in quarantine centers that are president authorized “lethal force” to stop violence during COVID-19. (CNS photo) spread of the coronavirus as a means reportedly unsanitary and crowded. to control their citizens, such as im- Under international human rights posing curfews through arbitrary de- law, governments can restrict some statement that countries should “take erywhere.” In Kenya, as of early June, tention and excessive military force. rights to protect public health in an this opportunity to address structural police violence had killed 15 people U.N. High Commissioner for Hu- emergency, but the U.N. explains that forms of racial and ethnic injustice in during curfew enforcement. man Rights Michelle Bachelet has restrictions need to be “necessary, their own nations, and within the in- “The voices calling for an end to the named the Philippines, China, South proportionate and non-discriminatory.” ternational system itself.” killings of unarmed African Americans Africa, Sri Lanka and El Salvador “We have seen many states adopt Although the dynamics that give need to be heard,” said Bachelet. as having alleged human rights vi- justifiable, reasonable and time-limited rise to instances of police brutali- “The voices calling for an end to po- olations in the guise of coronavirus measures,” said Bachelet “But there ty vary across countries, people are lice violence need to be heard.” restrictions. “Shooting, detaining, have also been deeply worrying cas- making connections. Boniface Mwan- or abusing someone for breaking a es where governments appear to be gi, an activist in Kenya, told ABC Kathleen Kollman Birch is communi- curfew because they are desperately using COVID-19 as a cover for human news that “struggles against police cations manager at the Maryknoll Of- searching for food is clearly an un- rights violations, further restricting fun- brutality are [essentially] the same ev- fice for Global Concerns. acceptable and unlawful response,” damental freedoms and civic space, Bachelet said. and undermining the rule of law.” FAITH IN ACTION: Hunger is driving many people to The United States has come under • Ask Congress to support the bipartisan Protecting Human Rights During defy health safety measures to find the spotlight as well due to the grow- Pandemic Act: https://bit.ly/HRpandemicAA food. The United Nations estimates ing social movement against system- • Read a roundup of U.N. work on COVID-19 and its Human Rights dimen- that 265 million people could face ic racism that has focused on police sions https://bit.ly/COVIDOHCHR starvation by the end of the year. brutality. At the U.N. Human Rights • Ask Congress to provide life-saving foreign assistance for COVID-19: https:// Workers such as food vendors and Council meeting in June, a coalition bit.ly/CongressFACovid day laborers lose their means of sup- of African nations raised the alarm port under lockdown. In many coun- about police brutality against peo- The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, in Washington, D.C., is a resource tries, government aid is not available. ple of African descent in the United for Maryknoll on matters of peace, social justice and integrity of creation, and In the Philippines, in response to States. Shortly after, a coalition of brings Maryknoll’s mission experience into U.S. policy discussions. Phone protests over the lack of food and experts at the Council released a (202) 832-1780, visit www.maryknollogc.org or email [email protected].

56 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 57 Partners in Mission

Sharing God’s love in India By Thomas Chitta

y wife Geetha and I met while hospitals. One of our efforts involves working in Catholic parish helping more than 1,000 children born Mministries in villages in south with cleft lip and cleft palate with free India. She is a medical doctor and I surgeries, with the help of a medical have degrees in theology and coun- team from the United States and lo- seling. We come from rural areas, cal surgeons. FCN also provides trav- where many are neglected. This need el and food expenses for the families. led us to start the Foundation for During the COVID-19 pandemic, Children in Need in the United States. we’ve distributed food to 4,000 fam- Dr. Geetha teaching health and hygiene to teens before COVID-19. (Courtesy Thomas Chitta) We came here in 2000. We both ilies of migrant workers without jobs had green cards and knew we could in the country’s lockdown, 20,000 work and have comfortable lives, but masks and 4,000 sanitizer bottles. ilege to assist them. Many have been spires them. As we told the Chicago we felt called to something different. Over the years, my wife has assist- able to pursue a college education. mission office’s Megan Mio during We had this dream to start a founda- ed thousands through our free med- We have gone to parishes around her radio program, “Mission Matters”: tion to help the needy in India. With ical services and health education. the United States, where we share “We bear witness to the love of Christ our incomes, we could help 20–30 “When I help a needy person with about FCN and invite those interest- when we care for them.” children, but a foundation could im- medical care or health education, my ed in sponsoring a child to sign up. We also have established schools, pact even more people. heart is filled with tremendous joy and The people are most generous and, boarding homes for boys and girls, With the encouragement and satisfaction,” says Dr. Geetha. of course, our parish has been sup- an elderly home, a community center support of our friends in the United FCN believes that education is the porting our work from the inception. and, recently, FCN Home, where we States, we established the Founda- key to transforming the lives of chil- We also have nearly 30 volunteers are caring for 15 elderly and physi- tion for Children in Need at our parish, dren. Currently, we are helping 2,000 from our parish who help us. Besides cally challenged people. Ten young St. James in Arlington Heights, Ill., in children and college students at 26 Geetha and myself, there is only one girls are taking tailoring training there. 2002. Since then, FCN has been pro- locations in India. With the help of part-time employee at FCN. We work More needy people are arriving ev- viding hope and assistance to people our sponsors in the United States, 90 hours and seven days a week, so ery week. “This home helps seniors, in rural villages of India. these students receive clothing and volunteers mean the world to us. physically challenged and orphaned With the help of a network of do- tuition fees and the opportunity to Our work is pure service, which children. The idea is to have all three nors and sponsors in our parish, the have a better life. We have about goes beyond religion, caste, creed generations helping each other,” says Archdiocese of Chicago and across 1,600 sponsors, including 80 from and politics. We are looking to help Geetha. “We want to train the next the United States, our nonprofit orga- our home parish. Many U.S. sponsors the poorest of the poor. We see Jesus generation.” nization brings village children food, have visited India to meet the children in the poor. We tell everybody that this is not education and medical care. We also they sponsor. Our mission work does not involve our work; this is God’s work and we assist the elderly and bring medical I have seen children struggling to direct evangelization, but people see are just the instruments. And we have care to those who lack access to continue their education. It is a priv- our faith, and our love for them in- done far more than we imagined.

58 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 59 GO DIGITAL Readers’ Responses with Maryknoll magazine and get a free e-book by Pope Francis FURTHER PROOF more from the Bishop Francis Xavier In the May/June 2020 issue, Father Ford Guild on Bishop Ford’s cause for Joseph Veneroso’s acknowledgement canonization. of women’s contributions to Catholic Sidney Howard history was greatly welcomed. What Oklahoma City, Oklahoma further proof do we need that women should be ordained priests? GRANDPARENTS’ LEGACY Cecile D. Crosmun Growing up raised by my grandpar- Sign up for the digital edition Leominster, Massachusetts ents, who were from Ireland, I looked of Maryknoll magazine (you forward to Maryknoll magazine every can still keep receiving your CUTE CONFIDENCE month, starting when I was 5 years The young girl on the cover of the old and throughout high school. The print magazine!) and you’ll May/June 2020 issue is so cute and pages enlightened me to such differ- be eligible for a free e-book also has such a smile of confidence ent cultures, different locales and the about her. I keep this issue on my read- faraway lands. They really existed out edition of I Believe: The ing table and I smile back at her every there. What a wide world with such Promise of the Creed time I look at her. My husband, John, diversity it showed, and what sacrific- by Pope Francis. and I have appreciated and supported es of the missionary priests and nuns. the Maryknoll fathers, sisters and lay The poverty of the world came to my missioners for many years. Blessings knowledge, along with the smiles of I Believe received a Catholic to y’all (as we say in Texas). those who were financially poor but Carol Aceti so very rich and steadfast in spirit. I’m Press Association award Kerrville, Texas 68 now. When I thought of my grand- for excellence as well as father the other day, I recalled him MORE ON FORD reading Maryknoll each month and the Gold Medal from the Thanks for your magazine. I would sharing those lovely pictures with me. Independent Publisher kindly ask for more articles on Bishop I’m so very happy the magazine and Illumination Awards. Francis X. Ford, a martyr of the faith the special, selfless work and love of in China as the communists contin- the Maryknoll missioners still lives on. ued their systematic extermination of Margaret Falconer the Catholic faith in China. I under- From the website stand that this was not a topic spo- ken about very much so as not to in- FAITH AND PASSION Sign up today at furiate the Chinese Communist Party. Brenda Noriega is a standing ex- I believe his martyr’s death is a story ample out of many and I really ap- maryknollmagazine.org/i-believe/ that the Western World needs to hear preciate Maryknoll magazine (May/ about, the facts of the communists’ June 2020 web-only article) for fea- Once you sign up to receive Maryknoll magazine online, you’ll receive a war with Catholicism. I hope to hear turing this touching and mind-chang- confirmation email with instructions on how to download your copy of

60 SEPTEMBERI Believe/ OCTOBER and 2020 a specialMARYKNOLL offer from Orbis Books! MARYKNOLLMAGAZINE.ORG 61 ing young person so that the world and asked if she could read it to me, could see God at work. There are so as my eyes aren’t too good. many possibilities for us to reach out Imagine our happy surprise as we to people at local levels and overseas read about Father Joseph Cappel, and I sincerely pray that Noriega’s the “Saint on a Bicycle” in the May/ passion for others and her faith will June 2020 issue. We thoroughly en- inspire more people to go forth and joyed the article and spent quite some

share the Gospel to the world’s for- time reminiscing about Maryknoll. My Sean Sprague/Kenya gotten poor. brother, Maryknoll Father John Gal- Despite her earlier life anxieties, lahue (1933-2004), was ordained on she has already been chosen by the June 9, 1962, and in August of that Lord in order to be a living faithful year, sailed on the SS Catalina bound example to many generations today. for Chile. Curepto was his very first God works in mysterious and radiant assignment, at Our Lady of the Rosa- ways and the Church should step up ry. Over the years we heard wonderful to encourage more initiatives from stories about Father Cappel and Fa- the younger generation. Noriega had ther Ernest Lukaschek. Father John the chance to pose with Pope Fran- went on to other parishes in Chile, in cis, which is a lifetime blessing that Chol Chol, Antofagasta and Santiago moved her into action. There are during his 42 years of service. New Way to Share thousands of Christians out there who I then sent my daughter to the GOOD NEWS only have the chance to pose with the bookcase in the basement where I Holy Spirit and now they need prayer have an album with all of the pictures support from the Church in order to I saved over years. We spent some move into action. The Gospel has to time talking about how much Father When the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Small Christian Communities in Kenya from John loved the people of Chile, the be shared. meeting physically, Maryknoll Father Joseph Healey found a new way to help them Patrice Assiongbon Sowanou special day we spent at Maryknoll connect: the Internet! The groups now meet online to pray and support one another Garden Valley, Texas celebrating his 25 anniversary of or- while social distancing. dination, how proud our mom and all FOND MEMORIES the family were of him, and his 40th Your gift and prayers will help Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers continue to share The pandemic has kept us all in- anniversary celebrated in Chile. side, but has also afforded us extra Thanks to Father Hanlon for such God’s love with vulnerable people throughout the world. time to be together. With the nice a special article about such a special ✁ weather, I have been enjoying the man, which led to a wonderful after- Yes, I want to share in the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers’ backyard that my daughter has been noon in the sunshine remembering mission of love throughout the world. busily taking care of for me. My other my very special brother. daughter brought the recent copy of Patricia E. Cozzi Please accept my gift of:  $10  $15  $25  Other $______Maryknoll magazine out to the garden Oceanside, New York Name:______Address:______City:______State:_____ Zip:______ Check enclosed  AMEX  MC  Visa  Disc Card #:______Exp.:___ /___ The editors invite Maryknoll readers to send us their views. Write to: Readers’ Responses Name on Card:______Signature:______P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, N.Y. 10545-0302 Please mark code 2038471009 on your check. Our e-mail address is: [email protected] Make your gift payable to: Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0302 62 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 MARYKNOLL Give online at MaryknollSociety.org or call toll-free 1.888.627.9566 M–F, 8–4 ET MARYKNOLL FATHERS AND BROTHERS Nonprofit Org. called foranendtoracismandpolicebrutality. Darr’s ReadGregory page24. reflection, GeorgeFloydwaskilledandprotesters Louisa holdbannerdivertingtrafficfromthesitewhere Darr, vocationministerGregory Charito Darr(l.),wifeofMaryknoll anddaughtersRita P.O. Box 302 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Maryknoll, New York 10545-0302 Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

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