WWW.THEFLORIDACATHOLIC.ORG | Feb. 8-21, 2019 | Volume 80, Number 7 ORLANDO DIOCESE PALM BEACH DIOCESE VENICE DIOCESE A survivor’s faith story Catholic Schools Week WYD inspires teens Pope Francis on flight from UAE FEAST OF LOURDES talks about dialogue, war, abuse CINDY WOODEN Pope Francis also was asked about Catholic News Service the war in Yemen and about the con- ditions that would be necessary be- ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT fore the Holy See would offer to me- FROM ABU DHABI, United Arab diate in the ongoing political crisis in Emirates | Pope Francis told re- Venezuela. porters he is more afraid of the con- On the question of intervening in sequences of not engaging in inter- Venezuela, Pope Francis said he had religious dialogue than he is of being been informed of the arrival by dip- manipulated by some Muslim lead- lomatic pouch of a letter from Ven- ers. ezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, He told reporters flying back to who is trying to hold on to power in Rome with him Feb. 5 from Abu Dha- Pope Francis aboard his flight from the country. bi that people are always saying he’s the United Arab Emirates, to Rome Asked if he was ready to mediate, letting himself be used by someone, Feb. 5. (PAUL HARING | CNS) Pope Francis said the Vatican would “including journalists, but it’s part of offer assistance only if both sides the job.” a while,” Pope Francis said. “We have requested its help and if both sides “For me, there is only one great suspended some priests, sent them showed a willingness to take steps danger at this moment: destruction, away for this, and -- I’m not sure if the toward resolving the crisis. war, hatred among us,” the pope whole process had been completed As for Yemen, where millions of said, explaining why he and Egyp- — but we also have dissolved a few people risk starvation because of tian Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand women’s religious congregations,” four years of war, the pope said he imam of al-Azhar, spent a year writ- newer ones, where corruption and raised the situation there with gov- ing back and forth to finalize the sexual abuse were found. ernment officials from the United document they signed Feb. 4 in Abu “Must more be done? Yes,” he said. Arab Emirates, an active member of Dhabi on promoting “human frater- The Catholic Church owes much the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fight- nity” and Christian-Muslim under- to the “courage” of then-Pope Bene- ing the Houthi armed movement. standing. dict XVI for beginning to tackle the Declining to share details about Pope Francis spent about 35 min- problem, Pope Francis told reporters. his private conversations with UAE utes answering reporters’ questions, As prefect of the Congregation for the leaders about the war, the pope although he insisted on responding Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal would say only that he found “good- first to questions related to the trip. Joseph Ratzinger tried to investigate will for starting a peace process.” That meant he put on hold until the a congregation where women were While Pope Francis said his less end of the session a question about allegedly being abused, he said, but than 48 hours in Abu Dhabi wasn’t the clerical sexual abuse of women the investigation was blocked. enough, he said he appreciated the religious. Pope Francis did not provide more openness of the country’s Muslim The women’s supplement to the details, but said that as soon as Car- leaders and their willingness to host Vatican newspaper printed a story dinal Ratzinger became Pope Bene- the Human Fraternity meeting and in its February issue on the abuse dict, he called for the files he had the signing of the dialogue docu- of women religious. Asked about compiled and began again. ment. it, Pope Francis said, “It’s true, it’s a The now-retired pope, he said, Some Catholics may not appreci- problem,” especially in some newer dissolved a congregation “because ate the document and the respect Catholic communities and congre- the slavery of women, including sex- it shows for Islam, but it is based on gations. ual slavery, had become part of it.” the teachings of the Second Vatican “There have been priests and even Alessandro Gisotti, interim di- Council, he said, and he had several bishops who have done that,” the rector of the Vatican press office, theologians, including the “theolo- This stained-glass window at Our Lady of Lourdes Church pope said. “And I would guess that it said the dissolved congregation was gian of the papal household, a Do- in Malverne, N.Y., depicts Mary appearing to St. Bernadette still happens today, because it is not the Sisters of Israel and St. John; he minican,” read it to ensure it con- Soubirous in Lourdes, France, as the Immaculate Conception in something that ends just because would not provide information about formed to Catholic teaching. 1858. The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated Feb. 11. people know about it.” who initially blocked then-Cardinal “The document was written in the World Day of the Sick also is observed on that date. (GREGORY “We have been working on this for Ratzinger’s investigation. spirit of Vatican II,” he said. n A. SHEMITZ | CNS) WWW.THEFLORIDACATHOLIC.ORG | Feb. 8-21, 2019 FLORIDACatholic ORLANDO DIOCESE NEVER WITHOUT HER PRAYER BOOK Eucharist bolsters faith for Holocaust survivor GLENDA MEEKINS Elsie Ragusin of the Florida Catholic staff Azzinaro, right, shows Jan Ford, EDGEWATER | Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro stands less than 5 left, a photo feet tall at age 97, exuding her zest for life with a broad, gener- of her father ous smile as she offers her guest some pastry and coffee. who died in Beneath her genuine joy are wounds inflicted by the Ho- Buckenwald locaust and a profound, pervasive faith that thrusts her for- camp during ward with tenacity. During the unthinkable tragedy, it was World War a discarded prayer book that sustained her hope. Today, it is II. Ragusin weekly reception of the Eucharist brought to her by Jan Ford, a Azzinaro and minister to the sick. The two share the fruits of the sacrament, her father were a relationship of common, although different experiences of mistaken for loss, love, and an attentive heart. spies during a Ford is the coordinator for the extraordinary ministers visit to Itlay in of the Eucharist and ministers to the sick and homebound 1946. Below through St. Gerard Mission in Edgewater. Six months ago, inset, Ragusin’s Azzinaro, who attended Sacred Heart Parish in New Smyrna, Catholic missal and prayer requested that someone bring the weekly Eucharist because book helped her mobility became limited. Ford answered the call. She lis- her endure the tens to Azzinaro, prays with her and shares Christ’s body. Ford atrocity of life said visiting Azzinaro has enriched her life. in camps during “For all that she has gone through, to see her smile and the Holocaust. laugh and focus on the positive is very inspirational to me. It (PHOTOS put things into perspective,” Ford said. “(She) talks about help- BY GLENDA ing others and how she was helped while she was in the camp. MEEKINS | FC) It reminds me that I don’t have it so bad.” Azzinaro appreciates Ford and the weekly Eucharist she brings. She believes Jesus is still the much-needed respite and balm for her soul. “When Jan comes with the Eucharist, I feel good about it,” She found a small pouch covered in maggots. She cleaned it provided courage to endure experimentation in both camps Azzinaro said with a broad smile and gentle eyes. “It makes and put her prayer book inside, making it easier to hide in her under Nazi physician, Dr. Josef Mengele, infamous for tortur- me feel better.” mismatched shoes. She prayed whenever she could, keeping ing camp prisoners to satisfy his own curiosities. A physical More than 70 years have passed since Azzinaro, a young her treasure concealed. If it was beating left Azzinaro deaf in one American citizen of Italian heritage, spent more than a year in found it could mean her demise. ear. Although concerned her ex- the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, and With a borrowed pen and on periences would leave her barren, Ravensbruck, Germany. Recalling memories of her imprison- scraps of paper, she would draw she did marry after the war and ment is difficult. She strives for clarity. It is important to get pictures of the Virgin Mary and gave birth to her son, Ronald. the story correct. the lamb, images she saw in her While she missed Mass and Prior to World War II, Azzinaro’s family moved to northern prayer book. This was her experi- singing in the choir, her prayer Italy from the United States to take care of ailing grandpar- ence of faith in the camps. book and thoughts of reuniting ents. In 1944, the then 23-year-old and her father, Giovanni Often, she admitted feeling with her family propelled her. At Ragusin, were taken by Nazi officers under a false claim of God was not listening. But she last, in April 1945, liberation came American espionage. quickly asserted that God saved via the Swedish Red Cross. At first, Four prisons later, the daughter and her father were sepa- her many times. Azzinaro was scared to board the rated in Trieste, a seaport in northeastern Italy. Catching sight “There were a lot of incidents bus that would lead her to free- of one another as they waited to board different trains, they that happened and I thought, dom.