June 26, 2020 Vol

Family visit Retired pope visits his ailing brother in Germany, page 15. Serving the Church in Central and Southern Indiana Since 1960 CriterionOnline.com June 26, 2020 Vol. LX, No. 37 75¢ Rescheduled executions ‘add violence on top of violence’ By Natalie Hoefer The federal Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 15 that the executions of four prisoners have been rescheduled for July and August at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Terre Haute, within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Five executions were originally slated to take place in December 2019 and January 2020. Archbishop Charles One inmate received C. Thompson a stay of execution. In the other four cases, lawyers challenged a new protocol for the executions, resulting in a preliminary Patrice Payne, left, Tim Nation, Joseph Smith and Eileen Walthill are some of the members of the Race and Culture Committee at St. Thomas Aquinas injunction. Parish in Indianapolis that has strived to increase diversity in the parish and improve race relations in the community. (Photo by John Shaughnessy) In April, an appeals court overruled the preliminary injunction, leading to the recent rescheduling of four of the executions: Danny Lee, Wesley Ira Purkey, Dustin Lee Honken and Keith Dwayne Nelson. Parish paves a path to help overcome deep “We offer our sincerest prayers pain of racism through a more profound faith See Archbishop for the murder Charles C. Thompson’s victims and their By John Shaughnessy have a family from India move in as our “Even though we are no longer statement in English loved ones,” next-door neighbors. I had never had any neighbors, we still get together several and Spanish, page 2. Archbishop Charles On the road to change regarding previous experience with anyone from times a year.” C. Thompson said race relations in America, Patrice Payne that culture. As the years progressed, we The closeness and beauty of that in a statement offers one part of the road map needed to socialized often and shared meals and relationship has guided Payne as she regarding the announcement. “The suffering get there. music and customs. Our children played has helped to lead the Race and Culture and sorrow that family and friends of such It’s the story of how two families together, and we went camping together. Committee at St. Thomas, an effort victims have experienced is heartbreaking. from different cultures and backgrounds We met each other’s extended families.” that started in late 2018 when parish We must do what we can to help them heal came together through their efforts to The mother of four added, “Our leaders thought their church-and-school from the deep and personal wounds they understand and appreciate their common family approached our relationship with community was no longer as diverse have suffered.” humanity. our neighbors with open hearts and and as active in working to improve race In his statement, the archbishop noted “Twenty years ago, we moved into minds. We loved learning about each relations as it was in the 1970s and ‘80s. the wording of Pope Francis’ August 2018 a neighborhood that was a mixture of other’s culture. When I learned about “It was felt that parishioners and revision of paragraph 2267 of the Catechism various races, cultures and religions,” Sikhism and found out that some of their families needed to become more informed of the Catholic Church, that “the death says Payne, a member of St. Thomas tenets were, ‘belief in one God, and the and more active in the area of race penalty is inadmissible because it is an Aquinas Parish in Indianapolis who is way to become closer to God is to be of relations,” Payne says. “It was hoped that attack on the inviolability and dignity of the African-American. service to each other,’ I was fascinated parishioners would then go out and make person.” “Our family was very fortunate to by the similarities. See RACISM, page 8 “The basis of this revision is consistent See EXECUTIONS, page 9 Indianapolis streets ‘covered in prayer’ during Soldiers for Peace Rosary Walk By Natalie Hoefer Evans went on to explain that as he walked and prayed the rosary— As Matt Evans watched the his normal exercise regimen—the destructive riots take place in week prior, he got an idea: Why not Indianapolis on May 29-31, “It have Catholics walk the streets of kind of left a really bad taste in my Indianapolis praying the rosary for mouth,” he said. “It’s the city I grew peace in the city? up in. I felt helpless watching it.” That idea launched the June 17 The member of St. Barnabas Parish event, which he called Soldiers for in Indianapolis shared the story with Peace Rosary Walk. a large group of people gathered near He said the idea was inspired by the steps of Our Lady of the Most Father Richard Heilman, a priest Holy Rosary Church in the capital of the Diocese of Madison, Wis., Matt Evans, left in green shirt, leads a prayer city on the evening of June 17. The who started the United States Grace outside of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary name of the church was significant Force. The priest walks the streets of Church in Indianapolis on June 17 before leading to his story and the reason for the Madison praying a rosary for peace, a group of about 60 people on a rosary walk for gathering. See ROSARY, page 10 peace around the capital city. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer) Page 2 The Criterion Friday, June 26, 2020 A statement from Archbishop Charles Public Schedule of Archbishop Charles C. Thompson C. Thompson concerning upcoming __________ federal executions in Indiana June 25-29, 2020 The resuming of federal executions, families of these officials and society June 25 – 7 p.m. June 27 – 7:30 p.m. scheduled from July 13 to August 28, to itself. Taking the life of any human Confirmation for youths of Good Confirmation for youths of Our Lady be carried out in Terre Haute, falls within being, even one who is guilty of grave Shepherd Parish in Indianapolis at of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. As crimes against humanity, weighs on St. Patrick Parish, Indianapolis Indianapolis at Holy Rosary Parish such, the supreme the conscience of both individuals and law of the Church, society as a whole. June 27 – Noon June 28 – 10 a.m. the salvation of Since the pontificate of Pope St. John Reception honoring seminary graduates Mass at St. Maurice Church, Napoleon souls, demands that Paul II, it has been the Catholic position at Bishop Simon Bruté College I speak out on this that today’s prison system is quite Seminary, Indianapolis June 29 – 2 p.m. very grave matter at adequate to protect society from inmates Chrism Mass at SS. Peter and Paul hand. We offer our escaping or being unlawfully set free. Cathedral, Indianapolis sincerest prayers for Keeping in mind the fate of the the murder victims so-called good thief traditionally known and their loved ones. as Dismas, hanging on the cross next Archbishop Charles The suffering and to Jesus, the Church has long held the Declaración del arzobispo Charles C. Thompson sorrow that family belief in conversion as a lifelong process and friends of such that remains a possibility for each and C. Thompson sobre las próximas victims have experienced is heartbreaking. every person until the final moment of We must do what we can to help them death. ejecuciones federales en Indiana heal from the deep and personal wounds Certainly, the grave criminal acts for they have suffered. which those on “death row” have been La reanudación de las ejecuciones de los individuos y de la sociedad en su In accordance with the revision of found guilty of committing can never be federales, programadas del 13 de julio al conjunto. paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the overlooked, diminished or forgotten. For 28 de agosto, que se llevarán a cabo en Desde el pontificado del papa san Juan Catholic Church, as promulgated by Pope the welfare of the common good, anyone Terre Haute, Indiana, recae en el territorio Pablo II, la posición católica ha sido que el Francis, “the death penalty is inadmissible who commits such crimes must not be de la Arquidiócesis de Indianápolis. Por sistema penitenciario actual es muy adecuado because it is an attack on the inviolability allowed to return to society. consiguiente, la ley suprema de la Iglesia, para proteger a la sociedad y evitar que and dignity of the person.” The basis Yet, humanity cannot allow the la salvación de las almas exige que me los reclusos que se escapen o se los libere of this revision is consistent with the violent act of an individual to cause pronuncie sobre este asunto tan grave. ilegalmente. teachings of the last three popes—namely, other members of humanity to react in Ofrecemos nuestras más sinceras oraciones Teniendo en cuenta el destino del llamado Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Emeritus violence. The taking of life, no matter how por las víctimas de asesinato y sus seres buen ladrón conocido tradicionalmente como Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. The “sanitary” or “humane,” is always an act queridos. El sufrimiento y el dolor que la Dimas, colgado en la cruz junto a Jesús, la Church has consistently held up the of violence. While the Church is certainly familia y los amigos de tales víctimas han Iglesia ha defendido durante mucho tiempo la dignity of the person and sacredness of concerned with the soul of every person, vivido resultan desgarradores.

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