Black Catholic Apostolate Mass Celebrates Witnesses of Light To
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February 11, 2021 | Issue 39 Black Catholic Apostolate Mass Celebrates Witnesses of Light to Break Chains of Darkness By Jen Reed to live our lives in the way The Catholic Witness that they lived their lives, Images of seven so that the faith continues Black Catholics placed to spread and the light of at the altar during our witness will overcome the Diocese’s Black the darkness,” he told The Catholic Apostolate Catholic Witness. Mass shared a dual The annual Mass, message for those sponsored by the Diocese’s in the congregation: Black Catholic Apostolate, remember and is celebrated in conjunction celebrate the good and with Black History Month. holy works they did in It was held on Feb. 7 at their lives, and stand St. Francis of Assisi in on their shoulders to Harrisburg. continue sharing their Father Deogratias light. Rwegasira, AJ, served as The portraited faces the principal celebrant, were of six on the as recently-appointed way to sainthood – spiritual moderator of the Venerable Augustus apostolate. He was joined Tolton, Venerable at the altar by several JEN REED, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS Pierre Toussaint, Young women clap along to traditional spiritual Black priests serving in the Servant of God Julia music at the Black Catholic Apostolate Mass. Diocese and clergy from Greeley, Servant of the parish. God Henriette Delille, Deacon Timothy Tilghman of In his homily, Deacon Servant of God Mother Mary the Archdiocese of Washington, Tilghman encouraged the Elizabeth Lange and Servant guest homilist for the Mass. congregation to be witnesses of God Sister Thea Bowma – “It’s great to see the six to the light in order to break the and of St. Josephine Bakhita, African-American candidates for chains of darkness and despair. canonized in 2000. sainthood on the altar, but there “What is it that we’re called They are but among are many saints who are not to do today?” Deacon Tilghman countless Black Catholics who canonized who have shown us have shown us the way, said More APOSTOLATE the way, and it’s important for us page 7 February 11, 2021 • The Catholic WITNESS- 2 Change in Distribution of Ashes this Year Follows Ancient Custom By Jen Reed between our clergy and parishioners, allowing The Catholic Witness us to maintain worship spaces that are as safe The distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday as can be made during this continued time of will look a little different this year. pandemic.” The Vatican has given guidance about their Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is Feb. distribution in light of safety measures during the 17 this year. It is a day of abstinence from meat coronavirus pandemic. for all Catholics 14 years of age and older, and is Instead of marking the forehead with ashes in a day of fasting for healthy individuals age 18-59. the form of a Cross, clergy will sprinkle ashes on Find Lenten resources online at www. top of the heads of those receiving them. hbgdiocese.org/lent. “Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline Position Available: Diocesan Catholic of the Sacraments, issued this instruction on Youth Organization (CYO) Director the modification of the distribution of ashes for The Secretariat for Catholic Life and this year,” explained Father Joshua Brommer, Evangelization of the Diocese of Harrisburg Director of the Diocesan Office of Divine Worship. is seeking an individual to fill the part- “It follows the ancient and biblical custom of time position of Diocesan Catholic Youth sprinkling ashes on the top of the head.” Organization (CYO) Director. Position is The Congregation for Divine Worship and the responsible for overseeing all areas of the Discipline of the Sacraments published the note Diocesan CYO Basketball Program, with on Jan. 12, and directed clergy to say the formula approximately 3,000 grade school and high for distributing the ashes once to everyone school players on approximately 250 teams present, rather than to each person. and nearly 500 coaches. The priest or deacon, therefore, will say the Applicants will be expected to be in full formula once – “Repent, and believe in the compliance with the Diocese of Harrisburg Gospel,’ or ‘Remember that you are dust, and Youth Protection Program and accountable to dust you shall return” – instead of to each to the Diocesan Director of Evangelization individual. and Catechesis. Hourly compensation He will cleanse his hands and put on a face commensurate with experience. Application mask before distributing the ashes. He will then deadline is March 5, 2021. sprinkle ashes over the head of each individual in For more information, contact the Office of silence. Evangelization and Catechesis at jgontis@ “The sprinkling of ashes on top of the head is hbgdiocese.org. a common practice followed in many parts of the Send resume and cover letter to: world,” said Bishop Ronald Gainer. “This method [email protected] of distribution will limit the personal contact Publisher: 4800 Union Deposit Road The Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer, Harrisburg, PA 17111-3710 DD, JCL, Bishop of Harrisburg Phone: 717-657-4804 Executive Director for Public Relations: Email: [email protected] Rachel Bryson, M.S. [email protected] Digital subscriptions provided complimentary to all parishioners registered to a parish in the Diocese of Managing Editor: Jennifer Reed The mission of The Catholic Witness is Harrisburg. The Catholic Witness (ISSN 0008-8447, [email protected] to be of personal and practical help as USPS 557 120) is published digitally weekly except we try to be loyal and true witnesses for Photojournalist: Chris Heisey Christmas/New Year by the Harrisburg Catholic Christ in our daily living, spiritual and [email protected] Publishing Association, 4800 Union Deposit Road, temporal, in private and in public. Harrisburg, PA 17111. February 11, 2021• The Catholic WITNESS- 3 Did ‘the Roman Catholic Church’ Unjustly Collect Federal Aid? AP Story Misrepresents Church Finances, Expert Says By Jonah McKeown employees. entities, the article gives the Catholic News Agency The loans, given by the Small impression that “this is all one A Feb. 4 investigative story Business Administration, were budget with fungible dollars”— from the Associated Press approved on a first come, first a “gross misrepresentation” inaccurately portrays “the served basis. According to that belies a “fundamental Roman Catholic Church” as reports, an estimated 12,000- ignorance” of Church finances a “giant corporate monolith” 13,000 of the 17,000 Catholic in the U.S. that raked in federal aid while parishes in the U.S. applied, The article goes on to claim sitting on billions of dollars that and most were encouraged to that the total assets for all they could have used to pay do so by their dioceses. Catholic entities in the U.S., employees, a canon and civil According to the AP’s including dioceses, parishes, law expert told CNA. analysis, “dioceses” and “other and charities, totals more than In reality, “the Roman Catholic institutions” collectively $10 billion and in some cases Catholic Church” in the U.S. is received about $3 billion from increased slightly over the made up of tens of thousands the PPP program, leading the course of the pandemic. of separate nonprofits, most of authors to conclude that “the Importantly, to reach the which did not have legal access Roman Catholic Church” was $10 billion figure, the AP “also to liquid cash necessary to perhaps “the biggest beneficiary included funding that dioceses pay their employees when the of the paycheck program.” had opted to designate for pandemic took hold last year. Father Pius Pietrzyk, OP, special projects instead of The CARES Act, passed in a canon and civil lawyer and general expenses; excess cash March 2020, initially authorized a professor at St. Patrick that parishes and their affiliates some $350 billion in loans to Seminary in Menlo Park, deposit with their diocese’s small businesses, known as the California, told CNA that in savings and loan; and lines of Paycheck Protection Program, conflating the finances of credit dioceses typically have which was intended to allow dioceses with those of individual with outside banks.” them to continue to pay their parishes and other Catholic The AP story does not assert that dioceses or other Catholic The Diocese of Harrisburg entities committed fraud or offers congratulations and broke the law by applying for prayerful best wishes to and receiving PPP loans, but Most Reverend Larry J. a strong theme in the article Kulick, on the occasion of is that “the Roman Catholic his Ordination as the 6th Church” did not need the loans, Bishop of Greensburg. and could have afforded to Bishop Kulick’s Mass of continue to pay its employees Ordination and Installation with the assets “the Church” was being celebrated at had on hand. press time on the afternoon The story is similar to a story of Thursday, February 11. the AP published during July A news article and photos 2020, which criticized the “U.S. of the Ordination will be Roman Catholic Church” for published online at www. accepting what appeared at the hbgdiocese.org and in next week’s edition of The More FEDERAL AID Catholic Witness. page 4 February 11, 2021 • The Catholic WITNESS- 4 FEDERAL AID contined from 3 time to be $1.4-3.5 billion worth of PPP loans. But there is, both legally and financially, no single entity that is the “U.S. Roman Catholic Church.” Nearly each of the nation’s 17,000 parishes operates as its own nonprofit, and weekly donations help to employ the priest, along with the employees who maintain the parish and its ministries. The distinction in civil law is important, but the distinction in canon law— the law governing the Church— is also crucial to understand, and CNA/SHUTTERSTOCK applies to every diocese in the world.