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Inside Archbishop Buechlein . 4, 5 Editorial . 4 Marriage Supplement . 13 Question Corner . 11 The Sunday & Daily Readings. 11 Serving the CChurchCriterion in Centralr andi Southert n Indianae Since 1960rion www.archindy.org July 26, 2002 Vol. XXXXI, No. 41 50¢ Foster families find a dream come true in Jeffersonville By Jennifer Del Vechio in the nation, where every family on the block has foster children, has the traditional role models of two parents and JEFFERSONVILLE—Imagine a subdivision of homes lives a committed life to Christ. built entirely for foster children. The vision of helping foster children find a life filled with Homes with manicured lawns, 6,000 square feet of living love and stability started with Smith’s desire “to reach chil- Vechio Del Jennifer Photo by space with at least six bedrooms, and a 10-passenger van dren before they become problematic teens. parked in the driveway. “I want to rescue children from the storms of life,” Smith There’s a neighborhood playground and families can go said. to a nearby community building to shop in a kitchen stocked She said the biblical story of Noah and his family build- full of canned goods and other staples. There’s also a room ing an ark to survive the floods that would destroy the earth filled with clothes and toys. is a good analogy for the lifeline she is trying to provide to At Noah’s Ark Children’s Village in Jeffersonville, Joan foster families. Noah’s Ark Children’s Village in Jeffersonville is a subdivision Smith is building the dream. Just as many people thought Noah’s family was crazy, devoted entirely to the care of foster children. The goal is to have The village is the only model for this type of foster care See FOSTER, page 2 14 homes with about 80 children in the program. African Journey Bill to protect infants born alive Submitted photo approved; Bush expected to sign it WASHINGTON (CNS)—The U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval on July 18 to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. It was then headed to President Bush, who was expected to sign the legislation. The bill, approved by unanimous con- sent in the Senate, would guarantee cer- tain rights under federal law to children born alive, even if it occurs during an abortion. The House approved the legisla- tion by a voice vote in March. In another abortion-related action, the House Judiciary Committee on July 17 approved the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, designed to respond to concerns raised in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Stenberg vs. Carhart decision in 2000. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act would amend the legal definitions of “person,” “human being,” “child” and “individual” to include a live birth that Some of the pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis talk with the children after Sunday Mass earlier this month in the Diocese of Arua in Uganda. has occurred as part of an abortion proce- The pilgrims from Indianapolis are (left to right) Helen O’Heill, Janet Giesting, Kari Dearinger, Mimi Crump and Beverly Sullivan. dure. The bill defines a child as “born alive” only if he or she displays a heart- beat, respiration and/or voluntary move- ments after “the complete expulsion or Archdiocesan pilgrims find Ugandans rich in faith extraction from his or her mother.” Editor’s note: “Stewards Abroad” is an wanted to see Africa and learn about mis- of the largest fresh water lakes in the Douglas Johnson, legislative director occasional series that will look at the sionary work. world. for the National Right to Life Committee, missionary efforts of Catholics from the Meyer has worked in the The streets are busy and congested as said the legislation was needed because Archdiocese of Indianapolis throughout Diocese of Arua in East we move toward Kampala, the capital “some newborn infants, especially those the world. Africa with the Volunteer city. Our first experience outside of the who are born alive during abortions, have Missionary Movement since airport is the effort to repair the bus. The been treated as nonpersons. Stewards By Fr. James M. Farrell Abroad 1991. air conditioning we have been promised “This bill says that every infant born First in a series Like anyone who visits a for the nine-hour road trip isn’t working. alive, even during an abortion and even if world far removed from their We stop for what is supposed to be a premature, is a full legal person under ARUA, Uganda—I am back in own for the first time, my “30-minute” repair job. Two hours later, See ABORTION, page 9 Uganda on my third journey in five fellow pilgrims are quick to notice things we are trying to communicate in the offi- years to visit lay missionary Sherry that are new and different to them. They cial language of the country—English— Meyer from the Archdiocese of are eager to understand the origin of local that we need to leave whether the air Indianapolis. There are 10 people in our customs and the consequences of poverty. conditioning works or not. group—nine from Indianapolis and one From the airplane, as we arrived, we Strangely, we find that while we may from the Batesville area. All of them could see the majestic Lake Victoria—one See UGANDA, page 12 Father Ripperger said it was a joy to ser ve people By Brandon A. Evans Parish in Franklin County in the 1930s. a much earlier age and was a 12-year He recalls how the process—a time when the priesthood was It is the people that have shaped the times were differ- greatly revered and a high ideal for any priesthood of Father William Ripperger. ent, both for the Catholic boy. “I think the priesthood, looking back, Church and for the He entered Saint Meinrad Seminary really celebrates the good, kind people,” he country, which was with about 100 other young men, all said. “It was my privilege to share some of suffering through eager to see if this was what the Lord was their joys and some of their tears.” the Great calling them to do—and to be. Father Ripperger, who was ordained in Depression. Many seminarians in his class never Rome on July 17, 1955, in the Church of It was a time made it, but some, “despite ourselves” the Twelve Apostles, retired this year and when outward and by the will of God, were ordained, moved to Florida to be with his family. preparation for the Father Ripperger said. He grew up as a member of St. Peter Fr. William Ripperger priesthood started at See PRIEST, page 12 Page 2 The Criterion Friday, July 26, 2002 said. FOSTER To her, the two deer symbolized Noah continued from page 1 taking animals two-by-two into the ark. Using $700 in seed money from her Smith said she has battled her share of mother’s memorial fund, Smith began stares and negative comments about getting Noah’s Ark Children’s Village as a non- Vechio Del Jennifer Photos by Noah’s Ark Children’s Village started. denominational project based on Christian However, it didn’t stop her. values. A registered nurse, Smith founded Plans for Noah’s Ark, such as where to St. Elizabeth’s Regional Maternity Center put the homes and how to design them, in New Albany, leaving in 1996. were completed on the day of the biggest There are 580,000 children in the foster flood in southern Indiana, another sign for care system in the United States—where Smith of how Noah’s Ark was going to children are placed in other homes because become a reality. their parents cannot take care of them for a There were challenges as plans contin- variety of reasons. Many children in the ued, such as lawsuits by local homeowners foster care system eventually end up on on the zoning requests, and the issue of hav- welfare or in juvenile detention centers, ing enough money to begin construction. according to government statistics. Smith doesn’t accept any government The problem is that foster children are aid, except for the $15 per day the state placed in numerous homes throughout their gives foster families for each foster child. lives and have little stability, Smith said. On average, it costs about $50 a day to care Noah’s Ark is different because it pro- for one child. vides the same foster family for a child The construction of the Noah’s Ark until he or she is adopted or placed back in homes has been done entirely with private the home of biological parents. donations and private grants because Smith Joan Smith, founder and executive director of Noah’s Ark Children’s Village in Jeffersonville, felt the Leaving St. Elizabeth’s in 1996, Smith won’t compromise her Christian values. call to base a foster-care system on the traditional family with two parents in a neighborhood devoted didn’t think she’d do anything else. She was Turning down $500,000 from the Indiana entirely to foster care children. Smith said the biblical account of Noah inspired her to start a village concentrating on caring for her mother, who Department of Commerce for roads and where she could help save children from the storms of life. was dying of cancer. sewers was the first test of Smith’s desire to When the land for Noah’s Ark became keep a Christian identity for Noah’s Ark. live,” said Jeffrey Holiday, 11, of Holy on the refrigerator, bedrooms decorated available, Smith hesitated and tried to turn it The grant would have provided money Family Parish, as he rolled blue paint on a with stuffed animals and a playroom where down.