November 2016 Issue Of

Eastern Catholic Life Official Publication of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic VOL. LII, NO. 11 NOVEMBER 2016 SanEparchial Alfonso Retreat House, LongPriest Branch, NJ Retreat 2016 n Monday, September had, which really made the retreat tion, meditation, and prayer, is often Paul, Mitred Archpriest James Hay- 26th, the priests of the more intimate and something to interrupted by distractions. This, he er, Eparchial Protosyncellus, and Fa- Byzantine Catholic Ep- which the priests could easily relate. said, a common “occupational haz- ther Edward Cimbala administered archyO of Passaic began to gather with In one of his homilies at the Divine ard” for clergy today. the sacramental Mystery of Holy their Chief Shepherd, Bishop Kurt, Liturgy, Bishop Paul preached very Anointing to each priest for the heal- for the annual Clergy Retreat at San beautifully about the arrival of au- His uplifting and encouraging ing of soul and body. As the priests Alfonso Retreat words – both at the conferences and were anointed, House in Long the Bishop prayed Branch, NJ. Bish- that they would op Paul Chom- be spiritually and nycky, OSBM, physically healthy of the Ukrainian for the great de- Catholic Eparchy mands of the of Stamford, CT, priestly life. served as the retreat master this A great high- year. light of the retreat was the visit of the Prior to the be- Auxiliary Bishop ginning of the of the Eparchy retreat, Bishop tumn and how the leaves are falling of Mukachevo, Kurt welcomed everyone and made from the trees. He pointed out that at the Divine Liturgy – were well re- Ukraine, Bishop Nil, together with some introductory remarks and an- the bare trees reveal their true na- ceived by the clergy, who acknowl- the rector and a priest from the nouncements. Father David Baratel- ture, i.e., how the tree really looks, edged him with a hearty round of staff of the seminary in Uzhorod. li, coordinator of the Eparchial Safe with gnarled branches, absent its applause and the singing of “Many They accompanied the choir of the Environment Program, conducted luxuriant green spring and summer years!” at the conclusion of the re- seminary, which was on a tour of the a training workshop and update foliage. He said this is the same for treat. Bishop Kurt thanked Bishop United States to raise money for the for the priests on the Safe Environ- our souls: we wear masks, which Paul for his words to the presbyter- seminary. On Wednesday morning, ment Program for Children and he compared to the leaves, and it is ate. Bishop Kurt also acknowledged the seminarian choir members sang Young People. Following that, Fa- in repentance and confession that those who organized the retreat, at the Divine Liturgy, which was ther Gregory Noga, who organized we remove those masks and show celebrated the services, and assisted celebrated in Church Slavonic, with the retreat, made some housekeep- our souls as they really are. He then with the cantoring responsibilities. Bishop Nil as the main celebrant ing announcements and introduced connected all of that to the arrival and Bishop Kurt and Bishop Paul as Bishop Paul, who dedicated the re- The San Alfonso Chapel was used concelebrants, along with the rector of spring and the death and resur- for the daily services of Morning treat helping the priests with their rection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. of the seminary in Uzhorod, and Eu- daily life and ministry. Prayer, Divine Liturgy, the Service ropean priests serving in the Epar- He told the priests that they must of Holy Anointing, and the Parastas take the time each day to be atten- chy of Passaic, and Father John Zey- Bishop Paul gave very interesting, for all departed clergy. A particu- ack, a retired priest of our Eparchy. humorous, and concise presenta- tive to the voice of God. Yet, most larly moving event each year is the priests find that their quiet time, The seminarians also offered a brief tions, reflecting quite often on trav- celebration of the Office of Holy Continued on page 10 els and personal experiences he had which should be filled with reflec- Anointing. At this service, Bishop Father Jerome Wolbert, OFM, chants Right Reverend James G. Hayer prays a prayer of healing for the service of Holy Anointing Father Ed Cimbala prays the prayer of healing Long-serving Eparchial priest New Sunday evening Liturgy Bishop’s Appeal—p8—9 Holy Spirit Parish, Bing- retires—p5 in Bayonne, NJ—p6 hamton, NY, celebrates 75th anniversary—p12 Page 2 Eastern Catholic Life NOVEMBER 2016 I Lift Up My Eyes... Pastoral Reflections of Bishop Kurt “If such things are done in the green, what will be done in the dry?” tion of human defects.” Even those with the slight- By 1930, Britain was near to enacting sweeping est vision problems were marked for sterilization to laws with eugenic marriage restrictions and steriliza- cut off their blood line. At that time organizations of tion. On December 31, 1930, Pope Pius XI issued opthamologists had lobbied for laws to register even his famous encyclical on marriage, Casti Cannubi. the relatives of anyone with vision problems. If they Although people sneer at this encyclical nowadays, ne of the wonderful things about American had their way, even the relatives of anyone with vision because it reaffirmed the Christian tradition regard- Oculture is that in every period, we are al- problems would be forcefully sterilized. The Con- ing artificial contraception, it was a prophetic vision ways trying to improve things, to make things better, necticut survey says in its preamble that it is similar to of the chasm of hell opening up in Europe at the time. to make ourselves better. People all over the world surveys of “useful plant and animal life”. It was in this Pius XI condemned eugenics as follows, “Finally, watch us with fascination, both anticipation and trepi- period that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned that pernicious practice must be condemned which dation, especially the young people. Trying to change Parenthood and also a eugenicist, popularized the closely touches upon the natural right of man to enter everything, to always move forward, are good urges, term “human weeds”, who should be eradicated just matrimony but affects also in a real way the welfare but when we try to improve things by breaking the as garden weeds. of the offspring. For there are some who, over solici- laws of God, it always makes things worse, hurting us tous for the cause of eugenics, not only give salutary Harry Laughlin, superintendant of records at Cold and hurting others as well, and sometimes destroying counsel for more certainly procuring the strength and Springs Harbor, was made “federal eugenics agent” our immortal souls. health of the future child—which, indeed, is not con- by Congress. His plan for ethnic cleansing America trary to right reason—but put eugenics before aims One of the things I love about our country is that included concentration camps, de-citizenization, and of a higher order, and by public authority wish to we decided at the revolution to have no aristocracy. then killing. In 1937 he was given an honorary degree prevent from marrying all those whom, even though I remember how angry I felt when they (recently) by the University of Heidelberg for his contributions naturally fit for marriage, they consider, according made special crimes if someone kills or tries to kill to the German program of cleansing. The plan of the to the norms and conjectures of their investigations, the President. Before that it was simply murder—it State of Connecticut was to begin with the steriliza- would, through hereditary transmission, bring forth tion of 11,962 citizens in prison, but then extended defective offspring. And more, they wish to legislate to 175,000 people, 10% of the population. By the to deprive these of that natural faculty by medical ac- “The family is more sacred grace of God, the governor lost the 1938 election and tion despite their unwillingness; and this they do not than the State and men are the plan died. In 1939, the Carnegie Institute got a propose as an infliction of grave punishment under new president who defunded the eugenics program at begotten not for the earth and the authority of the state for a crime committed, not Cold Springs. However, as part of the program, the to prevent future crimes by guilty persons, but against for time, but for Heaven and Carnegie Institute funded a pilot program in 1928 every right and good they wish the civil authority to eternity.” —Pope Pius XI in which IBM tried out its racial data program in Ja- arrogate to itself a power over a faculty which it never maica. IBM then provided the technology that the had and can never legitimately possess.” Nazis used for identifying and tracking Jews and their was the same crime to kill the President and the same assets. In 1927, the US Supreme Court approved of After that passage, the Holy Father continues with crime to kill a homeless man who sleeps under a the forced sterilzation of the mentally retarded, and these sublime words, “Those who act in this way are at bridge. In God’s eyes, the homeless man is as valuble that was the beginning of the forced sterilization of fault in losing sight of the fact that the family is more as the President, and I believe that was also what we 60,000 “undesirable” Americans up until the 1960’s. sacred than the State and that men are begotten not decided at the time of our revolution.

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