WWW.THEFLORIDACATHOLIC.ORG | May 11-24, 2018 | Volume 79, Number 13 A focus on the beauty of vocations In Memoriam St. John Neumann High School mourns beloved teacher, mentor Priests ordained for Palm Beach Sisters offer education, Deacons to be ordained inspiration in Indiantown for Orlando Rebel leader praises Catholic work in liberated area PAUL JEFFREY The SPLA-North is one of several rebel Catholic News Service groups in Sudan, whose Islamist rulers have cracked down viciously on regional attempts NUBA MOUNTAINS, Sudan | The at autonomy. Hilu said “better management leader of a rebel group fighting the of diversity” is necessary if Sudan is to re- main intact. government of Sudan says the Catho- “We are fighting for a secular, democratic, lic Church has given hope to the peo- and united Sudan. Unity is a strength. But ple of that country’s war-torn Nuba the Islamists, the Muslim extremists under Bashir, do not believe in diversity. They don’t Mountains. respect religious diversity, ethnic diversity, Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu, chair of Sudan or cultural diversity. They want to extermi- People’s Liberation Army-North, says the ac- nate others in order to have an Arab Muslim companiment of the church, under the lead- Sudan. Anyone who is not an Arab or a Mus- ership of retired Bishop Macram Max Gassis lim has no place in their country,” he said. of El Obeid, has encouraged the people of the The liberation movement has tried to Nuba Mountains during decades of war with boost women’s traditional second-class sta- the government in Khartoum. tus in the region. To keep girls in school, at “Bishop Macram gave hope to the people. the beginning of May it implemented a new He gave them courage to continue to fight for law that any man who gets a female student their freedom, to fight for their rights, their pregnant must pay three times the normal dignity and their humanity,” Hilu said dur- bride price, usually a certain number of ing an interview with Catholic News Service cows. May 1. “We believe that women have equal rights Bishop Gassis, who had been threatened Children walk in Kauda, a village in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, April 30. (PAUL with men, but if women are not educated by the Islamist government in Khartoum, JEFFREY | CNS) they will not be able to enjoy these rights,” Sudan, relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, in the said Hilu, who said he was looking for a reli- 1990s and began visiting the isolated Nuba cines. He rehabilitated the church so the munities. gious congregation or other group interested Mountains region, often flying into clandes- faithful could continue their prayer. He es- With the United Nations and most NGOs in opening a girls’ boarding school in the tine airstrips to avoid detection by the Suda- tablished the hospital and the schools,” Hilu afraid to enter the war-torn liberated zone, Nuba Mountains. nese military. said. despite a partial cease-fire beginning last Last year the U.S. government announced “His coming was a big relief to the people. “Then came so many of his colleagues year, Catholic workers provide most of the an end to most economic sanctions against It was moral support. When people saw from the Catholic Church. The most famous medical care and education in the region, the Bashir regime, but a bipartisan group of him here, it gave them hope. They felt they of them were Dr. Tom and Sister Angelina,” and offer some technical assistance to farm- 57 members of Congress wrote the president weren’t alone, that they had friends, and that Hilu said, referring to Dr. Tom Catena, a U.S. ers who’ve been pushed on to less fertile hill- a letter in March urging him to hold the Su- something good would happen,” Hilu said. lay missionary, and Sister Angelina Nyak- sides by the bombing of their valley plots. danese leader accountable for massive hu- Bishop Gassis’ visits came in the middle uru, a Ugandan Comboni sister and nurse. “These are great friends, and we appreci- man rights abuses and corruption. of decades of on-again, off-again fighting “But there are many more.” ate what they have done and the hope they Hilu, whose military force alone is no between the central government and sev- Catena and Sister Nyakuru both work at and the Catholic Church gave the people match for the modern weapons in Khar- eral rebel movements in the South and other Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel, which by providing both material and moral sup- toum’s arsenal, says the world must keep peripheral areas of the country. In 2005, a Bishop Gassis founded in 2008. When the port. These are great people in the eyes of pressure on Bashir. peace treaty was signed that led to the even- Khartoum government started indiscrimi- the Nuba, especially those in the liberated “We want a peaceful country, a stable and tual independence of neighboring South Su- nate bombing of the Nuba Mountains in areas,” Hilu said. democratic country where there is freedom dan, but the Nuba Mountains and two other 2011, almost all foreigners fled. Catena and Hilu was interviewed in a heavily defend- for all. But with the Shariah law imposed nearby areas were left out of the accord. The Sister Nyakuru and a handful of other Cath- ed military post tucked back in the moun- by the National Islamic Front under Bashir, Nuba people continued to suffer isolation olic workers were among the few who re- tains. He is both commander of the SPLA- there is no room for democratization or free- and violence. mained, regularly taking refuge in foxholes North troops as well as the de facto governor dom. So if they can put pressure on Bashir “There was no medicine, so people were with the people they served while Sudanese of the liberated area, in charge of everything to remove this Shariah, then there would be using just roots and local herbal medicines, soldiers rolled barrel bombs out of Antonov from road maintenance to negotiating the room for a united and peaceful Sudan,” Hilu but then Bishop Macram ferried in medi- cargo planes in the skies above their com- region’s political future. said. n WWW.THEFLORIDACATHOLIC.ORG | May 11-24, 2018 FLORIDACatholic ORLANDO DIOCESE 8 men called to the diaconate STAFF REPORT acquainted with it. Their family of the Florida Catholic staff has worshipped at St. Margaret Mary ever since. ORLANDO | Eight devoted men In addition to parish ministries, will be ordained deacons June 9, 10 Tommy serves on the board of di- a.m., at the Basilica of the National rectors for KUDU, an organization Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Uni- focused on providing safe, nurtur- verse in Orlando. The faithful are ing environments for orphans in urged to join Bishop John Noonan Kibale, Uganda. Tommy said he in welcoming them to the diacon- “feels blessed beyond measure to ate in the Diocese of Orlando. have journeyed through diacon- ate formation these last six years LOU BARTOS JR. with my family.” He added, “Amy Lou and Kathy Bartos have been has walked beside me, supported parishioners at Sacred Heart Par- me, and shared in my discernment ish in New Smyrna since 1986 and of God’s call every step of the way.” are co-owners of Halifax Veterinary Chloe feels a very special attach- Center. They have been married for ment to the process and the people, 43 years and have two grown, mar- and does not want family formation ried children, Jason and Mary Re- weekends at San Pedro Center to bekah. They also have two grand- end. “Not only is it a source of great children. Originally from New York, joy to witness the happiness and they settled in New Smyrna Beach closer relationship to God that this to be close to family. process has brought the family, I The couple has been active in fervently believe it has prepared my ministries on the diocesan, par- family for a future of service to the ish and school level. A former park people of God,” Tommy said. The men who will be ordained permanent deacons June 9 are, from left, Hector Isaza, Wilmar Rojas, ranger, Lou’s other passion is salt- Mark Fry, Ed Struttmann, Tommy Cuff, Anthony Medina, Lou Bartos, and Wilfred Tilus. (COURTESY) water fly-fishing. He and Kathy MARK FRY enjoy hiking, kayaking, biking and Mark is the oldest of John and HECTOR FABIO ISAZA grandchild. Anthony has been a family comes first, and to maintain travel on their time off. Elizabeth Fry’s three children. Born Hector refers to himself as a reg- bus driver for students with special the proper family union I have to Kathy noted, “These past years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1972, his ular “cable man” who has worked needs for 17 years with Seminole be able to properly balance family, of formation have fundamentally career brought him from Oklahoma in many other fields. He was born County Public Schools. He arrived work and my diaconate call.” changed not only how Lou views City to Altamonte Springs in July in the mountain city of Pereira, Co- in Florida from Puerto Rico 20 years himself, but also how he views his 2003. There he met his wife, Gloria, lombia, to “a very hard-working sin- ago looking for work. Within weeks, WILMAR ROJAS place in God’s plan. Lou looks for- and married her four years later. gle mother” and has three other sib- he discovered St.