That All May Be One Festival of Faiths to highlight religions’ history in state, page 12. Serving the Church in Central and Southern Indiana Since 1960 CriterionOnline.com August 19, 2016 Vol. LVI, No. 45 75¢ EVANGELIZATION SUPPLEMENT For Pope Francis, Mother Teresa is ‘Bringing a model of mercy at work, fueled souls to God’ by prayer VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When Pope Francis canonizes Blessed Teresa of Kolkata on Sept. 4, he won’t simply be fulfilling a special duty of his office. He will be honoring a woman he has called “a symbol, an icon for our age.” When talking about the intersection of prayer, mercy, concrete acts Blessed of charity and Teresa of Kolkata peacemaking, Mother Teresa was Pope Francis’ go-to reference. In one of his early morning homilies in November 2015, Pope Francis spoke about war and about how, by the way they live their lives, many people promote hatred rather than peace and selling weapons rather than sowing love. “While weapons traffickers do their work, there are poor peacemakers who Steve Dawson believes two-minute conversations with strangers about his Catholic faith can lead them closer to God. Here, the founder of give their lives to help one person, then St. Paul Street Evangelization talks about the difference Christ has made in his life with two women on a street corner in Bloomington on Aug. 4. another and another and another,” the pope (Photo by John Shaughnessy) said. Mother Teresa was clearly one of the peacemakers, he added. “With cynicism, the powerful might say, Street evangelists’ efforts to lead strangers ‘But what did that woman accomplish? She spent her life helping people die,’ ” Pope Francis said, noting that the cynics do closer to Christ create amazing encounters not realize that Mother Teresa understood the By John Shaughnessy years ago when Dawson first tried to bring ever thought about becoming a Catholic. path to peace, and they do not. people to God and the Catholic faith. “She said she had considered it because A much longer papal reflection on BLOOMINGTON—In 36 minutes, As part of his early evangelization her boyfriend was Catholic, but she had lessons from the life of Mother Teresa was Steve Dawson will do something that efforts, he often offered strangers a blessed problems with the doctrine, especially published in July. Pope Francis wrote the many Catholics consider the most Miraculous Medal, following the example about abortion,” Dawson recalls. “So preface to an Italian publisher’s book of talks intimidating part of St. Maximillian Kolbe who viewed I gave her a short explanation about Mother Teresa gave in Milan in 1973. See more of our of their faith, the medal as a sign of grace that God the Church’s teaching on abortion. She Mother Teresa’s life showed the centrality Evangelization but right now could use “to bring about conversion in a listened and talked with us. When we of prayer, charity, mercy in action, family and Supplement, the 40-year- person’s life.” left the restaurant, I thought I’d never youth, Pope Francis wrote. pages 7-11. old father of Sitting in a restaurant with friends, see her again.” “Mother Teresa untiringly invites us to two small Dawson offered a medal to their young, Yet, a meeting three months later led draw from the source of love: Jesus crucified children is sharing the story of how a friendly waitress, explaining its history. Dawson back to the same restaurant. and risen, present in the sacrament of the two-minute conversation with a stranger After the waitress accepted it, she and Recognizing him, the young waitress Eucharist,” the pope wrote. She began each changed her life—and his—forever. Dawson briefly talked about their different rushed toward him. day with Mass and ended each day with The conversation happened several faith backgrounds when he asked her if she See EVANGELISTS, page 10 eucharistic adoration, which made it possible See MERCY, page 2 Seminarians perform works of mercy during annual convocation By Sean Gallagher Seminarian Liam Hosty walked slowly around the priests’ circle in Calvary Cemetery in Indianapolis, looking for a particular grave. He wanted to see the burial place of Father Joseph MacNally, his pastor at St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis when he was a boy. Finally coming upon it, he squatted down to spend some time by it. The moment was emotional for Hosty, a new archdiocesan seminarian who is a freshman at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary and Marian University, both in Indianapolis. “I remember him as a kid,” Hosty said of the priest who was commonly known as “Father Mac.” “He was an Seminarian Liam Hosty spends time on Aug. 10 before the grave of Father Joseph older priest at the time. But he’s one of the inspirations of MacNally at Calvary Cemetery in Indianapolis. Hosty and other archdiocesan why I wanted to become a seminarian. I remember how seminarians did various works of mercy, including praying for the dead, during gentle he was. their recent annual convocation. Father MacNally was Hosty’s boyhood pastor at See CONVOCATION, page 3 St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis. (Photo by Sean Gallagher) Page 2 The Criterion Friday, August 19, 2016 Bishop comforts evacuees at shelters; flooding displaces 20,000 BATON ROUGE, La. three evacuation shelters on parishes have declared a state of (CNS)—As Louisiana’s Aug. 14 to comfort evacuees. emergency, with more expected governor announced the federal In a statement the day before, to do so. government had declared a he dispensed Sunday Mass “This is a serious event. It is major disaster for the state on obligations for all Catholics ongoing. It is not over,” Edwards Aug. 14, Catholic churches in the affected by the storm and urged told reporters. “We are not in Baton Rouge Diocese called for parishioners to limit their driving control as far as how fast these volunteers to help those displaced over the weekend because of floodwaters will recede, and in by extreme flooding, and asked “the inherent dangers of unsafe fact they are still going up in flood victims what assistance driving conditions.” some places.” they needed. “Please know of my prayers He said he traveled to affected Gov. John Bel Edwards for your safety and the safety areas and saw firsthand “the told reporters at a news of your church parishes and destruction caused by this conference that about parishioners,” he said in a unprecedented flood.” 20,000 people had been rescued message to pastors. In a notice on its website, from their homes, and more On Aug. 12, Edwards declared St. Jude the Apostle Parish in than 10,000 people were in a state of emergency for the state East Baton Rouge civil parish shelters after a slow-moving of Louisiana and deployed the called on parishioners available tropical storm system dumped Louisiana National Guard. He to volunteer to attend a morning nearly 2 feet of rain on southern then requested that President meeting on Aug. 15 to help Louisiana. Several rivers crested Barack Obama issue a federal with “flood relief planning and at record levels. disaster declaration. With that implementation.” Richard Rossi and his 4-year-old great-grandson Justice wade through water on As of mid-morning on declaration—which initially “It is possible that a significant Aug. 15 after their home flooded in St. Amant, La. (CNS photo/Jonathan Bachman, Reuters) Aug. 16, state officials said at affected four civil parishes, number of our parish staff are least seven people have died in with more expected—residents unable to leave their homes At least two other flood victims to submit requests the floods. can seek assistance from the and come to work, so we will Baton Rouge parishes, for help and asking others Baton Rouge Bishop Federal Emergency Management need to rely heavily on parish St. George and St. Aloysius, to list the kind of help they Robert W. Muench visited Agency. At least 18 civil volunteers,” the notice said. have set up Web pages asking can provide. † Three Richmond parishes officially become St. Elizabeth Ann Seton By Natalie Hoefer Seton, who served as pastor of the three separate parishes put forth of creating a new pictorial directory of all the since 2012. parish members. Three parishes in Richmond—Holy Family, St. Andrew The name for the parish was chosen in honor of the Overall, there has not been much change for the and St. Mary—were officially combined and named parochial school names—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School members of the three faith communities, particularly St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish on July 1. for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, and Seton since each church will remain open and maintain their The change came about through the Connected in High School for grades 7-12. established Mass schedule, says Father Morris. the Spirit process, which called for the parishes to “be To select the name, says Father Morris, “We put “We’ve been working as a community for so long, it’s extinguished and a new parish out ballots for suggestions in all three churches, just second nature,” he notes. established on July 1, 2016.” then we had ballots of the top 12 [choices]. Then In fact, Father Morris is perhaps the one struggling the The decree states that the new it was down to Holy Trinity, Blessed Trinity and most with the adjustment. parish “will include the territory St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.” “We had a wedding, and I had to sign it as pastor of of the three former parishes, … Those names were submitted to the archdiocese.