Inside Archbishop Buechlein . 5 Editorial . 4 Question Corner . 15 Sunday and Daily Readings . 15 Serving the ChurchCriterion in Central and Souther n Indiana Since 1960 Respect Life Supplement . 9 CriterionOnline.com September 30, 2005 Vol. XXXXIV, No. 51 75¢ Five archdiocesan schools named Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence By Brandon A. Evans Across the nation, 245 public schools To date, no other diocese in the United “There is, in my opinion, no higher Five archdiocesan schools have been and 50 private schools were honored this States has had as many Blue Ribbon accomplishment,” Lentz said. “It’s an named No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon year. With 11 schools honored in the state schools as the Archdiocese of awesome feeling.” Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Depart- of Indiana, the archdiocese operates nearly Indianapolis. More than just a marketing tool or an ment of Education. half of the Blue Ribbon schools. “I’m just thrilled to death,” said award for a principal, being named a Blue The new Blue Ribbon schools are Holy The recent honors also bring the total Annette “Mickey” Lentz, executive direc- Ribbon school is a recognition of the Family School in New Albany, St. Michael number of Catholic schools in the arch- tor of Catholic education and faith forma- community—parents, teachers, students School in Greenfield, and Immaculate diocese to be honored by the U.S. Depart- tion for the archdiocese. and parish—that work to create an excel- Heart of Mary School, St. Simon the ment of Education to 20 since 1982. Last She was the principal of St. Mark the lent Catholic school, she said. Apostle School and St. Thomas Aquinas year, the archdiocese had six Blue Ribbon Evangelist School in Indianapolis in 1985 And so many Blue Ribbon awards is a School, all in Indianapolis. schools, and four the year before that. when it was named a Blue Ribbon school. See SCHOOLS, page 7 Catholic Center employees kick Photos by Sean Gallagher Photos by off annual Called to Serve appeal By Brandon A. Evans A Sept. 20 luncheon at the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis was the official start of the 2005-06 Called to Serve: Parish Stewardship and United Catholic Appeal (UCA). The annual appeal seeks not only to help Catholics serve their parish needs, but also to help the shared ministries and home missions of the archdiocese through the UCA, which has a minimum financial goal of $5.5 million this year. The luncheon is a way for the employ- ees of the archdiocese—mostly those who work at the Catholic Center—to take the lead in making a sacrifice for the good of others in the archdiocese. It was also a chance to introduce this Shawn Varnado, far right, holding his 1-year-old son DaSean, watches, from left, his step-daughter Teri Kennedy, his wife Mirandra, his son Shawn Jr., year’s co-chairs of the appeal, Dale and and his step-daughter, Dazha Holliday load their book bags in the back of their van at the end of the children’s first day as students at St. Joan of Arc Teresa Bruns, members of Immaculate School in Indianapolis. The family, whose home in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans was destroyed in the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina, are Conception Parish in Milhousen. now living in Indianapolis through the aid of anonymous contributors. “We’re grateful we can support the shared ministries and home missions of our Church,” Dale Bruns said. Catholic grade school takes in students This year, the UCA will feature a greater emphasis on the home missions of the archdiocese—47 percent of the finan- displaced by Hurricane Katrina cial goal, or more than $2.5 million, is allotted for direct outreach to those By Sean Gallagher themselves in Indianapolis. An important Their transportation to and in parishes and schools. part of this stability was the enrollment of Indianapolis, their housing expenses “In the next few years,” said The family of Shawn and Mirandra three of the family’s children at St. Joan and the children’s tuition are all being See UCA, page 7 Varnado were on the move for the first of Arc School in Indianapolis. donated by people from central Indiana two weeks after Hurricane Katrina Shawn Varnardo Jr., is now in the who wish to remain anonymous. threatened and eventually flooded their school’s kindergarten. His sister, Dazha Sept. 22 was the children’s first day home in the Lower Ninth Ward of Holliday, is in the sixth-grade. And Teri of school in nearly a month. For her New Orleans a month ago. Kennedy is a seventh-grade student. part, Teri was glad to be studying But recently they found some hope The family is currently living at a hotel again, even if it was in a new school in and a more predictable life for in Indianapolis. See HURRICANE, page 2 Archdiocese honors pro-life supporters for their work By Mary Ann Wyand Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. formation commission and liturgy com- Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein will mittee at St. Susanna Parish. She also St. Susanna parishioner Karen celebrate the pro-life Mass and present assists with the parish ministry to Burkhart of Plainfield, the Indiana death the annual archdiocesan pro-life awards offenders incarcerated at the Plainfield penalty abolition coordinator for in recognition of their outstanding lead- Correctional Facility by coordinating a Amnesty International, will be honored ership in promoting the sanctity and dig- twice-a-month Bible study group and with the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara nity of life. Father Kevin Morris, pastor serving as an extraordinary minister of Respect Life Award and Sacred Heart of of St. Susanna Parish, will concelebrate holy Communion at the prison. Jesus parishioner Jennifer Wulf of Terre the liturgy, which is open to the public. Father Morris said Burkhart is “the Haute will receive the Our Lady of In addition to 30 years of abolition wonderful wife and mother of a warm, Guadalupe Pro-Life Youth Award during work for Amnesty International on the giving, loving family,” and will “jump in the archdiocesan Respect Life Sunday international, national and state levels, and try to help whenever there is an Mass at 1 p.m. on Oct. 2 at SS. Peter and Karen Burkhart is a member of the faith See LIFE, page 8 Page 2 The Criterion Friday, September 30, 2005 Texas-Louisiana border areas hit hardest by Hurricane Rita WASHINGTON (CNS)—Information include hurricane information. about the full extent of the damage from A preliminary diocesan report noted the parts of Texas and Louisiana that were that 10 churches in the diocese had flood hit hardest by Hurricane Rita on Sept. 24 CNS photo from Reuters damage. In many parishes, the damage was still difficult to obtain two days later. occurred in rectories, parish halls and The second hurricane to sweep into the cemeteries. Lafayette Bishop Michael Gulf Coast region in a month veered east Jarrell sent a letter to all pastors prior to of the most heavily populated parts of Hurricane Rita urging them to follow Texas, rather than hitting the Galveston- evacuation protocols and to take all Houston area head-on as had earlier been sacramental records with them. feared. Sherry Swaney Heflin, editor of the The storm’s path brought it ashore Catholic Connection, diocesan newspaper closer to Louisiana at the Texas coastal in Shreveport, La., said her diocese had town of Sabine Pass, near Port Arthur. not been hit hard by the storm, which Karen Gilman, editor of the East Texas mainly knocked down trees and power Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of lines but did not cause significant flood- Beaumont, told Catholic News Service on ing. She said the chancellor’s office as of Sept. 26 that she had seen photos showing Sept. 26 was not aware of damaged damage to the dome of the recently reno- churches. vated St. Anthony Cathedral, but had no The Diocese of Alexandria, La., also idea yet what the extent of that damage had not yet received reports of damage, was or what problems there might be for but the diocesan offices were closing early other Church property. on Sept. 26 following a mandatory order There is one Catholic parish in Sabine that nonessential businesses close because Pass, much of which was under 5 feet of of low water pressure. They were urged to water the day after the hurricane, Gilman stay closed until the following day at said. noon. She had left Beaumont well into the CNS was unable to reach Morris day on Sept. 23, after Rita’s path shifted LeBleu, editor of The Southwest Catholic, more eastward than earlier predictions had diocesan newspaper of Lake Charles, La., put it, so she avoided the traffic jams an area where the hurricane’s heaviest headed north and instead went west to A church with a cemetery in the background is damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita in rains fell. Houston to wait out the storm. She said Cameron, La., on Sept. 24. Hurricane Rita was the second powerful storm in less than a month that left According to the National Weather she was headed back to Beaumont on the U.S. Gulf Coast reeling. Rita brought renewed flooding in New Orleans, widespread power outages Service, rain in Lake Charles was falling Sept. 26. and roads across hundreds of miles closed by debris, although damage was less than feared. at a rate of 3 to 4 inches an hour and the Meanwhile, Erik Noriega, editor of the town had 8 inches of rain more than two Texas Catholic Herald of the Houston- of southwestern Louisiana, heavy rains his home in Crowley, about 30 miles west hours before the storm’s landfall.