Pope Francis Speaks Out About Basic Human Rights

Pope Francis, While in Africa, Speaks of Basic Human Rights

[from the Amecea News Blog: http://amecea.blogspot.com/2015/11/kenya-access-to-safe-drinkable-water-is.html]

Pope Francis has denounced the conditions slum-dwellers are forced to live in and said that access to safe water is a basic human right and that everyone should have dignified, adequate housing.

Speaking at Kangemi Slum in Nairobi during the last day of his visit Pope Francis said “Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity (Laudato Si’, 30). …. To deny a family water, under any bureaucratic pretext whatsoever, is a great injustice, especially when one profits from this need.

Residents of the Kangemi slum lined up along the streets to welcome Pope Francis. Those lucky enough to score access to St. Joseph's parish erupted in cheers and hymns when Francis arrived at the open-sided church that serves the slum of about 50,000 people.

“I am here because I want you to know that your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows, are not indifferent to me.  I realize the difficulties which you experience daily!  How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer?” Pope Francis asked.

On issue of infrastructure Pope Francis said that it is a serious problem if one lacks access to infrastructures and basic services.  “By this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity, roads, as well as schools, hospitals, recreational and sport centers, studios and workshops for artists and craftsmen,” he said.

The Holy Father urged the authority to work with the people living in the slums upon the path of social inclusion, education, sport, community action, and the protection of families, for this is the only guarantee of a peace that is just, authentic and enduring.

In the conclusion of his speech Pope Francis said,  “Dear neighbors, dear brothers and sisters, let us together pray, work and commit ourselves to ensuring that every family has dignified housing, access to drinking water, a toilet, reliable sources of energy for lighting, cooking and improving their homes; that every neighborhood has streets, squares, schools, hospitals, areas for sport, recreation and art; that basic services are provided to each of you; that your appeals and your pleas for greater opportunity can be heard; that all can enjoy the peace and security which they rightfully deserve on the basis of their infinite human dignity.”

Petitions/Prayer of the Faithful for November 22, 2015

[Ellen McHugh wrote these for St. Mary's, Painesville, Ohio.]

Prayer of the Faithful for November 22, 2015

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Celebrant:  As we celebrate our coming together for the Eucharist, let us, dear sisters and brothers,

approach the one God to voice all our needs.

 For peace both internationally and in our own country; that all people will value the absence

of conflict and the presence of God who provides hope and peace that heals all wounds.

We pray to the Lord.

 For Christian and Muslim refugees seeking asylum in Europe and our own country; that

world leaders and citizens will act with wisdom and compassion in receiving them.  We pray

to the Lord.

 As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we offer up a prayer of gratitude for the gifts of health

and material blessings; we pray for those who do not have these gifts, that God may aid

them and that we might mutually support one another.  We pray to the Lord.

 For the food ministries at St. Mary and neighboring churches and for the health and well-

being of the men, women and children they serve.  We pray to the Lord.

 For a special blessing on those newly confirmed this weekend, that they may give witness to

Christ our King in lives built on faith, hope, charity, and love. We pray to the Lord.

 In special gratitude for all those we have loved and lost this year whose names are inscribed

in our hearts. Grant them your peace, a “peace that surpasses all understanding.”  We pray to

the Lord.

 And for those for whom this Mass is offered [name them . . .]. We pray to the Lord.

 Let us pause now and silently offer to the Father our own particular intentions [allow for

silence . . .]. We pray to the Lord.

Celebrant: Father, we believe that you will hear and respond to our sincere prayers, asked in the

name of your Son, and in the power of your Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Serving the Needy, Giving Food to the Hungry at St. Mary's Painesville ("Just Thoughts" article)

[Ed and Krista Zivkovich write about what we are doing at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio.]

A Year of Helping Generously

In March of this year St. Mary's began its 4th year of hosting a monthly "Mobile Pantry" for local

persons and families in need.  This was done in partnership with the Greater Cleveland

Foodbank and under the sponsorship of our St. Vincent de Paul Organization.  Once a month

the Foodbank delivered a truckload of fresh fruits and vegetables and additional foods such as

yogurt, breads, and pastries at no charge.  Upon delivery, a band of hard-working volunteers

then went to work dividing up and often bagging these various food items into household-sized

Another group handled the registrations, assisted invaluably by our bi-lingual volunteers.  This

year, with help from Greater Cleveland Foodbank staff and thanks to our church's generous

extension of wi-fi coverage over to the Fr. Hanzo Family Center, we were able to switch to a

computerized registration system.  This change greatly increased the accuracy and efficiency of

our record keeping and reduced the time it takes to register those who received food.

Once everyone was registered, some volunteers helped distribute the food while others helped

those needing assistance to get food and load it into their cars.  A big thank you also goes to

our local Giant Eagle store for providing bags and loaning us the grocery carts we used each

month.  Additional thanks to the Perry IGA store for also donating grocery bags.

In keeping with Pope Francis' call to be better stewards of the gift of creation, and as part of our

parish's efforts to recycle as much as possible, all cardboard boxes which were left were broken

down and taken to a recycling station, along with recyclable plastics and paper.  Discarded fruit

and vegetable matter was collected and taken to be composted thanks to parishioner Bill

At our nine monthly Mobile Pantries beginning in March and ending this month, November, we

distributed a total of 102,956 pounds (that's 51 tons!) of fresh, healthy foods to an average of

591 people living in 162 households each month.  51% were either children or seniors.

While most of our volunteers were St. Mary's parishioners, we had help at various times from

members of St. Gabriel's, St. Mary's Chardon, and St. Mary Magdalene, as well as several folks

who came to receive food but then pitched right in to do the work that was needed. We can't say

thank you enough to all the volunteers who made this possible.

Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you" and challenged us in the Gospels to help

and support them.  Thanks to our parishioners, our other volunteers, and the Foodbank and its

contributors, the poor are being fed, and will continue to be fed, here at St. Mary's.

Poem for My Grandsons, Colin and Robby

Walking Across Frozen St. Mary’s Lake (January 1967)

I am walking through the woods and gardens

Of Holden Arboretum, holding the hands of my precious

Grandsons, Colin and Robby.

They cannot know what they mean to me,

Cannot know that I dreamed them into being—ha ha! --

. . . in the bitter cold winter of ’66-67,

me walking across the frozen St. Mary’s Lake,

At the University of Notre Dame.

The Golden Dome shining in the crisp night,

The spire of Sacred Heart Basilica,

The glow of the candles at the Grotto—

Me imagining two little boys, one holding my left hand,

One my right, as we tromp across the lake.

Me, rehearsing in my mind ways to explain to your mother

Why this was safe, why this is good—

A controlled adventure,

A thing the boys won’t forget—

Doing something amazing and magical

At this special place, this special night,

With a man who shares their genes and blood—

Boys, I imagined you long ago, I conjured you

When I was 18 years old

On a frozen winter night,

On a frozen lake, long ago,

I dreamed you!

These amazing boys, this fierce love,

This bottomless gratitude.

       Bob Coughlin / October 25, 2015

Just Thoughts: Pope Francis' Encyclical--on Healing the Earth (on Laudato Si')

Here is the J"ust Thoughts" piece I composed for next Sunday's bulletin (for November 1, 2015). Many ideas for this came from last night's Laudato Si' study group at St. Mary's, in Painesville, Ohio.

Just Thoughts: Pope Francis’ Call for Healing in the Encyclical Laudato Si’

A study group has now met twice at St. Mary’s contemplating Pope Francis’s great encyclical Laudato Si’.  This group will meet once more, on Sunday, November 1, at 3 PM in the Father Hanzo Center, focusing on Chapters 5 and 6. The encyclical is available to read at this website: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html. Everyone is welcome to come to the study group!

There are certain themes heavily stressed in the encyclical: the responsibility of human beings to take care of the earth and its environment; the biblical and theological basis for this responsibility; the heavy price the poor pay for our ecological recklessness; the dignity of work and the right that all humans have to meaningful and fairly compensated jobs. Many of these themes are not new to Catholic social doctrine. They go back at least to the encyclical Rerum Novarum that Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1891.

There are, however, some new themes addressed by the Holy Father concerning the most modern forms of technology. He doesn’t see them as in themselves evil, as long as they are controlled and put to work for human beings. Here, in poetic language, he states his hopes:

“We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology; we can put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral. Liberation from the dominant technocratic paradigm does in fact happen sometimes, for example, when cooperatives of small producers adopt less polluting means of production, and opt for a non-consumerist model of life, recreation and community. Or when technology is directed primarily to resolving people’s concrete problems, truly helping them live with more dignity and less suffering. Or indeed when the desire to create and contemplate beauty manages to overcome reductionism through a kind of salvation which occurs in beauty and in those who behold it. An authentic humanity, calling for a new synthesis, seems to dwell in the midst of our technological culture, almost unnoticed, like a mist seeping gently beneath a closed door. Will the promise last, in spite of everything, with all that is authentic rising up in stubborn resistance?” (Par. 112).

The Pope doesn’t exactly say it, but maybe we can think of this “mist seeping gently beneath a closed door” as the action of the Holy Spirit.

Once we understand the nature of these problems addressed in Laudato Si’, with a solid biblical and theological footing, we can begin the urgent work of healing our Earth and all who live there.

* * *

Last week’s “Just Thoughts” had a minor error. If you want to see the petition of the Lake/Geauga Diocesan Social Action Commission calling for gun safety measures, go to this address: http://cqrcengage.com/ccdocle/app/sign-petition?2&engagementld=124658

A Poem for Linda Ronstadt, Silenced by Parkinsons Disease

For Linda Ronstadt: Beautiful Brown Eyes

Los ojos marrones y mas bonitos,

and the voice of an angel,

so beautiful, so beautiful,

now silenced by Parkinsons--

Lo siento, Mi Vida,

so sorry, my love, so sad

to see the end of your musical career,

your songs a sweet gift to the world.

You in your silence

can rest assured:

the great art, the beauty, you created

still stirs the hearts of so many listeners.

[Bob Coughlin / October 2015]

Near the Peak of Fall Color in Northeast Ohio

For various reasons, Northeast Ohio is one of the most beautiful places in the world for fall color. This is especially true a little south of the lake, in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula Counties. These areas have wonderful forests of sugar maple, beech, red maple, tulip poplar, black gum (tupelo), sassafras, hickory, etc. These trees give you yellows, oranges, reds, and all sort of combinations and intermediate shades. I guess the colors are a product of our tree species, soils, and weather. Below are some photos from this morning and the past week.

Red maple, with pin oak in the background (my yard, Chardon)

Blueberry bush (my yard, Chardon)

Some sort of hickory (Penitentiary Glenn)

American beech (Penitentiary Glenn)

Sugar maple

Black gum/tupelo

Sugar maple

Sugar maple in my front yard

Trees behind my house in Hambden/Chardon