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Voters Warned About Groups Claiming to Represent Church on Election Issues

PHOENIX (CNS) — Ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Arizona’s Catholic bishops alerted voters to “unapproved political efforts” they said are being carried out by a number of organizations and publications claiming to represent the Catholic Church on a variety of issues on the ballot.

In a joint statement released Oct. 31 by the Arizona Catholic Conference in Phoenix, the prelates said these entities are “calling themselves ‘catholic’” but they “do not represent the Catholic Church.”

They “cover various ends of the political spectrum and often engage in partisan political endeavors,” the statement added.

Canon 216 of the Code of Canon Law “stresses that no initiative can lay claim to the title ‘catholic’ without the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority,” the bishops said. “The use of the name ‘catholic’ implies that the initiative in some way represents the Catholic Church.”

“Hence the competent authority — in most instances the local bishop — must give permission for any entity, endeavor or movement to call itself ‘catholic,’” they added. “Those who do so without permission are in violation of church teaching and law.”

“We must stress that the Catholic Church is always politically nonpartisan,” the bishops continued. “Moreover, it is worth recalling that the Catholic Church has a long tradition of our beliefs influencing our personal politics — not our personal politics trying to influence our faith. When we reverse those two, we place ourselves outside the tradition and teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The bishops pointed Catholics to a YouTube video with further reflections from them on the matter at https://bit.ly/3DqIjST.

The statement was signed by Bishop John P. Dolan of Phoenix; Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, whose diocese includes a portion of Arizona; Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson; and retired Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, who is apostolic administrator of Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy.

To help U.S. Catholics sort through ballot issues and their choices for public offices, the U.S. bishops offer guidance in their quadrennial election document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility.”

It does not tell Catholics how to vote but how to “form their consciences, apply a consistent moral framework to issues facing the nation and world, and shape their choices in elections in the light of Catholic social teaching.”

The document has been offered as a guide to Catholic voters every presidential election year since 1976. It has been updated and revised at four-year intervals to reflect changes in the issues confronting the country since it first appeared.

A PDF of the document in English and Spanish is posted on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at faithfulcitizenship.org, along with additional resources.

On the USCCB’s YouTube channel at bit.ly/31DHDGN are five videos in four languages — English, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese — that explore various aspects of Catholic social teaching while reflecting the teaching of Pope Francis.

One example of bogus publications the Arizona bishops alerted Catholic voters about is the Arizona Catholic Tribune, which was the subject of a Nov. 1 story in the Green Valley News, a secular news outlet based in Green Valley, Arizona.

“The truth? It’s a fake newspaper,” said the headline. “‘Paper’ in your mailbox isn’t from Catholic Church.”

A reader alerted reporter Mary Glen Hatcher to the fake paper. Hatcher confirmed with the Phoenix Diocese that it was not an official Catholic publication.

The reader, Linda Houck, highlighted some headlines she said she found offensive: “One positions Sen. Mark Kelly next to the words ‘Most Unjust and Extreme … Ever Seen,” Hatcher wrote. “While another full-page spread seems to connect Arizona’s public school teachers with ‘child sexualization.’”

Houck told the Green Valley News that she was “just very offended by this paper” and that it would be sent to her “like they know who I am.”

“All I know is that people are going to believe what they’re reading,” she said, “and it’s very sad when people start believing stuff like this and don’t even question it — they might just think if the Catholic Church believes it, then it must be true.”

The Tribune paper in Arizona is reminiscent of a similarly named unofficial Catholic publication that was circulated during the general election in 2020, particularly in Wisconsin.

On Oct. 22, 2020, less than two weeks before Election Day, Catholics in the Diocese of Green Bay began receiving the Wisconsin Catholic Tribune, an eight-page broadsheet published and owned by Franklin Archer Publishing in Chicago.

Some months earlier, The Compass, Green Bay’s official diocesan newspaper, had published a report about the Tribune, which was not affiliated with any official Catholic entity.

The June 12, 2020, story, “Website uses Compass content in violation of copyright law,” revealed the Tribune was taking stories from The Compass and other diocesan newspaper websites and using them on its own website.

After the story was published, the Tribune stopped the practice and instead began using information from parish bulletins and websites. The paper also included a listing for contacts in each of Wisconsin’s five dioceses, with the names and email addresses of each diocesan bishop.

The list, under the heading of “Contact your local diocese,” gave the newspaper more credibility, said a Compass reader who alerted the diocesan newspaper to the Tribune hitting homes a couple weeks before the election that year.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 11/04/22

Pope Francis had a busy second day in Bahrain.

A Vietnam veteran is putting his sneakers on the starting line of the New York City Marathon.

Students in the Diocese of Brooklyn are celebrating Veterans Day a little early.

Diocese of Brooklyn Organist Makes Push for More Education Amid Nationwide Shortage

By Jessica Easthope

The organ is the soundtrack to Connor Whalen’s life. He taught himself how to play the organ by ear when he was 9-years-old and played his first full mass at 12.

“I’ve watched videos and read some books and practiced, it’s not easy, ya know,” he said.

He started playing on Immaculate Heart of Mary Church’s old organ, and now, as the church’s organist and music director, he plays a brand new one that’s just his.

“It brought me much closer to God and I’m really happy that I’m able to play my part and help with the liturgy because having a pipe organ,” Connor said.

Immaculate Heart of Mary spent $350,000 on an Opus 765 Kilgen organ. Pastor, Father Ilyas Gill said it was worth every penny.

“Music is a major part of our liturgy and without music the mass becomes very dry and through music our liturgy becomes very alive and people rejoice over this,” said Fr. Gill.

But not many churches are willing or have that kind of money to spend. One of the many factors causing a nationwide organist shortage.

“It is a challenge especially for smaller parishes that are struggling just to keep the doors open to fund a professional musician to help lead the services,” said J.W. Arnold, the marketing and communications specialist for the American Guild of Organists.

The American Guild of Organists has seen its membership fluctuate over the years.

Right now there are 13,000 members. The Brooklyn chapter has 48 members – one decade ago there were 58.

“It’s something that’s alive and vibrant and there’s still a purpose for it and our mission is to educate and support our members but also educate our pastors, why should you spend money on a salary for an organist,” said Gary Di Franco, dean of the Brooklyn chapter.

But finances isn’t the only reason for dwindling numbers. The pandemic drove some organists away and a full return to parish life hasn’t yet happened. And Guild officials say as more parishes make a move toward more contemporary services, the organ is being played off.

But not for Connor. He says if anything will bring people back to mass, it’s his organ’s 1,429 pipes.

“It creates such a beautiful rich sound to fill the space of the church, as you walk into that church it brings people closer to God and it really uplifts people and it’s that kind of sound that makes people want to come back,” he said.

Connor said the solution to the shortage is more access and education.

“There’s not a lot of education around here, we need to have more training, include more programs especially for people who are very young,” he said.

Immaculate Heart of Mary’s organ setup is worth $1M but Fr. Gill says having a gifted organist, willing to pay and evangelize with music is priceless.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 11/03/22

Many churches across the country are having a hard time finding people to man the keys of their organs.

The Holy Father landed in Bahrain this morning.

Students in the Diocese of Brooklyn are celebrating Veterans Day a little early.

Carol Zimmermann Talks the Biggest Stories of Her Career; Will Join The Tablet Jan. 2023

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The new year will signal a new beginning for Carol Zimmermann, who has accepted a position with The Tablet newspaper as its senior national correspondent.

Zimmermann is in the final stretch of concluding her 30-year run with Catholic News Service as the agency is poised to close its U.S. operation on Dec. 31.

In print since 1908, The Tablet has a long track record of serving the Catholic reader with award-winning news and opinion.

“Carol is a trusted journalist in the Catholic media community, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have her join our team in January,” said Vito Formica, executive director of news content and development at DeSales Media Group —  the communications and technology non-profit that produces and publishes The Tablet.

For Zimmermann, Formica’s multi-platform approach to covering news, plus The Tablet’s reputation and influence in the faith-based and secular sectors, are some of the things that attracted her to the job.

“I’m really looking forward to being part of the DeSales team. I have caught some of their energy at the Catholic Media Association conferences, and in a recent editorial meeting I joined online,” Zimmermann said.

The Tablet is part of a larger news operation that includes the Spanish-language sister publication Nuestra Voz, the nightly TV program “Currents News,” and a digital department that oversees three news websites and social media accounts.

“We strive to cover news for Catholics on the local, national, and international level in a way that makes it relevant to them,” said Jim DelCioppo, Editor of The Tablet. “Carol brings an in-depth knowledge of the Church that will only further enhance our product.”

Zimmermann has a history of covering a wide range of topics, including the election of Pope Francis, the work of the U.S. bishops, and most recently, the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

While Zimmermann’s work will now continue with The Tablet, she shared that earlier this year, the decision by the U.S bishops to close CNS came as a shock to her and her colleagues. She pointed out that existing news organizations, like The Tablet, must fill that void so the full story of the Church can continue to be told.

“Our stories reflect how the Catholic faith is not just for Sunday Mass but something that really impacts people’s daily lives,” Zimmermann said. “I have long been part of reporting this story, and I’m thrilled to be able to continue it.”

Michelle Powers, managing editor of news operations at DeSales, will work on story assignments with Zimmermann. “She has the attributes of an old-school print reporter and the motivation of a modern-day journalist,” Powers said. “With that perfect pairing, we are excited to see how she will help bring DeSales Media to new heights.”

Zimmermann is a board member of the Catholic Media Association. She and her husband, Mark, editor of the Catholic Standard newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, have two grown children and a high schooler. They live in Maryland, where they attend St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg. Zimmermann will continue to be based in Washington, D.C.

Deacon and Former Friend Of Emmett Till Celebrates Statue of Civil Rights Icon

By John Lavenburg

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — When Deacon Arthur Miller reflects on the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, he’s convinced at least 1% of the Money, Mississippi, community knew that it was wrong but none of them had the courage to speak out.

With that in mind, Deacon Miller said a new statue of Till in a Mississippi community not far from where the black teenager was kidnapped and killed is a powerful reminder of the community’s complicity in what happened and a call for Catholics to live out their faith.

“Maybe that statue is a calling to people to say it’s about time we stood up for what is right because this isn’t about being black, this is about social justice and our Catholic faith and what Christ taught us,” Deacon Miller, who was Till’s neighbor growing up in Chicago, told The Tablet, adding that he hopes the statue can be a “bastion of hope that we will never allow that kind of thing to happen again.”

“Hope that we can overcome even the worst of things and recognize that every human being is a child of God and the worst thing that you can do is destroy someone’s initiative, their curiosity, their hope.”

While visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955, Till went to a local store with his cousins and supposedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. Her husband, Roy Bryant, and brother-in-law, J.W. Milam, kidnapped and murdered the 14-year-old, dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River.

The lynching became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Especially after Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, held an open-casket funeral in Chicago so the world could see what happened. Deacon Miller credits her for keeping hope alive.

“[Till] wasn’t Catholic, but back in those days, most people in the black community were very faithful because the only thing we had was hope, and the worst thing you can do to any community, any human being, is destroy their hope,” he said. “You can suffer at many things, but you can only do it with hope. What they did to Emmett Till was to try to extinguish hope, but his mother wouldn’t let it happen.”

The new statue, located in Greenwood, Mississippi, is about 10 miles from what’s left of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market, the store Till visited on August 24, 1955. The 9-foot tall bronze statue depicts a living Till in slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie with one hand on the brim of a hat. Today, Leflore County, where Greenwood is located, is 70% black. 

Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, who leads the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, told The Tablet that the statue is a reminder that there is a “precious” cost to racism, and that cost is life. 

“I hope those who look upon that statue will certainly remember Emmett Till,” Archbishop Fabre said. “I hope they’ll utter a prayer for him and all those who lost their lives due to racism, but I also hope it inspires people to do what we can to continue to fight to overcome the evil and sin of racism.” 

When The Tablet spoke with Deacon Miller, 77, he was in Nevada, visiting his older brother, who was a good friend and classmate of Till. He described the inherent kindness Till had, even at such a young age. 

Deacon Miller credits his mother for his strong Catholic faith. He credits his experience growing up in a segregated Chicago — combined with his understanding of Catholic values — for his commitment to fighting for racial justice. He was arrested for the first time in 1963 during a march against segregated schools in Chicago, and the last time in 2015, participating in a Black Lives Matter demonstration. 

He formerly led the Archdiocese of Hartford’s Office for Black Catholic ministries and wrote a book in 2005 titled, “The Journey to Chatham: Why Emmett Till’s Murder Changed America, a Personal Story.” 

Deacon Miller said he’s seen estimates that only 5% of Americans participated in the Civil Rights Movement in a meaningful way from 1955-1964, noting the impact they had and how the church can hopefully have a similar impact. 

“My hope is that our church, all of us, become that 5% because just 5% can change stuff, just as the [1%] in Money, Mississippi, could have said something, and it would’ve been much bigger,” Deacon Miller said. He added that as a nation, “Thank God we’re not where we were, but praise the Lord we ain’t where we’re supposed to be,” either.