New model of food pantry helps people maintain their dignity

SOUTHBRIDGE – Father Peter Joyce would like to see his parish’s food pantry closed.
Not because he doesn’t have enough volunteers. More than 40 people help out at the Blessed John Paul II Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Society food pantry.
Not because carrying 5,000 pounds of food up and down stairs six times a month is too much work.
The parish has a new pantry site in its parish center that is all on one level with easy access.

Doctor prescribed suicide a danger to all and to our society

WORCESTER – “I’d rather be dead than live that way.”
That’s what John Wayne Cockfield said at age 15 upon seeing a severely handicapped person.
That statement is easily turned around to: “You shouldn’t be living like that,” said Mr. Cockfield, who later lost both legs and partial use of one hand in the Vietnam War.
The retired Marine sergeant said he doesn’t mind people saying they wouldn’t want to be like him; he minds them saying he doesn’t have the right to live or has less value than someone who can walk. He said he wouldn’t have chosen to be in a wheelchair, but has a good life.
“When you’re on the outside looking in” it’s different than being on the inside looking out, he said.

Ecumenism requires conversion

In a world plagued by war, greed and forgetfulness about the sanctity of life and the nature of marriage, reconciliation is desperately needed, Bishop McManus said last Friday at the ecumenical service at Assumption College.
Christians are to call the world to be reconciled to God, he said in his sermon at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service. But to the extent that the Church is divided, it cannot credibly preach reconciliation. So Christians pray for the deepening of their unity, that the world may believe in the one true God.
Co-presiding at the service with Bishop McManus were Bishop Gordon P. Scruton, of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts; Bishop Margaret Payne, of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Metropolitan Methodios, of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston.

Featured Articles

March for Life
January 26, 2012 Posted By The Catholic Free Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The rhythmic pounding of bass drums kept time as hundreds of thousands of people marched past the capitol building on Monday afternoon, but even the reverberating drums were nearly drowned out by cries of “We are pro-life!”
A crew of parishioners from St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury joined the crowds at the 39th annual March for Life to add their voices to the movement fighting to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court ruling which, with Doe v. Bolton, legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy in all states.

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NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS
January 9, 2012 Posted By The Catholic Free Press
SHREWSBURY – The Colombian Project is one of many service projects that the students of St. Mary School have embraced. A dedicated group of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students have made a six-year commitment to give the gift of education to the children of Arbelaez, Colombia. In this small town, formal schooling ends for most children after fifth grade when tuition of approximately $100 is required. High school in Arbelaez is grades six through 11. Students and faculty of St. Mary School are sponsoring six children through their high school years.

OTHER NEWS AND PHOTOS …

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Local year in review
January 5, 2012 Posted By The Catholic Free Press
Compiled by William T. Clew

JANUARY
In January, Emmanuel Communications, Inc., of Worcester announced it bought radio station WNEB, 1230 AM, in Worcester, reportedly for $500,000, and would make it a part of the EWTN Radio network.
Mark Lauring of Emmanuel Communications said he and his partners, Raymond Lauring and Michael Grimes, had been discussing plans to bring a Catholic radio station to Worcester for two or three years. The station is one of about 150 EWTN affiliates in the United States.

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Mormons feel misunderstood but say their religion is gaining acceptanc
January 19, 2012 Posted By The Catholic Free Press
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Mormons in the United States might be getting more attention these days, but they have mixed views on what this attention means.
According to a new Pew Forum poll, most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints feel that Americans don’t know enough about their religion, but they also think the public perception of them is becoming more positive.
The study, “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society” was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and released Jan. 12. It was inspired by recent articles about the religion being in the spotlight dubbed the “Mormon moment.”

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Event Calendar

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Local

Mercy Centre wins again
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
This time it was a defensive battle. But the outcome was the same. For the 20th game in a row the women’s basketball team of the College of the Holy Cross lost to the Mercy Centre when they met last Friday.
National

HHS move amounts to ‘to hell with you,’ bishop says as protests mount
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
CNS PHOTO
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told individuals and institutions who oppose contraception “to hell with you,” as one bishop put it, members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy were mobilizing their followers to fight.
Bishops across the country — including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans and Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla. — were preparing letters to be read at all Masses during the Jan. 28-29 weekend.
International

Bishops plan to use London Olympics to renew interest in Catholic faith
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — British bishops plan to use the 2012 London Olympic Games to renew interest in the Catholic faith, with initiatives ranging from fighting human trafficking and homelessness to promoting youth ministry and ecumenical dialogue.
The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is also preparing resources for liturgies and holy hours and will post them on the Internet before the July 27-Aug. 12 games.
Vatican

Evangelization can never be just a marginal concern, pope says
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
CNS PHOTO
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Evangelization must never be a marginal concern for the church, Pope Benedict XVI said.
From bishops to religious and the lay community, “All elements of the great mosaic of the church must feel themselves strongly called on by the Lord’s mandate to preach the Gospel, so that Christ may be proclaimed everywhere,” the pope said in his message for World Mission Sunday.
Commentary

Let’s keep marching all year
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
By Tony Magliano
What a wonderful sight to behold: From the top of Capitol Hill as far as I could see, there were a sea of people on the march for life!
But the 39th March for Life was bittersweet.
Spiritual

Christianity, religion risk oblivion in many parts of world, pope says
January 27, 2012 Posted by The Catholic Free Press
CNS PHOTO
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christianity and even religious belief are in grave danger across the globe, risking oblivion, Pope Benedict XVI said.
“Across vast areas of the earth, faith runs the danger of extinguishing like a flame that runs out of fuel,” he said.