Angelus News | June 28, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 24

ANGELUS
NOT DONE YET
What inspires the Class of 2019
June 28, 2019 Vol. 4 No. 24

Contents
Archbishop Gomez 3, 20-21, 26
World, Nation and Local News 4-6
LA Catholic Events 7
Scott Hahn on Scripture 8
Father Rolheiser 9
John Allen: Fixing the Vatican’s careerism problem 18
Robert Brennan: The confession bill’s collateral damage 22
Kris McGregor interviews a Catholic humility guru 24
Heather King on the right book for a weird start to summer 28

ON THE COVER
San Gabriel Mission High School Class of 2019 graduate LunaSolee’ Holloway
is one of several Class of 2019 high school graduates from around the archdiocese
profiled by Angelus in this year’s Graduation Issue, starting on Page 10.
On Page 14, outgoing superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles talks to Angelus’ Tom Hoffarth about the legacy he leaves behind
and the lessons he takes with him.
WILLIE ROMERO PHOTOGRAPHY
IMAGE: Claudia Fernandez and her son, 9-month-old Fabian De Jesus,
both represented the Mexican culture at the annual Celebration of
Cultures Mass celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels Saturday, June 22. Fernandez is a parishioner
of Resurrection Church in East LA and a member of the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles’ Guadalupano Committee.
VICTOR ALEMÁN

ANGELUS
June 28, 2019 | Vol.4 • No.24
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POPE WATCH
Don’t get used to it
Every time a Catholic receives Communion,
it should be like his or her
first Communion, Pope Francis said.
Marking the feast of Corpus Christi
June 23, the pope spoke about the gift
of the Eucharist during his midday
Angelus address at the Vatican and
at the Roman parish of Santa Maria
Consolatrice, where he celebrated
an evening Mass and led eucharistic
Benediction after a procession.
The feast, he told visitors in St.
Peter’s Square, is an annual occasion
for Catholics “to renew our awe and
joy for the stupendous gift of the Lord,
which is the Eucharist.”
Catholics should avoid approaching
the altar “in a passive, mechanical
way,” he said.
“We must get used to receiving the
Eucharist and not go to Communion
out of habit,” the pope said. “When
the priest says to us, ‘The body of
Christ,’ we say, ‘Amen.’ But let it be
an ‘Amen’ that comes from the heart,
with conviction.”
“It is Jesus, it is Jesus who saved me;
it is Jesus who comes to give me the
strength to live,” Francis remarked.
“We must not get used to it. Every
time must be as if it were our first
Communion.”
At the Mass on the steps of Santa
Maria Consolatrice, Francis’ homily
focused on the Gospel story of the
multiplication of the loaves.
“When one blesses, he does not do
something for himself, but for others,”
like Jesus did in the Gospel. “Blessing
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is not about saying nice words or trite
phrases; it is about speaking goodness,
speaking with love.”
According to the Holy Father, the
Mass is “a school of blessing,” the
people gathered for the Eucharist are
blessed, they bless the Lord, and they,
in turn, are sent forth to be a blessing
to the world.
“It is sad to think of how easily people
today speak words not of blessing
but of contempt and insult,” the pope
said. “Sadly, those who shout most
and loudest, those angriest, often
appeal to others and persuade them.
“Let us avoid being infected by that
arrogance. … Let us not let ourselves
be overcome by bitterness, for we eat
the bread that contains all sweetness
within it.”
The miracle of the multiplication of
the loaves also is a lesson in giving, a
lesson Jesus taught in a supreme way
by giving up his life and giving himself
in the Eucharist, the pope said.
“Being simple and essential, bread
broken and shared, the Eucharist we
receive allows us to see things as God
does,” the pope said. “It inspires us to
give ourselves to others. It is the antidote
to the mindset that says, ‘Sorry,
that is not my problem,’ or, ‘I have no
time, I can’t help you, it’s none of my
business.’ ”
Reporting courtesy of Catholic News
Service Rome Bureau Chief Cindy
Wooden.
Papal Prayer Intention for June: That priests, through the modesty and humility of
their lives, commit themselves actively to a solidarity with those who are most poor.
@Angelus
News
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News
2 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

NEW WORLD
OF FAITH
BY ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ
‘Our home will be
a chapel of love’
On June 18, Archbishop Gomez
delivered the keynote address at the
annual liturgy conference hosted by the
University of Notre Dame’s McGrath
Institute for Church Life, speaking on
the pastoral state of the family. His
remarks follow.
I am honored to be with you tonight
to talk about the pastoral state of the
family.
I had the privilege to represent the
American bishops at both the Synod
on the Family in 2015 and at last
year’s Synod on Young People, the
Faith, and Vocational Discernment.
And in my daily ministry in Los Angeles,
these issues of marriage, family,
and children are very close to my
heart, as I will try to explain.
But first, I want to start our conversation
tonight by talking about a movie.
“First Reformed” came out last year.
It was about a Protestant pastor named
Rev. Ernest Toller, and a young married
couple that he is counseling.
It is not a movie that I necessarily
recommend, but it is one of those
movies that I think reflects the spirit of
the age we are living in.
As the movie begins, the woman,
whose name is Mary, comes to Rev.
Toller because she is pregnant and her
husband, Michael, wants her to have
an abortion.
Michael is an intense, dark character.
He belongs to something called
the “Green Planet Movement,” and
he is passionately convinced that it is
wrong to bring a child into this world.
He confesses his despair to Rev.
Toller. He talks about oceans rising,
extreme weather, species going out of
existence. He believes that in our lifetime,
drought and famine are going
to spread, causing the political order
to break down, as “climate change
refugees” take to the streets, fighting
for food.
In his anguish, Michael challenges
his pastor: “How can you sanction
bringing a … child full of hope and
naive belief into a world ... when that
little girl grows to be a young woman
and looks you in the eyes and says,
‘You knew all along, didn’t you?’ What
do you say then?”
Of course, this is not just a scene
from a movie.
These same kind of bleak scenarios
are being spun out daily in newspapers
and magazines, in books, in the
media, in classrooms.
And it is true, as our Holy Father
Pope Francis continues to warn us:
Climate change is a real threat and we
have a responsibility to the generations
that come after us.
But today we are looking at a future
generation in which there may be far
fewer children.
Like Michael in this movie, many
young people are debating whether
it is “ethical” to have kids in an age
of global warming. There is an even
larger conversation going on among
millennials about the “value” of starting
a family.
Just Google that simple question:
“Should I have kids?” It is sad, the
results that come back. Not only that.
It is sad how many people are asking
these kinds of questions.
And the truth is this: For whatever
reasons, people have already stopped
having children. Birthrates are
declining dramatically, not only in
this country, but in nations across the
West.
My point is this.
Usually, when we talk about the state
of the family, we talk about a cluster
of issues: contraception and abortion,
divorce rates, out-of-wedlock births,
people living together rather than getting
married; we talk about the growth
of same-sex unions and the confusion
about sex that we see in our society.
All of these issues are important to
understand, they represent a true
crisis of the family in our times. But
to my mind, this one issue — our culture’s
deep uncertainty about children
— tells us far more about the state of
the family today.
Our society has rejected what 20
centuries of Christian civilization
considered a basic fact of nature —
that most men and women will find
their life’s purpose in forming loving
marriages, working together, sharing
their lives, and raising children.
Now, marriage, family, and children
have all become an open question, a
“choice” that individuals must decide
for themselves.
This is the culture that we are living
in.
And the question for us is: How are
we going to live as Christians in this
culture, and how are we going to
raise our children and evangelize this
culture? In these times, what case can
we make for marriage, for the family,
for children?
Continued on Page 20
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 3

WORLD
ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA, REUTERS/CNS
Hong Kong’s
‘Hallelujah’ moment
A joyful Christian hymn has
become the rallying cry of opponents
of a controversial legislation
in Hong Kong.
Since June 9, hundreds of
thousands of citizens have taken
to the streets to protest a law that
would allow people accused of
certain crimes to be extradited to
mainland China. Their most popular
refrain: the Christian tune
“Hallelujah to the Lord.”
“People picked up this song as
it is short and easy to remember,”
Edwin Chow, 19, acting president
of the Hong Kong Federation
of Catholic Students, told
the BBC June 22. “There’s only
one line: ‘Sing Hallelujah to the
Lord.’ ”
Only about 11 percent of Hong
Kong’s residents are Christian,
and only 5 percent (390,000
people) are Catholic. But news
reports and videos posted to social
media have shown the hymn
being sung in processions, prayer
meetings and even standoffs with
police in recent weeks.
REVERENCE IN THE RUBBLE — Pope Francis and Archbishop Francesco Massara of Camerino-San
Severino Marche wear helmets as they pray before a partially destroyed statue
of Mary in the cathedral of Camerino, Italy, June 16. The statue and the cathedral were
damaged during an earthquake in October 2016. During his visit, the pope celebrated a
Mass remembering the nearly 300 people who died as a result of the series of earthquakes
that struck central Italy in 2016.
No religious garb in Quebec government
Put away the crucifix, the hijab, and the yarmulke, Quebec says.
The Canadian province’s government passed a law June 16 that would
bar government employees, like judges, police, and teachers, from wearing
religious symbols while at work.
Though the law does not explicitly mention any particular religion, many
critics claim it is particularly targeting Muslim women who wear the hijab
and Jewish men who wear the yarmulke.
The Catholic bishops of Quebec issued a statement in French on June 14,
urging the government not to pass the law, which will not apply to existing
government employees already working in the public sector.
“We believe that Bill 21, as it stands now, will fuel fear and intolerance,
rather than contributing to social peace. We therefore call on members of
the government and all Quebecers to promote important amendments to
this project, in order to seek more to welcome than to exclude, to understand
than to reject.”
VATICAN MEDIA
19 dead in Burkina Faso, West Africa
“There is no Christian anymore in this town.”
An anonymous source told this to the Christian aid
charity, Barnabus Fund, following a shooting in Burkina
Faso, West Africa, on June 16 that left 19 dead and 13
injured.
Dozens of gunmen are reported to have entered the
city of Arbinda that day, where they set fire to vehicles,
and went about killing the city’s Christians. This attack
comes in the midst of rising armed conflict and jihadist
attacks in the region. Hundreds of people have died in violence
over the past months and more than 150,000 have
been forced to flee. “It’s proven that they were looking for
Christians,” the source told Barnabus Fund. “Families
who hide Christians are killed.”
4 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

NATION
Jesuit or Catholic?
Brebeuf Prep is a Jesuit school, but according to its bishop it is no longer
Catholic.
According to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where Brebeuf Jesuit
Preparatory School is located, all Catholic schools must include provisions
in their contracts requiring teachers to “convey and be supportive of all
teachings of the Catholic Church.”
The archdiocese argues that this definition excludes any teacher who is in
a same-sex marriage, yet Brebeuf refused to fire one of its teachers who is
openly gay and in a civil same-sex marriage.
In a June 20 statement, the Jesuit school said that following the archdiocese’s
directive “would not only violate our informed conscience on this
particular matter, but also set a concerning precedent for future interference
in the school’s operations and other governance matters that Brebeuf
Jesuit leadership has historically had the sole right and privilege to address
and decide.”
THIS YEAR’S “FRANNY”
AWARD GOES TO… —
Mark Lombard, business
manager and a contributing
editor of the Clarion Herald,
newspaper of the Archdiocese
of New Orleans,
accepts the prestigious
2019 St. Francis de Sales
Award from Catholic Press
Association President J.D.
Long-Garcia at the Catholic
Media Conference in St.
Petersburg, Florida, June
21. Long-Garcia is the
former editor-in-chief of The
Tidings and Angelus and
is now a senior editor at
America magazine.
Catholic governor signs abortion protections
Rhode Island, the state with the highest percentage of Catholics in the
nation, passed a law June 19 allowing unrestricted abortion until “fetal
viability,” but left the term undefined in its language.
The state’s Senate passed the law by a 21-17 margin, with 12 Democrats
joining the state’s five Republican senators.
“We applaud the 17 senators who, by voting no, exposed the truth that this
is much more than a mere confirmation of the status quo,” read a statement
from the Rhode Island Catholic Conference published shortly after the
senate vote.
The law was then signed by Gov. Gina Raimondo, herself a Catholic who
remarked that “there are good and principled people on both sides of the
issue,” while signing the bill.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/PAUL HARING
The Peace Cross in Bladensburg, Maryland.
Peace Cross stays
constitutional
The cross can stay.
In a 7 to 2 decision, the Supreme
Court ruled June 20 that the 40-
foot Bladensburg Peace Cross in
Prince George’s County, Maryland,
may stand on public land
without violating the establishment
clause of the Constitution.
The granite and cement cross
was built privately in 1925, but
the state has paid for its maintenance
and upkeep since 1961,
creating a case for the American
Humanist Association to argue
that the cross was an unconstitutional
endorsement of religion.
The majority opinion argued
that, due to its age and the additional
symbolism connected to
the cross, it does not necessitate
an endorsement of religion, and
that removing it could be seen as
an action hostile to religion.
“For many of these people, destroying
or defacing the cross that
has stood undisturbed for nearly a
century would not be neutral and
would not further the ideals of
respect and tolerance embodied
in the First Amendment,” wrote
Justice Samuel Alito in the majority
opinion.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/CHAZ MUTH
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 5

LOCAL
Former Stockton bishop,
LA priest dies at 77
Los Angeles native
and retired Bishop
Stephen E. Blaire
of Stockton died
June 18 at the age
of 77 after a prolonged
illness.
Blaire was born
and raised in Los
Angeles, the 12th
of 14 children. He
was ordained a
priest for the archdiocese
in 1967,
and assigned to St.
Luke’s in Temple
City. Later, he
worked as a teacher
and administrator
at Bishop Alemany
High School in
Mission Hills
and Bishop Amat
High School in La
Puente.
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire in 2017.
He served as an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles for
nine years before he was installed as Stockton’s fifth
bishop in 1999. He retired in January 2018.
An obituary released by the Diocese of Stockton
remembered Blaire as “passionate in promoting the
dignity of human life and ensuring social justice for
all. He constantly assisted the Church in speaking out
for the rights of immigrants, those in need of health
care, inner-city education and much more.”
“He was a friend and a priest of LA who served the
Church here for many years,” said Archbishop José H.
Gomez in a June 18 tweet. “May our loving God grant
him eternal rest and let perpetual light shine upon
him.”
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/BOB ROLLER
Loyola High breaks ground
on multipurpose center
The oldest continually operated educational institution
in Southern California still isn’t done putting up
new walls.
On June 11, Loyola High School in Mid-City held
a ceremony to kickoff their newest project, a rebuilding
of the Xavier Center, an enhanced liturgical,
educational, and special events space projected to be
completed in late 2020.
“To inspire our students to become future leaders,
we must be able to provide them with state-of-theart
facilities that contribute to a thriving educational
and spiritual community. After years of thoughtful
planning, forward-thinking design decisions and very
generous support from our donors, the 21st-century
Xavier will become a reality,” said Father Gregory M.
Goethals, the school’s president.
The Xavier Center will help host some of the school’s
more than 200 functions each year, Loyola said.
The building’s plans call for a 26,000-square-foot
expansion, and include a banquet kitchen that can
serve up to 800, a food-service kitchen, hidden walls to
break up the space for multiple events, and a dedicated
sacristy for liturgies.
From left: President Gregory M. Goethals, SJ, Vice President for
Advancement Lela Diaz and Loyola Board Chairman Rick Caruso
at the June 11 groundbreaking.
LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL
A mission bell’s last toll
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has removed
an El Camino Real Bell from its campus after a Native
American group deemed it “a symbol of racism and
dehumanization of their ancestors.”
The bell was first placed on campus in the 1990s. It is a
copy of the original mission bells and was one of several
that mark the path of California’s El Camino Real,
the route connecting the several missions founded by
Franciscan missionaries from Spain in the 18th and 19th
centuries.
In a June 14 news release, the school said that the local
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band brought forward concerns
about the “historical injustices and oppression that the
bell represents” and made the decision to remove it in
consultation with students.
6 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

LA Catholic Events
Items for LA Catholic Events are due two weeks prior to the date of the event. They may be mailed to Angelus News (Attn: LA Catholic Events), 3424 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241; emailed to
calendar@angelusnews.com; or faxed to 213-637-6360. All items must include the name, date, time, and address of the event, plus a phone number for additional information.
Fri., June 28
18th Annual Sacred Heart Conference. Holy Name of
Mary Church, 724 E. Bonita Ave., San Dimas. Speakers:
Father Michael Barry, SSCC, Nikki Kingsley, and
Kathleen Keefe. Conference begins Fri. evening and
continues until Sat., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $35/person.
Call Jacki at 760-956-8620, Stephany at 909-260-
2033, or email sacredheartssb@ymail.com.
Sat., June 29
Along the Way: A Pilgrim Walk. Mary & Joseph Retreat
Center, 5300 Crest Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes, 7
a.m.-1 p.m. Third annual re-creation of the famous
Camino Walk in Spain, 4.8 miles through the streets
and trails of Palos Verdes to the sacred grounds of
the retreat centers. Stations for reflection along the
walk. Moderate difficulty, but all ages and faiths welcome.
Wear walking shoes (closed toe), sunscreen,
and a smile. Cost: $20/person, $45/family of four and
includes picnic lunch. Call Marlene Velazquez at 310-
377-4867, ext. 234 for reservations or information.
Advanced Cantor Formation. St. Robert Bellarmine
Church, 133 N. 5th St., Burbank, 8:30 a.m.-12:30
p.m. Visit store.la-archdiocese.org/cantor-june29.
Carl Kozlowski Comedy Hour. Hudson Theatre Main-
Stage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Clean, family-friendly show featuring misadventures
with narcolepsy in Hollywood Fringe Fest show
“Dozed and Confused.” Cost: $15/person. Buy tickets
at https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6220.
Noche de Fiesta. Holy Trinity Church auditorium,
209 N. Hanford Ave., San Pedro, 5:30 p.m. Food,
mariachis, and folklorico. Proceeds benefit KOC Angels
Gate Council and Holy Trinity Church. Cost: $25/
person, presale. Tickets available after all Masses at
Holy Trinity and in the parish center office. Call 310-
927-8295.
Ss. Peter and Paul 154th Anniversary Celebration.
515 W. Opp St., Wilmington, 5 p.m. Mass will be followed
by the installation of a statue of Bl. Justo Ukon
Takayama, the Samurai martyr. Call 562-331-0585.
Sun., June 30
El Rocio USA Festival. St. Casimir Church, 2718 St.
George St., Los Angeles, 12:30 p.m. Annual brunch
celebration with paella and entertainment. Cost: $20/
parish members, $30/general public, $35/at door and
includes food and drink. For tickets call 818-448-
5185 or visit elrocio.net.
Mon., July 8
Mass and Healing Service. St. Rose of Lima Church,
1305 Royal Ave., Simi Valley, 7 p.m. Celebrant: Father
Michael Barry. Call 805-526-1732.
Fri., July 12
Don Bosco Technical Institute 30th Annual Golf
Classic. Montebello Golf Course, 901 Via San Clemente,
Montebello, 9 a.m. shotgun start. Registration
fee is $175 by July 1, $200 after, and includes greens
fees, range balls, golf cart, goody bags, prizes, lunch,
refreshments, and an awards buffet. Awards buffet
hosted immediately after the tournament. All tournament
proceeds provide tuition assistance and scholarship
support to students. Visit boscotech.edu to
register or sponsor the event.
National Film Retreat. Pauline Center for Media
Studies, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. Retreat
runs from July 12 to July 14. If you love God and
movies, this retreat practices cinema divine, entering
Scriptures and contemporary films. Five films viewed
together. Cost: $130/person and includes all meals.
Accommodations not provided. Register at pauline.
org/filmretreat.
Practicing Presence: Journeying Inward Through
the Labyrinth. Mary & Joseph Retreat Center, 5300
Crest Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Cost: $50/person and includes lunch. Call Marlene
Velazquez at 310-377-4867, ext. 234 for reservations
or information.
Sat., July 13
Building Resilience & Finding Joy: Separated, Divorced
and Widowed Ministry Workshop. Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles,
9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Presenter: Joe Sikorra, LMFT.
Learn what God and research say about resilience
and joy in your life. Day includes a tour of the cathedral,
Mass celebrated by Father Jim Gehl, and lunch.
Cost: $30/person by July 8. Register at http://store.
la-archdiocese.org/building-resilience-and-finding-joy.
Call Julie Auzenne at 213-637-7249 or email
jmonell@la-archdiocese.org for more information.
Ministers of Consolation Training. St. Mel Church,
20870 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Five consecutive trainings on July 13, 27, Aug. 3,
10, and 17. Visit store.la-archdiocese.org/iministers-of-consolation-training-st-mel.
For the Good of the Family Legacy: A Workshop
for Married Couples. Mary & Joseph Retreat Center,
5300 Crest Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes, 9 a.m.-3
p.m. Couples will gain spiritual perspective leading
to practical action regarding questions and plans for
legacy. Cost: $50/person and includes lunch. Limited
to 12 couples. Call Marlene Velazquez at 310-377-
4867, ext. 234 for reservations or information.
Foster Care and Adoption Information Meeting.
Children’s Bureau, 1529 East Palmdale Blvd., Suite
210, Palmdale, or Children’s Bureau’s Carson office,
460 East Carson Plaza Dr., Suite 102, Carson, 10
a.m.-12 p.m. Discover if you have the willingness,
ability, and resources to take on the challenge of
helping a child in need. RSVP or learn more by calling
213-342-0162, toll free at 800-730-3933, or email
RFrecruitment@all4kids.org.
Sun., July 14
Advanced Course in Media Literacy and Faith
Formation. Pauline Center for Media Studies, 3908
Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. Advanced certification
course assists parents, teachers, ministers, and catechists
to integrate a critical inquiry of our media
culture within the educational setting. Topics include:
Media Mindfulness, Virtues and Social Media, Philosophies
of the Media, Theology of Popular Culture, and
more. Full week course: July 14-20. Cost: $250/person.
Register at pauline.org/certificate.
Fri., July 19
72nd Annual Mary Star of the Sea Parish Fiesta.
870 W. 8th St., San Pedro. Fiesta runs July 19, 5 p.m.-
12 a.m., July 20, 12 p.m.-12 a.m., July 21, 12-10
p.m. Grand prize: $20,000 cash or 2019 Chevy Cruze
or Malibu. Free parking and free admission. More information
at marystar.org/fiesta-2019.
Sat., July 20
“Let Go, Let God” Annual Summer Retreat. St. Bernadette
Church, 3825 Don Felipe Dr., Los Angeles,
8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Carrying excess baggage? Let
go at this year’s retreat. Cost: $22/person, includes
continental breakfast and lunch. RSVP by July 16 to
Carolyn James at 323-296-1365.
Foster Care and Adoption Information Meeting. Andrew’s
Plaza, 11335 West Magnolia Blvd., Suite 2C,
North Hollywood, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Discover if you
have the willingness, ability, and resources to take
on the challenge of helping a child in need. RSVP or
learn more by calling 213-342-0162, toll free at 800-
730-3933, or email RFrecruitment@all4kids.org.
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This Week at AngelusNews.com
• Pray for Bishop Stephen Blaire, who died June 18, and all our
departed priests and deacons.
• Auxiliary Bishop Robert E. Barron on evangelizing to the “nones.”
• A year after McCarrick scandal, where does the Church stand?
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 7

SUNDAY
READINGS
BY SCOTT HAHN
1 Kings 19:16–21 / Ps. 16:1–2, 5, 7–11 / Gal. 5:1,13–18 / Lk. 9:51–62
“Elijah Anoints Elisha,” by Augustin Hirschvogel, 1503-1553, German.
In today’s First Reading, Elijah’s
disciple is allowed to kiss his parents
goodbye before setting out to follow
the prophet’s call.
But we are called to follow a greater
one than Elijah, today’s liturgy wants
us to know.
In baptism, we have put on the cloak
of Christ, been called to the house of
a new Father, been given a new family
in the kingdom of God.
We have been called to leave behind
our past lives and never look back —
to follow wherever he leads.
Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind
and his disciple was given a double
portion of his spirit (see 2 Kings
2:9–15). Jesus too, the Gospel reminds
us, was “taken up” (see Acts 1:2, 11,
22), and he gave us his Spirit to live
by, to guide us in our journey in his
kingdom.
As today’s Epistle tells us, the call
of Jesus shatters the yoke of every
servitude, sets us free from the rituals
of the old Law, shows us the Law’s fulfillment
in the following of Jesus, in
serving one another through love. His
call sets our hands to a new plow, a
new task — to be his messengers, sent
ahead to prepare all peoples to meet
him and enter into his kingdom.
Elijah called down fire to consume
those who wouldn’t accept God (see 2
Kings 1:1–16). But we have a different
Spirit with us.
To live by his Spirit is to face opposition
and rejection, as the apostles
do in today’s Gospel. It is to feel like
an exile, with no lasting city (see Hebrews
13:14), no place in this world to
lay our head or call home.
But we hear the voice of the One
we follow in today’s Psalm (see Acts
2:25–32; 13:35–37). He calls us to
make his faith our own — to abide in
confidence that he will not abandon
us, that he will show us “the path to
life,” leading us to the fullness of joy
in his presence forever.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Scott Hahn is founder of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, stpaulcenter.com.
8 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

IN EXILE
BY FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER, OMI
The power of a compliment
St. Thomas Aquinas once suggested
that it’s a sin to not give a compliment
to someone when it’s deserved because
by withholding our praise we’re
depriving that person of the food that
he or she needs to live on.
He’s right. Perhaps it’s not a sin to
withhold a compliment, but it’s a sad
impoverishment, both for the person
deserving the compliment and for the
one withholding it.
We don’t live on bread alone. Jesus
told us that. Our soul, too, needs to
be fed and its food is affirmation,
recognition, and blessing. Every one
of us needs to be healthily affirmed
when we do something well so as to
have resources within us with which
to affirm others.
We can’t give what we haven’t got!
That’s self-evident. And so, for us to
love and affirm others we must first
be loved, first be blessed, and first
be praised. Praise, recognition, and
blessing build up the soul.
But complimenting others isn’t just
important for the person receiving the
compliment; it’s equally important for
the person giving it. In praising someone
we give him or her some needed
food for the soul; but, in doing this,
we also feed our own soul.
There’s a truth about philanthropy
that holds true, too, for the soul: We
need to give to others not just because
they need it but because we cannot be
healthy unless we are giving ourselves
away. Healthy admiration is a philanthropy
of the soul.
Moreover, admiring and praising
others is a religious act. Author Father
Benoit Standaert submits that “giving
praise comes out of the roots of our
existence.” What does he mean?
In complimenting and praising
others, we are tapping into what’s
deepest inside us, namely, the image
and likeness of God. When we praise
someone else then, like God creating,
we are breathing life into a person,
breathing spirit into them. People
need to be praised. We don’t live on
bread alone, and we don’t live on
oxygen alone, either.
The image and likeness of God
inside us is not an icon, but an energy,
the energy that’s most real inside us.
Beyond our ego, wounds, pride, sin,
and the pettiness of our hearts and
minds on any given day, what’s most
real within us is a magnanimity and
graciousness which, like God, looks at
the world and wants to say, “It is good!
It is very good!”
When we’re at our best, our truest,
speaking and acting out of our
maturity, we can admire. Indeed, our
willingness to praise others is a sign of
maturity, and vice versa. We become
more mature by being generous in
our praise.
But praise is not something we give
easily. Mostly we are so blocked by the
disappointments and frustrations within
our lives that we give in to cynicism
and jealousy and operate out of these
rather than out of our virtues.
We rationalize this, of course, in
different ways, either by claiming that
what we’re supposed to admire is juvenile
(and we’re too bright and sophisticated
to be impressed) or that the
admirable act was done for someone’s
self-aggrandizement and we’re not
going to feed another person’s ego.
However, more often than not, our
real reason for withholding praise is
that we ourselves have been insufficiently
praised and, because of that,
harbor jealousies and lack the strength
to praise others. I say this sympathetically:
All of us are wounded.
Then, too, in some of us there’s a
hesitation to praise others because we
believe that praise might spoil the person
and inflate his or her ego. Spare
the rod and spoil the child! If we offer
praise it will go to that person’s head.
Again, more often than not, that’s a
rationalization. Legitimate praise never
spoils a person. Praise that’s honest
and proper works more at humbling
its recipient than spoiling him or her.
We can’t be loved too much, only
loved wrongly.
But, you might ask, what about
children who end up self-centered
because they’re only praised and never
disciplined? Real love and real maturity
distinguish between praising those
areas of another’s life that are praiseworthy
and challenging those areas of
another’s life that need correction.
Praise should never be undeserved
flattery, but challenge and correction
are only effective if the recipient first
knows that he or she is loved and
properly recognized.
Genuine praise is never wrong. It
simply acknowledges the truth that’s
there. That’s a moral imperative. Love
requires it. Refusing to admire when
someone or something merits praise
is, as Aquinas submits, a negligence,
a fault, a selfishness, a pettiness, and
a lack of maturity. Conversely, paying
a compliment when one is due is a
virtue and a sign of maturity.
Generosity is as much about giving
praise as about giving money. We
may not be stingy in our praise. The
14th-century Flemish mystic, John of
Ruusbroec, taught that “those who do
not give praise here on earth shall be
mute for all eternity.”
Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Ronald Rolheiser is a spiritual writer, www.ronrolheiser.com.
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 9

Ready for promotion
Stories of hard-earned achievement and expressions
of gratitude from Catholic LA’s Class of 2019
BY TOM HOFFARTH / ANGELUS
Before the Archdiocese of Los
Angeles’ high school graduation
Class of 2019 races forward, Angelus
News collected some personal
stories from some who’ve come down
from the pomp and circumstance of
the June celebration and reflected on
their journeys to this point.
St. Genevieve High School,
Panorama City
Amanda Rodas heads to UCLA with
a little more confidence than when she
started high school life on the Panorama
City campus. The class salutatorian
took a small leap of faith to join the
school’s spring musical during her
senior year.
“The experience did push me out of
my comfort zone, and I was able to
discover a newfound love for entertaining,”
Rodas told Angelus News. “The
smiles I saw throughout the audience
were so fulfilling. It was also a lovely
way to share the stage with my fellow
underclassmen one last time before I
graduated for good.”
More smiles, Rodas explained, always
came from the school Mass during the
sign of peace.
“Regardless of how well everyone
knew you, you would always get bombarded
with loads of hugs and smiles
from students of all different grade levels,
regardless of how far away people
sat from you,” she wrote. “Regardless of
how bad my day was going, this part of
Mass always left me feeling loved and
welcome.
“All throughout my life, I have
been in a very small Catholic school
environment, with similar beliefs and
mindset. I know college will open me
up to new cultures and ethnic backgrounds
on a more international level.
I am very excited for this.”
Luke Schatz and Mackenzie Atkerson.
PARACLETE HIGH SCHOOL
ST. GENEVIEVE HIGH SCHOOL
Amanda Rodas, left, with Annika Pohlo.
Paraclete High School, Lancaster
In the summer of 2018, Mackenzie
Atkerson was one of about 1,000 picked
from across the nation to attend a prestigious
Summers Leaders Experience
(SLE) at the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point, New York. At the same
time, Luke Schatz was one of 850
picked for the Summer Seminar at
the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis,
Maryland.
Last May, when Atkerson announced
she would attend Army as a shortstop
for the softball team, and Schantz
declared Navy as his choice to join
as kicker for the football team, it was
not a huge surprise on the Lancaster
campus.
10 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

“My family, church leaders, educators,
coaches, teammates, and community
leaders have all played a key
role in shaping who I am today,” wrote
Atkerson, who wants to study kinesiology.
“My participation in the SLE
confirmed my decision.”
Schatz wrote how the competition
and inspiration he had from his older
brother, Tyler, now on Navy’s rowing
team, “provided me with a constant
reminder of what hard work achieves.”
So did his elementary school education
at Sacred Heart School, where his
father was the principal.
“As I looked to further my Catholic
education (after Sacred Heart), I chose
to attend Paraclete and I blossomed
into a student who led in the classroom
and on the sports field with the work
ethic instilled by my father’s example.
My time at Paraclete and Sacred Heart
gave me the confidence to know that
I had the work ethic to succeed at the
Naval Academy. I am grateful for my
faith, foundation, and family for helping
me reach this point.”
Bishop Mora Salesian High School,
Boyle Heights
Jose Chanchavac became his class
salutatorian and a Questbridge Scholar,
receiving a four-year scholarship to
Columbia University. He continues a
“Dreamer” journey that started when
he arrived in the United States with
his family when he was 5, following his
brother, who just finished his freshman
year at Dartmouth.
“My parents made it clear to me and
my brother that all the sacrifices they
did were for us so we can live better
lives than they did,” Chanchavac
wrote to Angelus News. “I know that
by furthering my education, especially
without having to give my parents
another financial burden, is one of the
best ways to start paying them back for
everything they have done for me.
“There have been times when money
problems have been very serious.
However, I have been a firsthand
witness to my parents’ perseverance. I
am fortunate to have attended Salesian,
more than just a school but a community
with a real brotherhood. You can
just feel that when you step on campus,
and this is really my favorite memory of
my school.”
Theologian, writer and weekly Angelus columnist Scott Hahn delivered this year’s graduation
commencement speech at St. Monica Catholic High School in Santa Monica. With more than 400
students, St. Monica has a graduation requirement of 100 hours of approved Christian Service.
The program is progressive both in number of hours and level of community participation, and it
is expected in the learning process students will be exposed to different communities of need and
hopefully serve others outside their existing comfort zone.
Verbum Dei High School, Watts
The South LA school in the shadow
of the Watts Towers continues to have
success stories from its well-known
Corporate Work Study program.
Alex Hawkins called his experience
“interesting and enlightening,” as he
was embedded in the AIDS Project
Los Angeles for two years, another year
at Herbalife, and then doing clerical
work at the Girardi/Keese law firm near
Staples Center.
“I realized how much Verbum Dei
was a life-changing experience as I was
finishing my final year,” said Hawkins,
already on campus at Morehouse College
in Atlanta, where he plans to study
computer engineering. “When my
teachers were saying they would miss
me, I realized I would miss them, too,
because we really had become friends.”
Hector Arrieta said his four years at
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in
West LA, “helped me develop skills
in an office setting that I believe I can
take to other work environments.”
Heading to UC San Diego to study
communications, the Lynwood-raised
Arrieta said he carries with him the
religious education at Verbum Dei in
how “the ethics classes really challenged
you on your own morality and
what you believe in. I believe it helped
me grow closer to God.”
San Gabriel Mission High School,
San Gabriel
On May 3, the school announced
Melissa Estrada and Juliana Lopez
signed soccer scholarships to play at
Bethany College, a small liberal arts
school in Lindsborg, Kansas, just north
of Wichita.
LunaSolee’ Holloway decided she
would do the same about three weeks
later.
“I knew it was a dream of theirs to not
only play soccer in college, but to do
it together,” said athletic director Alma
Stone of the trio, who led the team to
four straight Horizon League titles and
also played together on the LA Premier
Futbol Club.
Holloway, a defensive standout from
Montebello who intends to major in
marketing and minor in elementary
education at Bethany, wrote:
“I have been going to Catholic school
since I was in kindergarten, and all
those years have built the foundations
of my education, faith, and personality.
I have met all my closest friends
through participating in class and
extracurricular activities.
“Catholic school has opened my eyes
to the world through my studies in the
classroom learning about the different
types of Native American cultures in
seventh grade social studies, and the
ST. MONICA ACADEMY
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 11

eauty of literature on a field trip to
the Huntington Library during my
junior year. It has also shown me the
power of giving back through various
volunteer opportunities, helping me
find a passion for teaching children.”
St. John Bosco High School,
Bellflower
Trevor Peitzman, captain of the
school’s Robotics Team and a varsity
swimmer on the Bellflower campus,
was informed that a knee injury he
suffered in seventh grade while at St.
Lawrence Martyrs Catholic School in
Redondo Beach medically disqualified
him from admittance to the U.S. Naval
Academy. But he did not give up hope.
“My parents and friends encouraged
From left: Graduating students David Lara, Denise Alcazar, Samuel Peck, and Kylie Castro, with principal Carrie Fuller, Ph.D., during the June 7 ceremony
at All Souls Church in Alhambra.
A phoenix rises in Alhambra
When All Souls World Language
School in Alhambra
held its June 7 graduation,
four 13-year-old eighth-graders were
ready for promotion.
That in itself was quite a feat.
The Catholic school that began in
1921 as an integral part of the community
was forced to close in 2010 for
attendance and financial restraints.
But in an attempt to reflect the diversity
of the city it represented, it soon
reopened as part of the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles Department of Catholic
Schools’ Dual Language Immersion
program.
It was also the first to have a pair of
dual language programs — Mandarin
and Spanish — be part of the curriculum.
“We’re the phoenix rising from the
ashes,” said Vivian Vasquez-Hernandez,
the school’s director of enrichment
and after-school program as well
as a graduate of the All Souls Catholic
School in 1995.
Vasquez-Hernandez was part of the
original board when the school came
back in 2012 with just 20 students in a
combination transitional kindergarten
and first-grade class.
“The church members and the community
said it wasn’t the same not to
hear the children’s laughter during the
time we were closed,” Vasquez-Hernandez
said. “It’s been a gem in
the community with a longstanding
history.”
Children from families identifying as
Catholic represent 75 percent of the
320 students enrolled for the 2019-20
school session. While almost half (46
percent) are of Hispanic and Latino
heritage, nearly one in three (29 percent)
are multiracial, with 18 percent
as Asian or Pacific Islander.
As a result of the multilanguage
immersion, students who specialize
in one of two languages “really are
exposed to a third language in daily
prayers and Masses and all sorts of
activities, so all of that is celebrated,”
said Vasquez-Hernandez.
Benjamin Velasquez, also an alum
of the school in 2006 who currently
works in the front office, added: “It is
fun to give tours to families and see
the parents comment about how the
classrooms are so diverse, particularly
families with Asian backgrounds in a
Spanish classroom. That’s what they
like to see.”
The two girls who graduated earlier
this month, Denise Alcazar and Kylie
Castro, are going to the all-girls Ramona
Convent Secondary School in
Alhambra, less than two miles south of
the All Souls Church campus.
Of the two boys who graduated, David
Lara is going to Polytechnic School
in Pasadena and Samuel Peck is going
to Don Bosco Technical Institute, the
Catholic high school in Rosemead.
In 2020, the school will have its
first graduate of the original 20 who
enrolled in 2010.
— Tom Hoffarth
SCOTT HIGDON
12 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

Isaiah Dolphin
ST. JOHN BOSCO HIGH SCHOOL
me firmly to appeal the disqualification,
praying hard for a favorable outcome,”
Peitzman wrote. “After a month
I was beginning to feel my luck had
run out. Unbeknownst to me, my mom
got together with her prayer group one
last time to pray for me. At that very
same moment I received an email from
the academy saying that I had been
conditionally accepted, pending the
results of my appeal.
“Long story short, I was accepted
and will be reporting on June 27. My
experiences in Catholic schools have
strengthened my faith, and I know I
can achieve whatever I seek to accomplish
moving forward.”
Then there are twin brothers Isaiah
and Myles Dolphin, both heading to
Brown University in the fall. They each
completed the Bio-Medical Pathway
program that focuses on the intensified
study of math and science, while they
captained the school’s lacrosse team.
Isaiah explained how the school also
impacted them on a larger level when
it concerned their mother, Michele
Dolphin, a science instructor at the
school.
“Bosco taught me to lean on my faith
in God whenever times got tough.
When my mom had to undergo
dangerous brain surgery, the Bosco
community responded by surrounding
me with prayer and spiritual advice.
Now that I am journeying to the next
part of my life in the Ivy League, I am
looking forward to gaining experience
in genetics research and meeting new
people.”
Tom Hoffarth is an award-winning
journalist based in Los Angeles.
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 13

’Building a culture of
continuous improvement’
Kevin Baxter says goodbye as the superintendent of LA’s Catholic schools
BY TOM HOFFARTH / ANGELUS
Near the end of the recent
Onward Leaders celebration,
an Archdiocese of Los
Angeles’ (ADLA) Catholic
Schools program that focuses on mentoring
principals, Kevin Baxter, Ph.D.,
was called up to the podium.
As the superintendent and senior
director of the entire ADLA school
system, Baxter just heard several
speakers talk about all that he has
meant to their educational progress,
appreciating how he helped launch
and energize the organization with
the John H. and Cynthia Lee Smet
Foundation.
Now, receiving a going-away gift
from the group during this end-ofschool-year
reception at downtown
LA’s California Club, Baxter opened
the box and pulled out a trophy — a
bronze shoe with a pebble in it.
He smiled and completely understood
the metaphor. It’s one he has
preached to leadership teams in the
ADLA school system for years.
Baxter leaves the position of senior
director and superintendent of schools
at the end of June after serving since
2015, which follows six years as the
archdiocese’s superintendent of elementary
schools going back to 2009.
And he leaves a sizable pair of shoes
to fill, with or without a pebble, as a
reminder about how small problems
are easy to fix.
Baxter soon embarks on a new role
as chief innovation officer for the
Virginia-based National Catholic Education
Association, where his focus
will continue on leadership formation,
governance, and financing.
Even with this larger scope, Baxter
said he will always be thinking of
programs he and his staff were able
to implement in LA that could be
expanded on a national scale.
Before he takes on his new role,
Baxter sat down with Angelus News
to reflect on his last 10 years at the
archdiocese.
Tom Hoffarth: What is the meaning
of the pebble-in-the-shoe metaphor
you’ve used since you became superintendent?
Kevin Baxter: There are two met-
14 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019
Kevin Baxter (center) with former local American Red Cross executive director
Margaret Arbini-Madonna (left) and Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell (right) at a
press conference at Bishop Mora Salesian High School in Boyle Heights in 2015.
VICTOR ALEMÁN

aphors we’ve used actually with this
vision of growth, something that can
be broadly defined but really meaning
school success. We rest that vision on
two core principles: leadership and
innovation.
With leadership, no matter where
you are, if you have a challenging
situation, like enrollment decline, you
might think of your problem as a giant
hole. At times, a new principal might
come in and say, “Where’s the big
boulder that we can just put in this
hole and solve our problem?” But the
pebble-in-the-hole idea is meant to
convey there’s no simple solution.
It involves doing deliberate, intentional
work on a daily basis — dropping
a pebble in the hole. Sometimes,
you even hear of someone having a
challenge, so they end up taking a
scoop of pebbles out of the hole. So
now your job is to show up and drop
another pebble in and inspire others
to drop a pebble in.
As for innovation and how to be creative
in how we approach education
and Catholic schools in a changing
environment, we’re constantly thinking
of building a culture of continuous
improvement. It’s improving on
past performance. So with that, there’s
the idea of the pebble in the shoe —
create a little bit of discomfort so no
matter what level of success you’ve
achieved, you celebrate and honor
that, but pretty soon you’ve got to feel:
How do I continue to improve?
We feel like those two concepts
together — leaders showing up to
drop a pebble in the hole to build
cultures with a sense of continuous
improvement — will continue to
achieve that vision of growth. That’s
essentially how we’ve modeled a lot of
our programs.
Hoffarth: Is it bittersweet to leave
this job?
Baxter: Absolutely. I love the work.
I’m going to a position with a national
scope, but in so many ways I think of
this job with nearly 80,000 kids, 5,000
teachers and principals, three counties,
8,800 square miles — to have a
position with a capacity to influence
and impact that broad diverse range of
geographic and demographic areas is
an incredible blessing.
It’s the professional gift of my life
to serve here. That being said, it’s
been 10 years, and it can take its toll,
even with a commute (from home in
Hermosa Beach to downtown LA), so
I started to think of ways to transition
out and this seemed to be the right
time.
Hoffarth: You can quantify ways of
improving attendance and growth
with statistics and numbers. How else
can you sense achievement through
things you’ve witnessed and helped
start and implement?
Baxter: An event like this with
Onward Leaders is a clear example
of where I feel pride in what part I’ve
had in it. There are so many people
who play parts in the successes we’ve
had, with the Smet family’s generous
participation.
For example, I was recently at the
first graduating class of a dual language
immersion school in our history
— All Souls School in Alhambra.
In my first year as superintendent in
2010 I had to stand up in front of that
community and announce the school
was closing, for all the reasons we
have to close schools: low enrollment,
finances.
But in the back of my head, I wanted
to see if we could do something new
there and create a new model for
Catholic schools. Two years later we
launched it as a dual-language immersion
school — Mandarin and Spanish
— with 20 students.
We just graduated our first eighthgrade
class. We will have 320 kids
next year and we aren’t even fully
enrolled yet; we could have 400 to
500 kids there eventually. Sitting at
that graduation, there was tremendous
pride to see how full the church was.
That gives me great joy.
Hoffarth: The simple job description
for you has been that you’re in charge
of coordinating and implementing a
vision for growth. Bottom line: How
do people look back at your time here
and ways that happened?
Baxter: One of the ways we look at
that is by having pockets of enrollment
growth, really good numbers,
and I feel good about it. But that vision
of growth isn’t just an enrollment
Kevin Baxter
biography
• Age: 50
• Native: New York
• Personal: Husband and father
to six, living in Hermosa Beach
• Previous roles: Principal at St.
Columbkille School in South LA
(2001-2004), principal at American
Martyrs School in Manhattan
Beach (2004-2009); superintendent
of elementary schools for
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
(2009-2015); senior director and
superintendent of schools for
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
(2015-2019)
• Education: Bachelor of Arts
in English and communications
from Villanova University in
Pennsylvania; Master of Arts in
secondary education from Loyola
Marymount University; and a
doctorate in education from the
University of Southern California
• Author: Wrote “Changing the
Ending” in 2001, which focuses
on innovative approaches for
Catholic schools to thrive for
future generations
• Awards: Loyola Marymount
University’s 2015 Educator of the
Year for contributions to Catholic
education
NCEA
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 15

number. It’s also spiritual growth.
Academic growth. Personal growth.
Professional growth for educators.
There are a lot of ways to measure
that are important. It’s not just a body
in a seat. We want to see really good
school growth and development that
creates value, and then people want to
be part of it and that’s how enrollment
goes up.
Hoffarth: An interesting moment
in your administration came when
America magazine did the piece in
2017 entitled “How LA’s Catholic
schools are growing when so many are
closing.” That must have got people’s
attention.
Baxter: The reaction was extremely
positive. I did a post on Facebook
where I wanted to make sure: This
isn’t about me. I worry about that. All
this. It’s a collaborative effort. I joke
sometimes I may not do anything
particularly well, but one thing I do is
hire well and work with people pretty
well. Bring in great people and great
things happen.
Hoffarth: In the America piece you
talked about how if a child in school
perceives a threat, he or she can’t
learn effectively. These are challenging
times for child safety at school,
compounded in some areas of Los
Angeles. There are always immigration
issues hanging over that affect a
student’s life, too. Have these things
been addressed?
Baxter: That goes back to a famous
Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of
Needs” theory. You have to have
certain needs met before you reach
actualization and learning. One of
those is safety.
If you’re worried about “abuela”
(“grandma”) getting deported, or
about guns brought into school, that
inhibits the process. We have done
a lot with educating principals and
overall security at schools. That’s what
Catholic schools are known for — a
safe, secure environment with a community
more conducive to learning,
and we’ve very proud of it.
Tom Hoffarth is an award-winning
journalist based in Los Angeles.
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 17

Pope Francis meets with the heads of Vatican offices in 2017. The interdicasterial meetings are held periodically to coordinate the work of the
Roman Curia.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
The pope’s brave gamble
Proposed term limits on department heads seek to curb the
power of the Vatican’s ‘old guard.’ But will they work?
BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. / ANGELUS
ROME — Pope Francis was elected in March 2013
on a reform mandate, and after more than six
years of deliberation, it appears that his long-awaited
and much-ballyhooed restructuring of the
Roman Curia is finally on the horizon.
A draft of a new constitution for the Vatican, titled
“Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”), has been
making the rounds and could be approved by Francis this
summer.
To date, most of the chatter about the potential reform has
centered on the creation of a new “Dicastery for Evangelization,”
combining two already existing curial offices: the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, commonly
known as “Propaganda Fidei,” tasked with overseeing
missionary territories, and the Pontifical Council for the
Promotion of the New Evangelization, created in 2010 by
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to confront the rapid secularization
of Western countries.
Many observers have surmised that the new department
will be more powerful than the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, the so-called “Holy Office” that once
upon a time was known as “La Suprema” for its preemi-
18 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

nence, and consequently have concluded that doctrine is
being downgraded in favor of evangelization in the Francis
era.
One lesser-noticed codicil of the new apostolic constitution,
however, would impose a limit of two terms of five
years each, meaning a total of 10 years, for the heads of
Vatican dicasteries, who typically are cardinals.
While one certainly understands the desire to supply fresh
blood among the Vatican’s most senior officials, ensuring
that these jobs don’t become lifetime entitlements for the
“old guard,” the law of unintended consequences applies to
Rome just as much as anywhere else: In the name of curbing
the old guard, such a “reform” could actually reinforce
its grip on power.
Here’s why.
In the old days, meaning all the way up to the era of St.
Pope Paul VI in the immediate post-Second Vatican Council
period, the job of being a prefect of a curial office was,
to tell the truth,
analogous to the
line attributed
to John Nance
Garner about the
vice presidency
of the United
States: “It’s not
worth a bucket of
warm spit.”
Generally
speaking, curial
prefects would
come into the office
to take meetings
and sign
correspondence,
but the real work
of running the
department fell
to the secretaries,
meaning the No.
2 officials, almost
all of whom were Italians and veterans of the Vatican bureaucracy
since time immemorial.
Domination by the secretaries ensured continuity in
governance, but it also meant that the Vatican’s entrenched
ways of doing business were virtually immune to challenge.
All that changed in the St. Pope John Paul II era, when
prefects actually began to matter. Whether it was then-Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger at the Holy Office, Chilean Cardinal
Jorge Medina at the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments, or Colombian
Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos at the Congregation for
Clergy, prefects were actually setting policy for the Church
and acting as the most prominent spokespersons for the
papal regime they served.
Whatever one makes of the direction set by those powerful
prefects — and it generally cut in a conservative
direction — they at least weren’t Italians or creatures of the
Vatican, and they put teeth behind what some share of the
Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in an undated photo taken in his office at the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, where he was prefect for 23 years.
world’s bishops thought and felt.
Part of the reason they were able to do so is because
they had the time to get their hands around their jobs.
Ratzinger, to take the most obvious example, headed the
Holy Office from 1981 until his election as Pope Benedict
XVI in 2005, a robust 24 years.
Castrillon headed Clergy for 10 years, and probably could
have kept going had John Paul not wanted to make room
for a curial head from the world’s most populous Catholic
nation of Brazil, while Medina only led the liturgical office
for six years but had an eventful run.
Not only is making policy for a global Church a complicated
business, but the Vatican is an oft-obscure and
unique environment that requires time to master. Just
ask Ratzinger, who, despite his 24 years of experience,
nonetheless struggled to impose a real reform as pope and
eventually opted to resign.
When a prefect of a dicastery is naïve, weak, or out of his
depth, the obvious
beneficiary
is the Vatican’s
old guard. It’s
typically composed
of figures
who, in one form
or another, are
beholden to the
informal Italian
power structure
associated with
the Secretariat of
State. The Vatican,
like nature,
abhors a vacuum,
and these
are the personalities
most likely to
fill it when one
arises.
It was this informal
old guard
that already has all but killed off efforts at real financial
reform under Francis, consigning the power of the purse
back to the Secretariat of State, and it’s not difficult to
imagine their reaction to any other meaningful challenge
to the status quo.
To draw the obvious conclusion, an inflexible policy of
term limits for dicastery heads could end up impeding
the very spirit of collegiality that curial reform, especially
under Francis, is intended to serve.
Of course, Francis has never been especially worried
about the fine points of Church law and could easily
decide on his own to dispense with what limits his own
reform imposes. Future popes, however, may not feel quite
as free to plot their own course, and so it’s worth thinking
about the ways in which laws adopted today could tie their
hands.
John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux.
FLICKR
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 19

Continued from Page 3
The parish and the mystery and
mission of the Church
As a practical matter tonight, I want
to suggest two basic directions for the
Church and for Christian families.
But first I want to say a word about
our experience in the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles.
LA, as you may know, is the largest
Catholic community in the United
States, with about 5 million Catholics.
And we are a young Church — a
Church of immigrants and emerging
communities. It is hard to imagine,
but we serve our people every day in
more than 40 languages.
We are also baptizing about 50,000
infants every year. That’s a lot, far
more than any other diocese in the
country.
But these are not just numbers for
us. These are souls, entrusted by God
to our care. As a pastor, I do not want
a single one to be lost. I have five
pastoral priorities, and one of them is
“Promoting marriage and the family
as sacred institutions and the heart of
a civilization of love.”
We have established a strong Office
of Marriage and Family Life in the
archdiocese, and this office has an
important focus in supporting parishes
and pastors.
And to me, that is the key. It’s not
about the chancery — it’s about the
parish. This is where people live their
faith, day in and day out. I’m not
sure every Catholic knows who their
archbishop is. But I am sure that those
who are engaged in their faith know
what parish they belong to.
So, I’m trying to encourage ministries
and initiatives in our parishes. At
our cathedral, we have a group that
meets regularly called “Cathedral
Couples for Christ,” and we have
many parishes trying to help young
married couples, offering small group
programs and fellowship.
I’m also encouraging marriage and
family ministries like the Christian
Family Movement, World Wide
Marriage Encounter, and ENDOW,
which engages women in understanding
what St. Pope John Paul II called
the “feminine genius.”
So, I would urge all of you who are
working in these areas of catechesis
and liturgy and pastoral formation —
stay connected and involved with your
parishes! This is where the Church’s
mission really comes alive!
In my opinion, forming small faith
communities is crucial. So is working
to ensure “continuity” in our sacramental
preparation programs.
When we marry a couple or baptize
a child, we need to see that as the beginning
of a relationship. We need to
find ways to nurture that relationship,
to support that child and that couple,
to help them grow in their love of
Jesus and their commitment to living
the Gospel in their families.
The radical ‘newness’
of the Christian family
That is the outline of the “pastoral
strategy” that I recommend; this is
what we are trying to do in LA.
Now, I want to turn to two ideas that
I think are important in our evangelization
of the family.
First, I believe we need to rediscover
the radical “newness” of the Christian
message about the family.
When St. Paul said, “Husbands,
love your wives, as Christ loved the
Church and gave himself up for her,”
he was announcing a revolution in
human thought and human society.
Before Christianity, no one had ever
spoken about marriage in terms of a
love that lasts a lifetime, or as a calling
from God, or as a path that can lead
to holiness and salvation.
It was a new and thrilling idea to
speak of man and woman becoming
“one flesh” and participating in God’s
own act of creating new life.
The first Christians evangelized by
the way they lived. And the way they
lived was to be in this world but not of
this world. They lived the same lives
as their neighbors, but in a different
way.
They entered into marriage as a
lifelong relationship of friendship and
mutual devotion, and they considered
it a sacrament, a mysterious sign of
God’s love for his people.
They rejected birth control and abortion
and welcomed children in joy
as a gift from God, and treated them
as precious persons to be loved and
nurtured and brought up in the ways
of the Lord.
The first Christian families changed
the world simply by living the teachings
of Jesus and his Church. And
my friends, we can change the world
again, by following the same path.
I was reading this week the beautiful
letter that Father of the Church Tertullian
wrote to his wife in the early
third century. It is worth us listening
to:
How beautiful … the marriage of
two Christians, sharing one hope, one
desire, one way of life. They are truly
two in one flesh; and where the flesh is
one, the spirit is one, also. They pray
together, worship together, fast together;
instructing one another, encouraging
one another, strengthening one
another. Side by side they visit God’s
church and partake of God’s Banquet;
side by side they face difficulties and
persecution, share their consolations.
They have no secrets from one another…
they never bring sorrow to each
other’s hearts. They visit the sick and
assist the needy. … Hearing and seeing
this, Christ rejoices.
My friends, this kind of love we need
to seek in our homes. And this is the
kind of love that we need to share
with our neighbors.
Recovering the Christian story
My second point is that we need to
recover the Christian narrative, the
Christian vision for life and human
happiness.
We have allowed our technological
civilization and consumer economy
to shape our priorities and ideas about
what is real and true, and about what
gives life meaning.
But as Christians, we are the keepers
of the real truth about human life and
human destiny — the amazing reality
that we are all made by a God who
loves us as a father and calls us to live
as one family.
I think of those beautiful words of
John Paul, from the beginning of his
20 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

Archbishop José H. Gomez delivers the keynote address at the University of Notre Dame’s
McGrath Institute for Church Life June 18.
pontificate: “Our God, in his deepest
mystery, is not a solitude but a family,
since he has in himself fatherhood,
sonship and the essence of the family,
which is love.”
We need to tell this good news to our
neighbors, that this God of love, who
created the galaxies and oceans and
mountains in the beginning, is still at
work today, still creating.
Everything that is comes from the
thought of his love. That means your
life and my life, and that means the
life of the child who is somewhere
being born in this instant.
And God intends his plan for creation,
for history, to unfold through the
human family.
This is why the Bible begins with a
wedding, the marriage of Adam and
Eve in the garden. And this is why
the Bible’s final pages again show us a
wedding, the marriage supper of Jesus
Christ and his Bride, his Church at
the end of time.
From the beginning, God is creating
— from out of all the peoples of the
earth — one single family, the family
of God. His Church.
So, it is not by accident that Jesus
comes into this world, born of a
mother’s womb and raised in a human
family. And it is no coincidence that
he performs his first public miracle at
a wedding.
My friends, this is the story that has
been entrusted to us. And this is why
what you do in your own homes, and
what you are doing in your ministries
to support marriages and families, is
so important.
God is inviting all of us to participate
in the mystery of his own work
of creation and his own plan for the
redemption of the world.
We are called to help every married
couple realize this vocation — to live
their love forever in a mutual and
complete gift of self; to renew the face
of the earth with children, who are
the fruits of their love and the precious
love of our Creator.
We are the answer to the
challenges of our times
Let me try to gather my thoughts and
offer a few conclusions.
I started tonight by talking about a
movie, in which a young man named
Michael argues passionately that it is
SARAH YAKLIC
wrong to bring a child into this world.
And as I said, I believe the Church
— and that means all of us — needs
to speak to all the “Michaels” in our
society today.
A society where children are no
longer being born is a society where
people no longer understand what
makes life worth living, or what gives
life meaning.
You and your families, the ministries
we promote in our parishes and
dioceses — we are the answer to this
challenge, my friends.
It is not about just giving birth to
children. It is about hope. It is about
living with confidence in God’s Providence,
knowing that he loves us and
will never abandon us, no matter what
this world may bring.
God’s sign for the world was a child,
his only-begotten Son. “And this will
be a sign for you: you will find a babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes and
lying in a manger.”
Every child who is born is also a
sign of God’s love, a mystery, a gift, a
miracle. In every child, even those in
the womb, we glimpse the mystery of
the Christ Child, in whom we come
to know God.
So, my first conclusion is personal, it
is a prayer for you.
And it is this: If you are married, love
your spouse with a great affection and
raise your children well. Work for
them, sacrifice for them, teach them
to talk to God and listen for his calling
in their lives. We cannot be afraid to
call our young people to greatness, to
be saints.
And if you are ministering to families,
my prayer is that you will teach
them the “little way” of the Holy
Family.
Jesus lived for 30 years in a “hidden
life” in his home in Nazareth.
He did this to teach us that the little
unseen things that parents do every
day — earning a living, making meals
and doing the housework, taking the
kids to church and confession, saying
prayers at bedtime — these are all
vital to the Church’s mission. These
are all part of God’s loving plan for
the world’s redemption.
The early Christians spoke of the
Continued on Page 26
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 21

AD REM
BY ROBERT BRENNAN
Confessing the truth
Brendan Gleeson and Aidan Gillen in “Calvary” (2014).
IMDB
The saying goes that confession
is good for the soul, but
if the law being voted up the
flagpole in California is enacted,
confession may not be so great
for your constitutional rights.
We can argue about the unknowable,
like the intentions of the politicians
who are rushing to make mandatory
destruction of the seal of the confessional
the law of the Golden State, but
who can say what is in anyone’s heart,
and even if the intentions are good,
isn’t the road to perdition paved with
such building material?
Hearing the debate being bandied
about by politicians who are supporting
this bill makes me think that most
of their theological training comes
from popular culture. I willingly stipulate
the treatment of one of the seven
sacraments as a plot device is not the
most reverential thing I can think of,
but our culture is not resting on a very
reverential plateau anyway.
Alfred Hitchcock used confession to
great effect in his thriller “I Confess.”
Probably not the first time the
“device” was used to further a plot but
certainly one of the best. In typical
Hitchcock fashion, the star of the
film, a priest who has heard a confession,
finds himself the odd man out
and pursued by both the “good” guys
and the “bad” guys.
The priesthood and the sacrament
in this film are treated with respect,
which may have more to say about the
1950s, when the film was produced.
Thirty-some years later, a film called
“A Prayer for the Dying” got confession
all wrong. A crime is committed.
A priest witnesses the crime. The
perpetrator of the crime THEN goes
to confession and confesses the crime,
thinking he has sealed the priest’s lips
closed.
Seems to me the priest cannot divulge
anything he heard in the confessional,
but he certainly could tell the
police everything he saw outside the
confessional as a witness to a crime.
Despite that hole in the plot, the movie
at least had a basic understanding
of the sacrament.
Probably the strongest and most
powerful film relating to confession is
“Calvary,” starring Brendan Gleeson,
portraying a priest who is told during
confession that he will be murdered
in a week for the crimes of other
priests.
This film is hard to watch and not
for children, but it is powerful on
multiple levels and although rife with
scandalous elements, tells a strong
22 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

and strangely reverent story about a
good priest. This film has plenty to say
about the collateral damage caused
by sexual abuse, and the Church gets
a black eye here and there, but the
sacrament’s inviolability is essential to
story and remains intact.
How ironic that these make-believe
movie scenarios are closer to the truth
of the confessional than what politicians
in Sacramento think confession
is.
They seem to think that a person
who kneels before a priest in a confessional
is telling his or her sins to a
man. They think pretty much along
the same lines as empirical Roman
bureaucrats thought when they had
the truth staring them right in the eye.
In other words, they are missing the
point.
Movie audiences, whether the film
they’re watching has the sacrament of
penance in it or not, want what California
politicians want … the bad guys
getting what’s coming to them. They
seem to think confession is some kind
of unjust “get out of jail free” card.
In a way, like the cross, that’s exactly
what it is. Confession is the gift of
mercy and forgiveness, if in fact the
penitent is truly sorry for what he or
she has done. That does not mean the
divine mercy we receive without earning
it comes without a corresponding
call for justice.
Though a priest cannot and hopefully
will never disclose what he has
heard in the confessional to anyone,
the person doing the confessing,
especially if that person is confessing a
sin this proposed law is supposed to be
targeting, must seek justice — justice
even in the form of turning himself in
to the proper authorities.
A priest cannot make that a part of
the penance, as it would violate the
seal of the confessional, but if a person
really is truly sorry, he or she must
seek that kind of justice on their own.
And whether a perpetrator who confesses
a terrible sin does or does not
seek justice, that is between them and
God … not the state.
Robert Brennan is director of communications
at The Salvation Army
California South Division in Van
Nuys, California.
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 23

INSIDE
THE PAGES
BY KRIS MCGREGOR
Humble and free
How the Litany of Humility can bring us to greater
confidence in who we are as children of God
“I for humility,” says Joel
think if there’s any prayer
we make that God responds
to immediately, it’s a prayer
Stepanek. Using the Litany of Humility,
a prayer made popular by St.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, his book
“Chasing Humility: 8 Ways to Shape
a Christian Heart” (Ave Maria Press,
$12), aims to bring Catholics to the
realization that a life of humility isn’t
a bad thing — it’s a clear path to bring
us closer to God.
Kris McGregor: A very wise monsignor
told me that once you start to pray
the Litany of Humility, you will be
affected.
Joel Stepanek: I had a rough first
year as a youth minister in Wisconsin,
and a lot of my prideful aspects man-
ifested themselves. A spiritual adviser
said, “Why don’t you try this Litany
of Humility?” And it became a daily
practice.
McGregor: The selfie isn’t just a
millennial thing — everything in our
culture feeds the great sin of pride. It’s
all about us.
Stepanek: Pride is the primary sin.
You go back to the fall of humanity,
and what is the temptation? To be like
God, to be on the same level as him.
When people think about humility,
I think they think it’s self-deprecating,
like we don’t get to be full and alive.
But living a humble life actually
makes us free. It gives us the freedom
to think of others more and to be present
to who we are before God. There’s
profound joy in that.
McGregor: What is so important
about being authentic?
Stepanek: As a teenager struggling
to find my identity, my dad and I had
a conversation that has stuck with me
and informed my view on humility.
Joel Stepanek speaks at a Night of
Mercy event for English-speaking
pilgrims during World Youth Day held
in the Tauron Arena on July 27, 2016.
JEFFREY BRUNO/CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY
24 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

In order to be authentic, he told me,
we have to know who we are before
God and who God says we are. Then
we have to know who we say we are,
the truths that we say about ourselves,
and we have to know who people say
that we are.
When these things line up, we experience
harmony, because we’re being
authentic. How others perceive me is
congruent with who I say I am, which
is congruent to who God says I am.
McGregor: How does having
confidence play into living a life of
humility?
Stepanek: The litany says, “From the
desire of being preferred to others, deliver
me, Jesus. From the fear of being
humiliated, deliver me, Jesus. That
others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.”
This was the toughest one for me.
I sometimes experience a lack of
confidence in who I am, and who
God created me to be, and that makes
me want to be others’ choice, to be
preferred, because then I feel wanted.
How good does it feel when someone
says, I would prefer to hang out with
you?
If we don’t have confidence, we’re
always going to want to be someone’s
preference, and we’re going to get
anxious when we’re not. A lack of
confidence produces a fear of being
humiliated, and that can be destructive.
But if we have confidence in who
we are before the Lord, and we allow
that to drive our identity, moments
of humiliation become moments for
growth. We don’t allow them to define
us, but they form us and shape us.
McGregor: Loving others can be a
great challenge because we expect
things. It’s difficult to love, give, and
expect nothing, but isn’t that what the
litany asks us to do? “That others may
be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me
the grace to desire it.”
Stepanek: The moment we start to
say, I’ll love my neighbor if he loves
me back, we put conditions on love,
and conditional love is ultimately
not love. It’s liking somebody, but it’s
contractual.
When we talk about being delivered
An undated file photo shows St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta holding a child during a visit to Warsaw,
Poland.
from a desire to be loved, the truth
is, an ordered desire to love and be
loved is at the core of who we are.
We’re made in the image of God, who
is love, so love is at the foundation of
our being.
But a disordered desire to be loved
can push us to do some things to seek
love that are not actually love. People
fear not being loved, and they fear
being despised.
If God loves us perfectly, and
infinitely, that love is enough for us
to tap into. Confident in that love,
we can go out and pray that others
may be loved more than we are. And
we have the power to affect that. I
can seek to love others more in my
conversations, in my service, in how I
approach my enemies and those who
have wronged me.
McGregor: Jesus told us repeatedly,
“Be not afraid.” Is this the key to truly
allowing ourselves to be loved?
Stepanek: In the first letter of St.
John, he says that perfect love casts
out fear. If we want to start to address
the fear in our lives, especially the
fear of sharing Christ with others, we
have to say, I don’t need the approval
of other people. God loves me, and he
approves of me.
When we break those boundaries,
we find that people are hungry for
what we have to share. It’s almost a
breath of fresh air — somebody who
believes in something so much that
they want to share it. But the only way
we can do that is by letting in the love
of God.
Kris McGregor is the founder of Discerninghearts.com,
an online resource
for the best in contemporary Catholic
spirituality.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/TOMASZ GZELL, EPA
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 25

Continued from Page 21
family as the “domestic Church.” And
this is the way for us to think about
our own families and about the mission
of the family in our culture today.
My brothers and sisters, I began with
the fictional story of a married couple,
Mary and Michael. Let me close with
the story of a real married couple, the
Servants of God Eugenio Balmori
Martínez and Marina Francisca Cinta
Sarrelangue.
They were married in Veracruz,
Mexico, in 1937. Marina and Eugenio
worked hard and sacrificed to give
their five children a Catholic education.
They endured the hardships that
many couples go through — stress
about the kids, unemployment, long
periods of separation because of Eugenio’s
job.
Eugenio died suddenly in a car crash
at age 46, and Marina lived for the
next 40 years as a widow and single
mother, working hard to earn a living,
continuing to serve her children and
the Church.
I want to leave you with some words
from Marina. On the eve of their
wedding, she wrote to Eugenio: “Our
home will be a chapel of love, where
no other ideal will reign other than to
thank God and to love each other very
much.”
My brothers and sisters, these words
are God’s promise, his answer to the
challenges of the culture we are living
in.
The answer is this: Life is not ours
to sanction or command. Life is a
beautiful gift; the child received by
a husband and wife is as beautiful
and precious as anything we find in
nature.
By the love in our homes, by the sacrifices
we make and the love that we
hold in our hearts and pass on to our
children, we are called to testify to this
God who is our Creator and Father.
This God, who holds all of this world
— and every one of us — in his loving
hands.
This is our Father’s plan for your
family and for every family. And this is
the mission of his Church.
To read more columns by Archbishop José
H. Gomez or to subscribe,
visit www.angelusnews.com.
26 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

THE CRUX
BY HEATHER KING
Summer’s strangest things
Hard truths and eerie fantasies come together
in a Nordic artist’s meditation on death
Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a Swedish-speaking Here’s how the book, delectably, begins:
Finnish writer and artist, is perhaps best known
as the creator of the Moomins. These impish
creatures and their adventures, featured in the
numerous books that Jansson wrote and illustrated, have
delighted children worldwide.
Born in Helsinki, Jansson was
raised and formed by Bohemian
parents. Her father sculpted.
Her mother, a painter, did
illustrations for Garm, one of
the few bravely anti-Fascist
magazines in Finland in the
years leading up to World War
II.
She studied art in Stockholm,
Helsinki, and Paris. Her love
life was, let’s say, eventful.
In the summer of 1953, Jansson
was commissioned to paint
the altarpiece of Finland’s
Teuva Church. The result was
the “Ten Virgins” altarpiece,
the only altar of her career. “I
feel very competent when I
glue gold,” she remarked of the
project.
At the time, she was working
on the book “Moominsummer
Madness.” But the Moomins
didn’t bring me to Jansson.
What did was a strange and
singular work called “The
Summer Book,” written in
1972.
The story takes place on a
small island over the space of Artist and writer Tove Jansson in 1956.
a summer. There are other
characters — a mostly absent father, an obnoxious child
named Berenice. But the main action is between 6-year-old
Sophia and her grandmother.
It was an early, very warm morning in July, and it had
rained during the night. The bare granite steamed, the moss
and crevices were drenched with moisture, and all the colors
everywhere had deepened. Below
the veranda, the vegetation in
the morning shade was like a
rainforest of lush, evil leaves
and flowers, which she had to
be careful not to break as she
searched. She held one hand
in front of her mouth and was
constantly afraid of losing her
balance.
“What are you doing?” asked
little Sophia.
“Nothing,” her grandmother
answered. “That is to say,” she
added angrily, “I’m looking for
my false teeth.”
The evil leaves, the angry
grandmother, the erring teeth:
This is a story that will be neither
sentimental nor precious.
The sentences around which
the book pivots is at the top of
the second chapter, “Moonlight”:
“One time in April there
was a full moon, and the sea
was covered with ice. Sophia
woke up and remembered that
they had come back to the
island and that she had the bed
to herself because her mother
was dead.”
Sophia, in other words, has
just lost a mother and the grandmother has just lost a
daughter. That “one time in April” places us in the realm
of fairy tale, outside time and earthly place. We are invited
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28 • ANGELUS • June 28, 2019

to suspend disbelief. We have entered the land of the subconscious.
The death is never mentioned again. That loss
— and that presence — is the silent bass note that throbs
throughout. In fact, Jansson had lost her own mother the
year before she began writing the book.
Sophia and the grandmother adore each other, depend on
each other, tramp the bogs, garden, and explore together.
They also distrust, hide things from, and fight, sometimes
violently, with each other.
Jansson’s genius is to capture the rhythms, silences, non
sequiturs, hidden conflicts, irrational outbursts, and unspoken
love that flow between any two people in an intimate
human relationship.
At one point, for example, out walking the shore before
dawn, the grandmother and Sophia come upon a promontory
and Sophia dares herself to go swimming in the cold,
deep water below. She half-expects opposition, but none is
forthcoming. Sophia “glanced at her grandmother — you
can’t depend on people who just let things happen.”
So Sophia takes the plunge, while the grandmother,
seemingly indifferent but really wanting to give the child
room to risk, keeps silent counsel. As the two walk back to
the house, the point of view switches: “When we get home
… I think I’ll take a little nap. And I must remember to tell
[Sophia’s father] this child is still afraid of deep water.”
Sophia and her grandmother build a model city of Venice
in a marsh pond, sleep in a tent, plant flower bulbs, and
fashion bark boats. The grandmother sneaks clandestine
cigarettes; Sophia fetches her matches.
In one chapter the pair, out in their dory, go ashore a
neighboring island where a nouveau riche outsider has
built a house.
“No well-bred goes ashore on someone else’s island when
there’s no one home,” the grandmother explains. “But if
they put up a [No Trespassing] sign, then you do it anyway,
because it’s a slap in the face.”
In another passage Verner, an old suitor of the grandmother’s,
pays a visit. Hat in hand, he is courtly, shy, and clearly
still head over heels in love.
Again, Jansson captures the awkward silences, the lurching
starts and stops, the tragicomic relationships that might
have been but for the chance of a tiny wound, a word, the
weather on a particular day. The grandmother stands her
ground, bluster covering her own deep feelings.
The book (translated by Thomas Teal), was reissued in
2008 by The New York Review of Books. In the “Introduction,”
Kathryn Davis observes:
“The subject is death, the death of the mother, the beloved.
It is like nothing, nor does it leave you whole.”
Happy summer!
Heather King is a blogger, speaker and the author of several books.
June 28, 2019 • ANGELUS • 29