Angelus News | January 13, 2023 | Vol. 8 No. 1

ANGELUS 

POPE 

BENEDICT 

XVI 

1927-2022 

January 13, 2023 Vol. 8 No. 1

January 13, 2023 

Vol. 8 • No. 1 

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ON THE COVER 

CNS/PAUL HARING 

With the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI last Dec. 31 at the age 

of 95, the world has lost an intellectual giant, a brilliant defender of the 

Catholic faith, and an unlikely reformer. In this commemorative issue, 

Angelus contributors John Allen (Page 8), Scott Hahn (Page 14), Elise 

Italiano Ureneck (Page 16), and Kathryn Lopez (Page 18) offer their assessments 

of Pope Benedict’s life and legacy. Also: on Page 12, a report 

from Rome on the German pope’s final farewell; on Page 20, some of 

Joseph Ratzinger’s most memorable quotes. 

THIS PAGE 

CNS/CHRIS WARDE-JONES 

People hold up a sign that reads, “Santo 

Subito” (“Sainthood Now”) as Pope 

Francis concludes the funeral Mass for 

Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square 

at the Vatican Jan. 5. More than 50,000 

people attended the service, which was 

followed by a private burial in the crypt 

of St. Peter’s.

CONTENTS 

Pope Watch............................................... 2 

Archbishop Gomez................................. 3 

World, Nation, and Local News...... 4-6 

In Other Words........................................ 7 

Scott Hahn.............................................. 36 

Events Calendar..................................... 37 

22 

26 

30 

32 

34 

Cathedral service remembers LA’s homeless dead by their names 

What this Christmas looked like inside LA Men’s Central Jail 

Charlie Camosy sees a way forward for pro-life politics after Roe 

The Catholic actress who took on ‘Fake Christmas’ 80 years ago 

Heather King recalls the pioneering work of Msgr. ‘Terry’ Richey 

January 13, 2023 • ANGELUS • 1

POPE WATCH 

Lessons from the pandemic 

The following is adapted from the 

Holy Father’s message for the 56th 

World Day of Peace, which the Church 

celebrates annually on January 1. 

COVID-19 plunged us into a 

dark night. It destabilized our 

daily lives, upset our plans and 

routines, and disrupted the apparent 

tranquility of even the most affluent societies. 

It generated disorientation and 

suffering and caused the death of great 

numbers of our brothers and sisters. 

Amid a whirlwind of unexpected 

challenges and facing a situation 

confusing even from a scientific standpoint, 

the world’s health care workers 

mobilized to relieve immense suffering 

and to seek possible remedies. At the 

same time, political authorities had to 

take measures to organize and manage 

efforts to respond to the emergency. 

In addition to its physical aspects, 

COVID-19 led to a general malaise in 

many individuals and families; the long 

periods of isolation and the various 

restrictions on freedom contributed to 

this malaise, with significant long-term 

effects. 

Nor can we overlook the fractures in 

our social and economic order that the 

pandemic exposed, and the contradictions 

and inequalities that it brought to 

the fore. It threatened the job security 

of many individuals and aggravated the 

ever-increasing problem of loneliness 

in our societies, particularly on the part 

of the poor and those in need. 

Three years later, what did we learn 

from the pandemic? What new 

paths should we follow to cast off the 

shackles of our old habits, to be better 

prepared, to dare new things? What 

signs of life and hope can we see, to 

help us move forward and try to make 

our world a better place? 

Certainly, after directly experiencing 

the fragility of our own lives and 

the world around us, we can say that 

the greatest lesson we learned from 

COVID-19 was the realization that 

we all need one another. That our 

greatest and yet most fragile treasure is 

our shared humanity as brothers and 

sisters, children of God. And that none 

of us can be saved alone. 

We also learned that the trust we put 

in progress, technology, and the effects 

of globalization was not only excessive, 

but turned into an individualistic and 

idolatrous intoxication, compromising 

the very promise of justice, harmony, 

and peace that we so ardently sought. 

In our fast-paced world, the widespread 

problems of inequality, injustice, 

poverty, and marginalization 

continue to fuel unrest and conflict, 

and generate violence and even wars. 

What then is being asked of us? First 

of all, to let our hearts be changed 

by our experience of the crisis, to let 

God, at this time in history, transform 

our customary criteria for viewing the 

world around us. 

We can no longer think exclusively 

of carving out space for our personal 

or national interests; instead, we 

must think in terms of the common 

good, recognizing that we belong to a 

greater community, and opening our 

minds and hearts to universal human 

fraternity. 

We cannot continue to focus simply 

on preserving ourselves; rather, the 

time has come for all of us to endeavor 

to heal our society and our planet, to 

lay the foundations for a more just 

and peaceful world, and to commit 

ourselves seriously to pursuing a good 

that is truly common. 

Papal Prayer Intention for January: We pray that educators 

may be credible witnesses, teaching fraternity rather than 

competition and helping the youngest and most vulnerable 

above all. 

2 • ANGELUS • January 13, 2023

NEW WORLD OF FAITH 

ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ 

Nothing more beautiful 

On Jan. 5, Archbishop Gomez 

celebrated a memorial Mass for Pope 

Emeritus Benedict XVI, the day the late 

pontiff was laid to rest in Rome. The 

following is adapted from his homily. 

I 

have had the privilege to know and 

minister under three popes: St. John 

Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and 

now the Holy Father Pope Francis. 

Each has his own distinctive personality 

and pastoral style. In my own ministry, 

I draw inspiration and guidance 

from all of them, from their words, and 

even more, from their examples. 

I will always be grateful to Pope 

Benedict because he chose me to be 

archbishop here in Los Angeles. It has 

been the blessing of my life to be your 

shepherd and pastor. 

In my experience, Pope Benedict 

was a gentle soul, a beautiful man. It 

is true that he was a great teacher and 

biblical theologian, and one of the 

most brilliant minds in the history of 

the Church and Western civilization. 

But I will remember him, most of all, 

for his kindness to me and his deep 

humility. 

Our pope emeritus put Jesus Christ at 

the center of his life. And leading men 

and women to friendship with Jesus 

was the purpose of his life. 

In his first homily as pope, he told 

us, “Only when we meet the living 

God in Christ do we know what life 

is. … There is nothing more beautiful 

than to be surprised by the Gospel, by 

the encounter with Christ. There is 

nothing more beautiful than to know 

Him and to speak to others of our 

friendship with Him.” 

We see this beautiful encounter in the 

Gospel story of the calling of Nathanael. 

Our Christian life, the life of faith, 

always begins with an invitation. It 

begins in friendship, in witness. One 

heart speaking to another heart about 

the love they have found in Jesus. 

This story that we hear today is from 

the early days of Jesus’ public ministry. 

Philip has just met Jesus and begun 

to follow him. Now he goes to invite 

his friend, Nathanael. He says, simply, 

“Come and see.” 

Philip makes this gentle invitation, 

and Jesus does the rest. 

Pope Benedict is right: There is 

nothing more beautiful than to be 

surprised by the Gospel! Nothing more 

beautiful than to meet Jesus! 

He understood that the modern world 

is moving away from God, that faith is 

fading from the hearts of many people, 

that our society is growing cold and 

intolerant toward religion. 

But he also knew that God is not 

finished with his creation, not done 

building his kingdom on earth. Jesus is 

still calling, still knocking at the door 

of every human heart. 

Pope Benedict reminded us: The 

Church’s mission is Christ’s mission 

— to seek and to save the lost. It’s not 

just about popes and bishops, priests 

and religious. All of us share in this 

mission! Every one of us who has been 

baptized. 

Each of us is called — in our own 

way and in our own lives — to be like 

Philip. Speaking to others of our love 

for Jesus and our friendship with him. 

Calling others to “Come and see.” 

It really is true: When we meet the 

living God in Jesus Christ and follow 

him, our life changes. 

To be surprised by the Gospel is to 

discover the truth about where we 

come from, and what we are living for. 

Brothers and sisters, Jesus knows and 

loves each one of us, just as he knew 

and loved Nathanael. We heard in the 

first reading today: “God is greater than 

our hearts and knows everything.” 

Pope Benedict’s legacy will be the countless souls 

who found friendship with Jesus through his love, 

through his gentle invitation to “Come and see.” 

And Jesus makes the same promise to 

you that he made to Nathanael: When 

you come to him, “you will see greater 

things.” 

When we allow his love to fill our 

hearts, the gate of heaven stands open 

before us. We see with certainty that 

we walk in the light of his presence, in 

the company of angels and saints. The 

little things in our everyday lives become 

like a ladder leading us to heaven. 

I am confident that Pope Benedict 

will be remembered among the great 

figures in the history of the Church. 

But as he looks on the face of God 

and hears his voice, his legacy will not 

be one of great words and important 

books. 

His legacy will be the countless 

souls who found friendship with Jesus 

through his love, through his gentle 

invitation to “Come and see.” 

Let us honor his memory by renewing 

our own friendship with Jesus, and 

dedicating ourselves once more to the 

beautiful task of bringing others to be 

surprised by the Gospel! 

May Mary Most Holy pray for us, and 

keep us all under the mantle of her 

protection. 


WORLD 

■ Eritrean Catholics get 

a Christmas miracle 

Two clergymen from Eritrea were 

released from more than two months 

in detention Dec. 28. 

Authorities never provided a reason 

for why they arrested Bishop 

Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim and 

Father Mehereteab Stefanos of the 

Eritrean Catholic Eparchy of Segheneity 

on Oct. 15 at an airport. It is still 

unknown whether Capuchin Friar 

Abbot Abraham, who was arrested 

with them, is still in custody. 

Media reports suggest the three men 

were targeted for criticizing human 

rights violations — including forced 

military enlistment and confiscation 

of property — during their homilies. 

“I can confirm he is free, but I do 

not have any further details. My other 

concern is that we are dealing with a 

very toxic state,” an unnamed Catholic 

priest in the region told multiple 

Catholic news outlets. 

Their release follows a November 

peace treaty that would end the civil 

war between the Eritrean and Ethiopian 

governments against regional 

leaders of Tigray province that began 

in November 2020. 

Bishop Fikremariam 

Hagos Tsalim. | CNS 

True Christmas spirit — Local residents sing Christmas carols during an air raid alarm inside a metro station in 

Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 25. More than a week later, the Russian government announced a cease-fire out of respect 

for Christmas in the Orthodox Christian calendar on Jan. 7. The announcement seemed to have little effect on 

fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, however. | CNS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO, REUTERS 

■ Canadian police say no to St. Michael 

Police officers in Montreal will no longer be allowed to wear images of their 

patron, St. Michael the Archangel, their bosses have announced. 

The decision came after a reassessment of the Quebec Province’s “Law 21,” 

or law on state secularism, that restricts the use of religious imagery in public 

settings. 

“After analysis, it was agreed that the crest of St. Michael worn by SPVM 

(Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal) police officers on their uniform is a 

religious sign within the meaning of the law,” read a SPVM memo, which asked 

the officers to “kindly remove from your uniforms any crest symbolizing or referring 

to the Archangel St. Michael.” 

The ruling directly followed protests related to the COP15 international forum 

last September, where many officers wore St. Michael badges. 

■ Jesuit artist was investigated, 

quietly disciplined after abuse probe 

A Jesuit priest considered one of the most popular liturgical artists in the Catholic 

world is at the center of a new abuse scandal. 

Allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse committed by Father Marko Ivan 

Rupnik in the 1980s and 1990s against women religious in his native Slovenia 

first surfaced in Italian media last month. Since then, the Society of Jesus has 

revealed that a secret Vatican investigation resulted in a 2020 excommunication 

of Father Rupnik that was quickly lifted after the priest expressed repentance. 

In 2021, another allegation of abuse was made by several women who belonged 

to the Loyola Community he served as a spiritual adviser in Slovenia, 

but the Vatican’s doctrinal office ruled that the statute of limitations had passed 

and closed the case. 

The sequence of events has raised questions about why the statute of limitations 

was not waived and about whether Pope Francis knew about the previous 

excommunication. 

Father Rupnik’s mosaics decorate important churches and chapels around the 

world. Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa said Father Rupnik’s priestly 

ministry has been restricted since the Vatican’s investigation. 


NATION 

The Museum of the Bible’s “Bethlehem Bells” exhibit 

this month. | MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE 

■ Bishops’ pro-life chair: 

Abortion pill decision an 

‘obvious tragedy’ 

Pharmacies can now sell the “abortion 

pill” mifepristone following a 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

policy change Jan. 3. 

One of two pills used in a chemical 

abortion, mifepristone previously 

could only be dispensed by certified 

doctors, clinics, and some mail-order 

pharmacies. Retail pharmacies can 

now opt-in to filling abortion pill prescriptions, 

but must abide by any state 

regulations. 

The U.S. Postal Service was also 

empowered to deliver mifepristone 

pills — despite the FDA publishing 

recommendations that mifepristone 

not be purchased online — after the 

Justice Department’s Office of Legal 

Council published a Jan. 3 opinion 

that enabled mailing mifepristone even 

to states with strict anti-abortion laws.. 

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, 

Virginia, chairman of the U.S. 

Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee 

on Pro-Life Activities, pointed 

out the high rate of “serious complications” 

after chemical abortions and 

called on the Biden administration to 

“correct its policy priorities and stand 

with mothers in need.” 

“[The decision] not only advances 

the obvious tragedy of taking the lives 

of the preborn, but is also harmful to 

women in need,” said Bishop Burbidge 

in a Jan. 6 statement. 

■ Bethlehem’s crusader bells come to America 

A set of 12th-century bells made their first — and perhaps only — trip from the 

Holy Land to the United States this Christmas season. 

The “Bethlehem Bells,” which were originally brought by crusaders to the ancient 

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, were the subject of a special exhibit at 

the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., open through Jan. 29. 

The French-made bells were originally installed in a 12-piece carillon at the 

Church of the Nativity, but were lost for centuries after crusaders buried them in 

anticipation of a Muslim counterinvasion. The bells were rediscovered in 1906 by 

Franciscans making repairs to the church. 

The exhibit required approval from Catholic, Orthodox, and Armenian church 

leaders, as all three churches share custody of the Church of the Nativity and the 

bells. This will be the bells’ first and only trip outside the Holy Land, top museum 

curator Jeff Kloha said. 

■ Priests for Life leader defrocked after years of conflict 

The Vatican has dismissed long time pro-life advocate and priest Frank Pavone 

from the clerical state after a series of scandalous episodes in recent years. 

Apostolic nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Christophe Pierre told the U.S. bishops 

in a letter that Pavone’s laicization was due to “blasphemous communications on 

social media” and “persistent disobedience” of his bishop, Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, 

with whom he sparred since 2008. 

Pavone has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump since his first presidential 

campaign in 2016, making controversial statements on social media. He appeared 

in a politically charged November 2016 video staged with the body of an aborted 

baby on what appeared to be an altar. 

Pavone will continue his role as national director of Priests for Life, but has 

stopped using the title “Father” and has canceled his livestreamed Masses. 

Praying for Damar — A fan attends a candlelight vigil for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin at University of 

Cincinnati Medical Center on Jan. 3. The country united in prayer and sympathy for Hamlin after he suffered 

cardiac arrest during the Bills’ Jan. 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin was a 2016 graduate of Central 

Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. | JEFF DEAN/GETTY IMAGES 


LOCAL 

■ Mission San Gabriel arson 

suspect to stand trial 

The man accused of setting fire to Mission San Gabriel is 

set to stand trial 2 1/2 years since the historic church was 

nearly destroyed. 

John David Corey, 59, will be tried on two counts of arson 

of a structure and one count each of arson during a state of 

emergency and second-degree commercial burglary. 

“After a thorough investigation, investigators determined 

that Corey was responsible for the fire at the Mission San 

Gabriel,” the San Gabriel Fire Department announced at 

the time of his arrest. 

The newly renovated mission has been closed as workers 

apply the finishing touches to its restored altarpiece. It is 

expected to reopen for services and visits in the spring of 

2023. 

■ Another Catholic college 

in California to close 

Holy Names University in Oakland will hold its last classes 

at the end of the school year in May, after unsuccessful 

efforts to partner with another college. 

In a Dec. 19 announcement, the school said that “both 

COVID-19 and an economic downturn disproportionately 

impacted” students, adding to low enrollment troubles. 

The school said it had reached a pending agreement with 

Dominican University of California in San Rafael, to transfer 

academic programs and credits after the spring semester. 

“This unfortunate situation is occurring at small colleges 

throughout the United States,” acknowledged Oakland 

Bishop Michael Barber in a statement. 

Holy Names was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names 

of Jesus and Mary, a teaching order from Canada, in 1868. 

Earlier this year, Marymount California University in Rancho 

Palos Verdes also closed permanently after a failed merger 

with St. Leo University, a Catholic college in Florida. 

Bishop Alex Aclan in 2019. 

| VICTOR ALEMÁN 

■ Bishop Aclan making ‘very 

positive’ progress since stroke 

Auxiliary Bishop Alex Aclan is making “very positive and 

continuing progress” in his recovery since suffering a stroke 

four months ago, his family said. 

The 71-year-old bishop was hospitalized Aug. 20 in intensive 

care due to a sudden stroke. Since then, his family 

has given occasional updates on the bishop’s condition and 

requested continued prayers. 

“Bishop Alex is now living with family members and is 

making very positive and continuing progress in his recuperation,” 

the message read. “He is fully alert and communicative 

and is gaining strength each day through excellent 

physical therapy. He now travels to the physical therapy 

center rather than they coming to him.” 

Bishop Aclan’s family thanked all who have been praying 

for him and expressed confidence that “the new year will 

see even more return to normal” in his condition. 

“It is obvious that faith and prayer have had an incredibly 

positive effect on his continuing recovery,” they said. 

Blessings in boxes — Michael Donaldson and Gina Vides of the Office of Life, 

Justice and Peace pose with a few of the growing number of boxes containing 

socks, blankets, and sleeping bags donated after the Dec. 21 Homeless Persons 

Interreligious Memorial event. The donations will be distributed to community 

partners supporting the homeless, including SOFESA and the Society of St. 

Vincent de Paul Los Angeles. See pages 22-24 for Angelus’ full coverage of the 

memorial event. | OFFICE OF LIFE, JUSTICE AND PEACE 

Y 


V 

IN OTHER WORDS... 

Letters to the Editor 

Seeing the Holy Spirit at work 

What a marvelous way to end the year! “Five doses of good news for 

Catholicism amid an otherwise bleak year,” by John L. Allen Jr., in the 

Dec. 30 issue, made my heart swell with gratitude for my Catholic faith and my 

fellow Catholics. 

Reading these “doses of good news” reminded me of how much good is being 

done that we hear little or nothing about. It was so uplifting to read about the 

growth of the Catholic Church and the charitable work being done in so many 

places. The Holy Spirit is truly at work, but often in a hidden and silent way. 

I feel so sorry for those Catholics who have “fallen away,” for whatever reason, 

and who have become indifferent or hostile toward our Holy Father or the priesthood 

in general, or even toward the Church as a whole. They are missing out on 

the joy of being part of this beautiful body of Christ. I pray that they will come 

back and be blessed by renewed faith in 2023. 

— Marilyn Boussaid, St. James Church, Redondo Beach 

The ‘Father Terry’ that I knew 

Thank you to Heather King for the insightful and spot-on reminiscence of Msgr. 

Richey published on AngelusNews.com Jan. 6 (and in this issue on pages 34-35). 

The last several years he lived at St. Basil’s in Koreatown, Father Sergio Garcia 

and I found ourselves increasingly assisting Msgr. It was made so much more 

enjoyable with his one-liners and that he was so accepting of his situation. 

He was always upbeat. During the pandemic lockdown he wanted a haircut. 

I told him I could get a big pair of scissors or set up a guillotine in the garden, 

whichever he preferred. In a rather dry response, he said, “I think the guillotine 

may be a bit extreme.” That kind of repartee went on all of the time. 

— Deacon Thomas Brandlin, St. Basil Church, Koreatown 

Y 

Continue the conversation! To submit a letter to the editor, visit AngelusNews.com/Letters-To-The-Editor 

and use our online form or send an email to editorial@angelusnews.com. Please limit to 300 words. Letters 

may be edited for style, brevity, and clarity. 

Resting with the popes 

View more photos 

from this gallery at 

AngelusNews.com/photos-videos 

The tomb of Pope 

Benedict XVI in the 

crypt of St. Peter’s 

Basilica was opened 

to the public following 

his Jan. 5 burial, 

capping an emotional 

farewell lasting a 

whole week. | CNS/ 

VATICAN MEDIA 

Do you have photos or a story from your parish that you’d 

like to share? Please send to editorial @angelusnews.com. 

“Making saints is a 

process of memory and 

interpretation.” 

~ Carmen Nanko-Fernández, in a Dec. 23 

Commonweal article on the legacies of Roberto 

Clemente and Jackie Robinson. 

“He loved art and music 

and cats and within his 

many publications there is 

a very strong attention to 

beauty.” 

~ Theologian Tracey Rowland, winner of the 2020 

Ratzinger Prize for Theology, in a Jan. 4 interview 

with the National Catholic Reporter. 

“That’s a feature, not a bug 

of our system.” 

~ Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Catholic 

from Wisconsin, on the “messy” process to elect a 

Speaker of the House at the start of the year. 

“I felt like a student asked 

to play piano in front of 

Mozart.” 

~ Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, recalling the time he was 

asked to speak on the hermeneutics of the Second 

Vatican Council at a gathering of Pope Benedict XVI 

and his alumni. 

“I think we all have to 

recognize the power of 

prayer from coaches, 

players, the staff and 

the fans that was in that 

stadium, and the people 

watching from around the 

world,” 

~ Troy Vincent, executive vice president of football 

operations at the NFL, on the reaction to Buffalo 

Bills player Damar Hamlin’s nearly fatal on-field 

health scare Jan. 2. 


BENEDICT 

THE GREAT? 

Of the three 

popes so far in 

the 21st century, 

Pope Benedict’s 

place in history 

may ultimately 

loom the largest. 

BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. 

Pope Benedict XVI waves as 

he arrives to deliver a talk at the 

conclusion of a Mass for the 

Knights of Malta in St. Peter’s 

Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 9, 

2013. | CNS/PAUL HARING 


ROME — New Year’s is 

a time for predictions, 

though generally they’re 

focused just on the year to 

come. Here’s one whose 

horizon isn’t the next 12 months, but, 

say, the next 100 years. 

I hereby forecast that in a century’s 

time, the early 21st-century pope 

whose memory will loom largest won’t 

be either St. Pope John Paul II or 

Pope Francis, both wildly charismatic 

figures who dominated the global 

stage in their day. It instead will be 

Pope Benedict XVI, the awkward, 

bookish pontiff who, in his own time, 

just never seemed to turn the world on 

with his smile. 

With both Pope John Paul and Pope 

Francis, the force of their personalities 

comes across best live, either in person 

or on TV. As is often said of contextual 

humor, “you had to be there” to really 

get the impact. 

Even now, it probably would be 

difficult for nonexperts to summon the 

titles of more than a couple of either 

pope’s writings — what people tend 

to remember instead are the grand 

gestures, the images, and the madefor-TV 

sound bites such as “Be not 

afraid!” and “Who am I to judge?” 

Yet the nature of this sort of fame is 

that it has a very brief half-life; it starts 

to decay, in fact, the moment you’re 

no longer on-air. Just ask any American 

today under the age of 30 about 

Johnny Carson, for instance, and the 

uncomprehending stares you’re likely 

to get will speak volumes. 

The written word, on the other 

hand, endures, and Cardinal Joseph 

Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI was 

preeminently a thinker and a writer. 

If you want to know either Pope John 

Paul or Pope Francis, you have to see 

them; to know Pope Benedict, on the 

other hand, you need to read him. 

As a Vatican reporter, I can testify 

that one key difference between Pope 

John Paul II and Pope Benedict on 

the road was that with Pope John Paul, 

his speeches on trips were often a bit 

disjointed and hard to follow from 

beginning to end, but they always contained 

that money quote that would 

become the day’s headline. With Pope 

Benedict it was the opposite — A 

always led to B, and B led to C, etc., 

with crystalline clarity, though usually 

without that zinger of a sound bite. 

To know Pope Benedict the best, you 

need to read his works prior to becoming 

pope as well as his output in office. 

In 100 years’ time, it’s a good bet that 

several works by Cardinal Ratzinger/ 

Pope Benedict still will be studied and 

dissected in seminaries, Catholic universities, 

think tanks, and publishing 

houses. Here’s a decidedly partial list 

— no more, really, than a sampler. 

“Introduction to Christianity” (1968): 

Essential reading for anyone seeking 

to understand the intellectual currents 

that shaped the Second Vatican Council 

(1962-65) and the period immediately 

following. 

“Eschatology: Death and Eternal 

Life” (1977): Cardinal Ratzinger once 

referred to this as “my most thorough 

work, and the one I labored over the 

most strenuously.” 

“The Spirit of the Liturgy” (1978): 

Liturgy was an “idée fixe” (“fixed 

idea”) for Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope 

Benedict over the entire scope of his 

life and career, and this volume pre- 

Newly elected Pope John Paul II greets Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Munich and Freising in St. Peter’s 

Square at the Vatican Oct. 22, 1978. | CNS/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO/KNA 


Retired Pope Benedict XVI talks with Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican June 30, 2015. | CNS/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS 


sents his most developed views on the 

nature of Catholic worship. 

“Church, Ecumenism and Politics” 

(1987): Informed in part by debates 

over liberation theology, this is 

Cardinal Ratzinger’s most developed 

treatment of the folly of a “political” 

Christianity. 

“Deus Caritas Est” (2005): Pope 

Benedict’s first encyclical, and probably 

the most sustained reflection ever 

issued by a pope on the relationship 

between divinity and human erotic 

love. 

“Speeches in Regensburg, Germany, 

2006; the Collège des Bernardins in 

Paris, 2008; Westminster Hall in London, 

2010; and the Bundestag in Germany, 

2011”: In these four discourses, 

Pope Benedict laid out a vision of the 

relationship between reason and faith 

and the role of religious faith in secular 

democracies. Going forward, no 

graduate seminary on secularity and 

religion likely ever will be held without 

at least considering these works. 

To be honest, it’s difficult to assemble 

such a list of written works by any 

other modern pope that are likely to 

pass into posterity, especially works 

published before they even ascended 

to the Throne of Peter. 

Arnold Toynbee, in his 1948 classic 

“Civilization on Trial,” put the historian’s 

perspective this way: 

“The things that make good headlines 

are on the surface of the stream 

of life, and they distract us from the 

slower, impalpable, imponderable 

movements that work below the 

surface and penetrate to the depths. 

But it is really these deeper, slower 

movements that make history, and it is 

they that stand out huge in retrospect, 

when the sensational passing events 

have dwindled, in perspective, to their 

true proportions.” 

In his time, Pope Benedict’s papacy 

was dominated by sensational events 

— Vatileaks, a furor over a Holocaust-denying 

traditional bishop, a 

surreal scandal involving fake police 

reports suggesting the Vatican had 

smeared a prominent Italian Catholic 

journalist, the explosion of the clerical 

sexual abuse scandals in Ireland and 

across Europe, and on and on. 

Pope Benedict’s original, synthetic 

thinking on such key Catholic themes 

as worship, eschatology, and reason, 

while never destined to generate headlines, 

contributed to those “deeper, 

slower movements” that shape destiny, 

the perceived importance of which 

likely will only grow with the passage 

of time. 

None of this is to suggest, of course, 

that either Pope John Paul or Pope 

Francis have been minor notes in 

history. On the contrary, Pope John 

Paul, among other things, was instrumental 

in the collapse of communism, 

while Pope Francis has revitalized 

the Church’s relevance in sectors of 

opinion where it has long faced either 

hostility or oblivion. 

Yet if the true passport to immortality 

is print, then of the three pontiffs so far 

of the early 21st century, the one who 

seemed maligned and overlooked in 

his day may well be the one whose star 

shines brightest over time. 

John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux. 


Cardinal Giovanni Battista 

Re sprinkles holy water on 

the casket of Pope Benedict 

XVI as Pope Francis looks on 

during the late pope’s funeral 

Mass in St. Peter’s Square 

at the Vatican Jan. 5. | CNS/ 

VATICAN MEDIA 

‘FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM’ 

Pope Benedict XVI greets young people as he arrives for the 

World Youth Day vigil service at Cuatro Vientos Airport in 

Madrid Aug. 20, 2011. | CNS/SUSANA VERA, REUTERS 

The papal funeral playbook had to be rewritten for Benedict, 

who was buried as a retired, not reigning, pontiff. 

STAFF REPORT 

As he asked for, Pope 

Benedict XVI’s funeral in 

St. Peter’s Square Jan. 5 

was a simpler affair than 

most papal funerals. But 

it also featured some unprecedented 

novelties. Here are some important 

highlights from a moment unlike any 

other in Church history. 

Diplomacy on display 

An estimated 50,000 people filled 

the square for the Thursday morning 

Mass. Members of the College 

of Cardinals sat on one side of the 

casket, while on the other side sat special 

guests, including the late pope’s 

closest collaborators and various 

representatives of faith communities. 

The only heads of state invited to lead 

delegations were those of Italy and 

Pope Benedict’s native Germany. 

However, many dignitaries — including 

Queen Sofia of Spain and 

King Philippe of Belgium — and 

presidents and government ministers 

representing more than a dozen 

nations were in attendance. 

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen 

Ze-kiun, who turned 91 on Jan. 13, 

was allowed to leave China to attend 

the funeral of Pope Benedict, who had 

made him a cardinal in 2006. The retired 

cardinal was arrested in May and 

fined in November together with five 

others on charges of failing to properly 

register a now-defunct fund to help 

anti-government protesters. 

How to pray for a pope emeritus 

The Mass in St. Peter’s Square was 

the first time in more than 200 years 

that a pope celebrated the funeral of 

his predecessor. Pope Pius VII had 

celebrated the funeral of Pius VI in 

1802 when his remains were returned 

to Rome after he died in exile in 

France in 1799. 

This time, two key elements normally 

part of a papal funeral following the 

farewell prayer were missing: there 

were no prayers offered by representatives 

of the Diocese of Rome and of 

the Eastern Catholic churches, since 

those prayers are specific to the death 

of a reigning pope. 

Pope Francis presided over the Mass, 

giving the homily and saying most of 


ni Battista 

water on 

e Benedict 

cis looks on 

ope’s funeral 

’s Square 

. 5. | CNS/ 

the prayers, but when it was time to 

celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist, 

88-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista 

Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, 

was the main celebrant at the altar. 

Pope Francis sat off to the side, doubtless 

a result of the nagging pain that 

continues to afflict him due to osteoarthritis 

in his right knee. 

In other words, one could say that 

Pope Francis “assisted” at a Mass 

actually “celebrated” by a cardinal. 

Concelebrating were some 120 cardinals 

(including Los Angeles’ Cardinal 

Roger Mahony), another 400 bishops, 

and 3,700 priests. 

Jesus at the center 

Pope Francis chose to dedicate his 

homily to Christ’s loving devotion 

and suffering witness, rather than on a 

summary of his predecessor’s life. 

“Feeding means loving, and loving 

also means being ready to suffer. 

Loving means giving the sheep what is 

truly good, the nourishment of God’s 

truth, of God’s word, the nourishment 

of his presence,” Pope Francis said, 

quoting his predecessor’s homily marking 

the start of his pontificate April 24, 

2005. 

“Holding fast to the Lord’s last words 

and to the witness of his entire life, we 

too, as an ecclesial community, want 

to follow in his steps and to commend 

our brother into the hands of the Father,” 

he said of Pope Benedict. “May 

those merciful hands find his lamp 

alight with the oil of the Gospel that 

he spread and testified to for his entire 

life.” 

“Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, 

may your joy be complete as 

you hear his voice, now and forever!” 

he concluded, as the crowd prayed in 

silence. 

One last ‘Benedetto!’ and burial 

After the final blessing, a bell tolled 

solemnly and the assembly applaud- 

ed for several minutes — with some 

chanting “Benedetto!” — as the 

pallbearers carried the casket toward 

St. Peter’s Basilica, where earlier in the 

week about 195,000 people had paid 

their respects to Pope Benedict over 

three days of public viewing. 

Once inside, the casket was brought 

to be buried in the grotto of St. Peter’s 

Basilica in the same tomb that held 

the remains of St. Pope John Paul II 

before his beatification. The pope was 

wearing a miter and the chasuble he 

wore for Mass at World Youth Day in 

Sydney in 2008. 

Cardinal Re led prayers and blessed 

the pope’s remains during the burial 

rite attended by a small number of senior 

cardinals, the retired pope’s closest 

aides, and others. 

Reporting courtesy of Catholic News 

Service. Crux’s John L. Allen Jr. and 

Angelus Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay also 

contributed to this story. 

S’ 

for the 

rt in 

LA pays tribute to Benedict’s ‘gentle soul’ 

Visitors pay their respects to the late Pope Benedict XVI after a Jan. 5 memorial 

Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. | VICTOR ALEMÁN 

M 

emorial Masses for Pope Benedict XVI 

were celebrated in parishes around the 

Archdiocese of Los Angeles, including two 

at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 

on Jan. 5 and 9. 

At the Jan. 5 Mass, Archbishop José H. Gomez praised 

the late pope as “a gentle soul” and “one of the most 

brilliant minds in the history of the Church and Western 

civilization.” 

The cathedral liturgies included a few symbolic tributes 

to the late pope. Beforehand, a bell was rung eight 

times, one for each year of Pope Benedict’s pontificate. 

Later, the choir sang Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus,” a 

nod to the late German pope’s well-known affinity for 

the great composer and fellow countryman. Outside, 

the Vatican flag flew at half-mast in a sign of mourning. 

In his closing remarks, Archbishop Gomez said he 

thought “it is clear to all of us that Pope Benedict is in 

heaven” and invited the faithful to invoke his intercession 

for their needs. 

Then came a final surprise. What was supposed to be 

the final day of a historic rainstorm hitting Southern 

California had turned out to be a cloudy, dry morning. 

But as the archbishop was speaking about Pope Benedict, 

a burst of sunlight poured through the cathedral 

windows for a few seconds. 

It was, in the archbishop’s words, “a good sign,” an 

assurance that the late pope would continue “bringing 

this light into our lives with the light and presence of 

Jesus.” 

— Pablo Kay 

January 13, 2023 • ANGELUS • 13

Pope Benedict XVI is pictured at his desk in the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, in this 2010 photo. | CNS/VATICAN MEDIA 

THE SCHOLAR POPE 

His work took biblical scholarship to another level. 

Christians will reap the benefits for years to come. 

BY SCOTT HAHN 

From his first moments as 

pope, Benedict XVI established 

biblical renewal as 

a key theme of his pontificate. 

In fact, he spoke 

at length about “scientific” biblical 

interpretation during his homily for 

the Mass in which he was installed as 

Bishop of Rome. 

This was unprecedented, and yet it arrived 

as a surprise to no one who knew 

the man’s earlier work. 

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was a 

product of his times, and his times 

were tumultuous and productive in 

the sacred sciences. In the years of his 

priestly formation, the Christian world 

was enjoying a renewal of biblical 

studies. Many of its leading academic 

lights, both Catholic and Protestant, 

were active in Germany and writing 

in German. An intelligent seminarian 

couldn’t avoid the conversation. 

As he pursued advanced studies, he 

immersed himself in the biblical interpretation 

of the early Church Fathers as 

well as the medieval masters. 

But his study of the sacred page was 

not simply an academic exercise. It 

informed his preaching, and it became 

a hallmark of his spiritual life. 

He served the Church as a professor 

of theology and then as a theological 

consultant (“peritus”) to the Second 

Vatican Council (1962-65). In this role 

he helped to shape the council’s Dogmatic 

Constitution on Divine Revelation, 

“Dei Verbum” (“Word of God”). 

“Dei Verbum” was the mature fruit 

of the biblical renewal. It was also a 

particular bugbear among the council 

fathers. It was debated intensely and 

redrafted repeatedly. Many historians 

credit Father Ratzinger as the greatest 

influence on the document’s final 

form. And, more than any other document, 

“Dei Verbum” set the agenda 

for biblical studies and theology in the 


N MEDIA 

decades ahead. 

After the council, Father Ratzinger 

returned to academic life, eventually 

taking a position at the University of 

Tübingen, which is renowned for its 

ecumenical faculty in theology. While 

there, he published the works that 

established his international reputation. 

In constant dialogue with his Protestant 

colleagues — and a very diverse Catholic 

faculty — Father Ratzinger developed 

skills and virtues that would serve 

him well as a scholar, bishop, Vatican 

official, and pope. 

He learned to consider theological discussions 

from the Reformed position — 

and articulate a response in terms his 

interlocutors could appreciate. 

He gained a profound 

appreciation for modern 

methods of Scripture study 

and an admiration for the 

work of non-Catholic colleagues. 

He was able to find 

what was good and useful 

even in the works of those 

with whom he disagreed. 

He published books and articles 

in many subdisciplines 

of theology: spiritual theology, 

fundamental theology, 

liturgical theology, historical 

theology, catechetics, and 

systematic theology. 

He wrote a few specifically 

biblical studies, including 

an account of the Genesis 

creation narratives. But all 

his works bear a characteristic 

biblical stamp. He 

was fully engaged with the 

scriptural text and the history 

of its interpretation. He was a biblical 

theologian. 

Then he was a bishop, and then he 

was prefect of the Sacred Congregation 

for the Doctrine of the Faith. Yet always 

he worked as a biblical theologian. 

In 1988 came a defining moment 

when he delivered the prestigious 

Erasmus Lecture. His address, “Biblical 

Interpretation in Crisis,” was eventually 

published as a book — and it became 

a manifesto for a movement. He called 

for a “critique of criticism” and a renewed 

appreciation for the hermeneutic 

of faith. For too long, Scripture study 

had been subject to the reductionist 

methods of the empirical sciences, 

and those methods had only limited 

effectiveness when applied to texts that 

are divinely inspired. 

Some professionals, in both theology 

and biblical studies, found Cardinal 

Ratzinger’s address refreshing and even 

inspiring. Others vehemently opposed 

it. No one could ignore it, however, 

and it remained a matter of active and 

lively debate for decades. 

The timing of his election in 2005 

could not have been more perfect: As 

pope, Benedict XVI would be able to 

celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 

promulgation of “Dei Verbum,” the 

Vatican II text he had done so much to 

shape. 

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, gives a 

lecture in New York in January 1988. | CNS/KNA 

The celebration, begun in 2005, 

found its most complete expression five 

years later in the 2010 post-synodal apostolic 

exhortation “Verbum Domini” 

(“Word of the Lord”), which is arguably 

the most important document on 

Scripture produced by the Church in 

many years. It is a masterpiece, almost 

200 pages in book form, and there are 

no weak words. While he affirmed “the 

benefits that historical-critical exegesis 

and other recently-developed methods 

of textual analysis have brought to the 

life of the Church,” he also said: 

— “authentic biblical hermeneutics 

can only be had within the faith of the 

Church, which has its paradigm in 

Mary’s fiat. …” 

— “the primary setting for scriptural 

interpretation is the life of the Church. 

This is not to uphold the ecclesial 

context as an extrinsic rule to which 

exegetes must submit, but rather is 

something demanded by the very nature 

of the Scriptures and the way they 

gradually came into being. …” 

— “The Bible is the Church’s book, 

and its essential place in the Church’s 

life gives rise to its genuine interpretation.” 

Here at last was a pope conversant in 

biblical Greek and Hebrew. It’s likely 

that no pope since Peter could match 

Pope Benedict’s knowledge of rabbinic 

literature. And he was using 

these skills in powerful new 

ways. 

In my opinion, he emerged 

as the great modern master 

of mystagogy — instruction 

about the sacramental 

mysteries and their rites. He 

renewed the art not only in 

its theory, in his official documents, 

but in his practice. 

His baptismal homilies have 

so far been neglected and 

are awaiting discovery. 

His papal teaching was 

consistently grounded in 

Sacred Scripture, and this 

has appealed to Protestant 

intellectuals. It was Protestant 

clergy who founded the 

Joseph Ratzinger Society 

of Biblical Theology in the 

United States. And it was 

a Protestant publishing 

house that brought out “The 

Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant 

Appreciation” in 2019. When he 

resigned his office, I was among those 

who deeply grieved at the silencing of 

his voice. Today my mourning goes 

deeper still. 

I know that in all his years as emeritus 

pope he was writing daily. I know that 

all his writing was profoundly biblical. 

So I wait in hope for some of it — any 

of it — to be published. 

For it’s unlikely that we’ll see a pope 

like him for at least another 2,000 years. 

Scott Hahn is founder of the St. Paul 

Center for Biblical Theology; stpaulcenter.com. 


Pope Benedict XVI greets young people as he arrives for the 

World Youth Day vigil service at Cuatro Vientos Airport in 

Madrid Aug. 20, 2011. | CNS/SUSANA VERA, REUTERS 

THE BENEDICT GENERATION 

We came of age in a time marked by different kinds of scandals and 

terrors. Then a new pope found a way to speak to our hearts. 

BY ELISE ITALIANO URENECK 

I 

was walking across the grotto 

in front of my college 

chapel when bells began 

to toll, one after another. It 

was April 2005, the end of 

my junior year. I stopped and looked at 

the assistant chaplain who was outside, 

speaking to some students. “We have 

a new pope,” he hollered, a big grin 

spreading across his face. 

A few minutes later, those of us 

gathered together learned that the 

conclave had elected Cardinal Joseph 

Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul 

II. I didn’t know what to make of 

something so novel. In the 21 years I’d 

been alive, there had only been one 

pope. What would Catholicism look 

like with someone else at the helm? 

“This is a very good thing,” the chaplain, 

a Dominican friar, assured us. 

Though born Michael, his religious 

name was John Paul. I erred on the 

side of trusting him. 

It’s a bit of a cliché to characterize 

one’s adolescence 

as uniquely tumultuous, but 

I tend to believe that as a 

whole, my generation was 

given one of the more disruptive rides 

into adulthood. 

My freshman year of high school 

drew to a close with the Columbine 

massacre. No one had ever seen such 

a thing. Bomb threats and shelter-inplace 

drills soon became the norm. 


for the 

rt in 

S 

Then the bottom really fell out from 

under us. My senior year of high 

school began with 9/11; it concluded 

with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight 

investigation. Schools, office spaces, 

sacristies — ordinary spaces became 

the loci of unspeakable trauma. 

And then as our friends and relatives 

started losing lives and limbs in Iraq 

and Afghanistan, we learned that the 

weapons of mass destruction and the 

terrorists at the helm of the attacks 

were nowhere to be found. We began 

to question who we could trust. 

Perhaps the most devastating 

betrayal took place in 

our families. I was among 

the generation whose Baby 

Boomer parents divorced in 

droves, the inevitable consequence 

of their collective 

self-actualization project. 

Without assurance that the 

adults in the room were 

going to protect us, we entered 

adulthood unmoored. 

It was in this context that 

the newly elected Pope 

Benedict XVI preached his 

inaugural homily. To those 

of us who were searching, 

still hoping to find secure 

footing, the pope’s words 

pierced our hearts. 

First, he acknowledged 

our weariness, as if he 

were touching the wounds 

in our sides like Thomas 

touched Christ’s: “[For the 

pastor] it is not a matter of 

indifference that so many 

people are living in the desert. 

And there are so many 

kinds of desert. There is 

the desert of poverty, the 

desert of hunger and thirst, 

the desert of abandonment, 

of loneliness, of destroyed love. … 

The external deserts in the world are 

growing, because the internal deserts 

have become so vast.” 

Next, he spoke to our uncertainty 

about our place in a world in which 

nihilism seemed plausible, suicidal 

ideation was rising, and the atheism of 

evolutionary biologists was attracting 

scores of disciples. To this he counseled, 

“Only when we meet the living 

God in Christ do we know what life is. 

We are not some casual and meaningless 

product of evolution. Each of us is 

the result of a thought of God. Each of 

us is willed, each of us is loved, each 

of us is necessary.” 

Finally, he gave us direction. “And 

so, today, with great strength and great 

conviction, on the basis of long personal 

experience of life, I say to you, 

dear young people: Do not be afraid 

of Christ! He takes nothing away, and 

he gives you everything. When we give 

ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold 

in return.” 

Pope Benedict XVI leads Benediction of the Eucharist during the 

World Youth Day prayer vigil at Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid Aug. 

20, 2011. Despite enduring a downpour during the vigil, hundreds of 

thousands of young people from around the world spent the night on 

the open field. | CNS/PAUL HARING 

I do not exaggerate when I say that 

this homily changed my life. Though 

I was excelling in college academics 

and integrated into the extracurricular 

life on campus, I was struggling with 

self-worth to the point of contemplating 

making a permanent exit. The 

pope’s words prompted me to make 

regular visits to the college chapel on 

my way home from the library. There 

in the darkness, gazing on the dimly lit 

crucifix, I began to have my first real 

dialogues with Jesus. Before that point, 

I only recall two decades of monologues. 

Now, I was listening. 

Just as we await Church 

historians’ assessment of 

whether or not there has been 

a “Francis Effect” on the life 

of the Church — measured 

by growth, sacramental participation, 

and vocational commitments — it’s 

hard to say if they will identify a “Benedict 

Effect.” Eight years is not a long 

time to shape a generation or two. His 

predecessor had 26. 

My hunch is that we’re 

out there. Let me be clear: 

To call myself a “Benedict 

XVI” Catholic does not 

negate my filial love of 

Pope Francis, or make me a 

hard-liner (an unfortunate 

mischaracterization of the 

man and his message). In 

fact, my life is informed by 

many people of goodwill 

who do not practice Catholicism. 

Instead, it is to say that I 

came of age with him as my 

shepherd, and his writing 

and preaching helped me 

to meet the living Christ. 

Like many of my peers, he 

convinced me to shape my 

life around that friendship. 

His soft-spoken encouragement 

compelled many of 

my friends and me to get 

married and welcome children, 

enter religious orders, 

and become priests. He 

taught us to care for the poor 

and the planet, and prior to 

doing both, to pray. 

On the cusp of adulthood, 

my peers and I were looking 

for something or someone to cling to 

when the world was spinning out of 

control. A small number of us were 

still listening to the Church, even if 

we were skeptical of her. It was to that 

remnant that Pope Benedict spoke 

about Jesus Christ. It was, to be sure, a 

very good thing. 

Elise Italiano Ureneck is a communications 

consultant writing from Rhode 

Island. 


Pope Benedict XVI talks to 

women holding babies during 

his visit to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital 

in 2010. | CNS/L’OSSERVA- 

TORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS 

A SURPRISING MESSENGER 

I thought my moment with the pope would come down to ‘small talk.’ 

But with Benedict, something else spoke louder than his words. 

BY KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ 

calling on behalf 

of the Holy Father.” 

The priest from 

New Jersey working 

“I’m 

in the Vatican prefaced 

his words with a plea: “Please 

don’t hang up on me when I say what 

I’m about to say.” 

He had learned from experience that 

day. Someone else thought his call 

was a prank. 

It was just a week before the opening 

Mass of the Year of Faith at St. Peter’s 

Basilica, also the 50th anniversary 

of the closing of the Second Vatican 

Council. I was being invited to receive 

a message for all the women in the 

world (I kid you not). 

As the official invite from the 

Pontifical Council for Promoting the 

New Evangelization put it: “The Holy 

Father has invited you to be present 

… in order to receive from him a copy 

of the message as the representative of 

women throughout the world.” 

The message was a repeat. In 1965, 

at the end of the council, Pope Paul 

VI issued “Messages to the People of 

God” from the Church. Rulers, artists, 

laborers, and women were among 

those addressed. 

As it was explained to me, Pope Benedict 

XVI, at the last minute, had the 


ks to 

s during 

elli Hos- 

’OSSERVA- 

UTERS 

idea to reissue the messages. I didn’t 

ask him, but I assumed it was because 

they really hadn’t been communicated 

the first time around — both 

because of the fog of the times and a 

lack of receptivity in the culture. 

The message to women he handed 

me is beautiful and powerful. Some 

excerpts: 

• “...at this moment when the human 

race is under-going so deep a transformation, 

women impregnated 

with the spirit of the Gospel can 

do so much to aid mankind in not 

falling.” 

• “Our technology runs the risk of becoming 

inhuman. Reconcile men 

with life and above all, we beseech 

you, watch carefully over the future 

of our race. Hold back the hand 

of man who, in a moment of folly, 

might attempt to destroy human 

civilization.” 

• “Women of the entire universe, 

whether Christian or non-believing, 

you to whom life is entrusted at this 

grave moment in history, it is for 

you to save the peace of the world.” 

This message is a game changer, and 

is begging to be convened in Catholic 

education, in Catholic homes, and to 

the world. Women don’t need to be 

anything other than what they are naturally 

and supernaturally made to be. 

In the years since I received that 

message from Pope Benedict, I’ve 

thought a lot about how Pope Francis 

talks about the Church as mother. 

The Church can’t be mother without 

women impregnated with the spirit of 

the Gospel — yes, in leadership roles 

in the Church, but also as mothers. 

Being a mother is a critical leadership 

role in the Church and the world! 

I’ll always be grateful to a priest 

friend who asked me before I headed 

to Rome, “So, what are you going to 

say to the Holy Father?” 

I hadn’t even considered small talk 

as a possibility, but sure enough, there 

was. I thanked him for his triptych 

— that felt more appropriate than 

“trilogy” — on Jesus of Nazareth. 

And then, Pope Benedict asked me 

where I was from. When I told him 

New York, he was exuberant. With his 

arms he celebrated the capital of the 

world — that’s the only way a New 

Yorker could interpret it. He must 

have been fondly remembering his 

2008 trip there as pontiff. I thanked 

him for making our archbishop, Timothy 

Dolan, a cardinal. 

Pope Benedict offered some kind, 

fatherly words in response. But more 

than any word that was exchanged, I 

remember his gaze. We cannot know 

on this earth what it’s like to be met by 

the gaze of our heavenly Father. 

But if the way Pope Benedict looked 

at me that day is even one inkling of 

an indication of the magnificence of 

his love for us … we just have no idea 

how much we are loved! Pope Benedict 

didn’t know anything about me, 

but he knew the Father’s love for me, 

and his gaze was in union with that 

reality. What if we looked at others in 

such a way every day of our lives? 

I almost didn’t make it to meet him 

that day. I had travel hiccups like I’d 

never experienced before and never 

have since. I can’t even begin to tell 

you the travails: an angel changed my 

flight as I sat in traffic between two 

Queens airports. When I finally landed 

at Fiumicino Airport, that priest 

from New Jersey and I nearly died in 

a car accident on the way into the city. 

Few times in my life have I felt: God, 

you must have me here for a reason. 

My late friend, Kate O’Beirne, 

would tease me from then on about 

not sharing the message as much as 

“the representative of all the women 

of the world” ought to. At this time 

of his passing, I thank God for Pope 

Benedict giving me the opportunity to 

share it again. 

May he come to intercede for us 

women so that we can be everything 

God made us to be in this present moment 

with all its confusion and chaos. 

We are called to be beacons of hope 

in a way only women can be, and to 

encourage men who want us to work 

together in complementarity. Pope 

Benedict knew. May we live it. 

Kathryn Jean Lopez with Pope Benedict XVI at the opening Mass for the Year of Faith Oct. 11, 2012, 

receiving a message addressed to all the women in the world. | COURTESY IMAGE 

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow 

at the National Review Institute, 

editor-at-large of National Review 

magazine, and the author of “A Year 

with the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for 

Daily Living” (Tan Books, $44.95). 


A MAN OF THE WORD 

The writings and speeches of Joseph Ratzinger as a 

professor, bishop, and later pope formed and inspired 

multitudes. Here are a few of his most enduring quotes. 

“The happiness you are 

seeking, the happiness you 

have a right to enjoy, has a 

name and a face: it is Jesus 

of Nazareth.” 

~ World Youth Day, Cologne, 2005 

“From the crisis of today 

the Church of tomorrow 

will emerge — a Church 

that has lost much. She will 

become small and will have 

to start afresh more or less 

from the beginning.” 

~ German radio broadcast, 1969 

“Do not be afraid of Christ! 

He takes nothing away, and 

he gives you everything. 

When we give ourselves 

to him, we receive a 

hundredfold in return.” 

~ Papal Inauguration Mass, Rome, 2005 

“In today’s world the 

theme of truth has all but 

disappeared, because truth 

appears too great for man, 

and yet everything falls 

apart if there is no truth.” 

~ Autobiography “Milestones,” 1988 

“I ask you to look at the face 

of the other and to discover 

that he has a soul, a history 

and a life, that he is a 

person and that God loves 

this person as much as he 

loves themself.” 

~ Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Rome, 2010 

“Each of us is willed, each 

of us is loved, each of us is 

necessary. There is nothing 

more beautiful than to be 

surprised by the Gospel, by 

the encounter with Christ.” 

~ Papal Inauguration Mass, Rome, 2005 

“The love of Christ impels 

us to devote ourselves 

without reserve to 

proclaiming his Name 

throughout America, 

bringing it freely and 

enthusiastically to the 

hearts of all its inhabitants. 

There is no more rewarding 

or beneficial work than 

this.” 

~ Address to “Ecclesia in America” Congress, Rome, 

2012 

“The saints are the true 

reformers. Only from the 

saints, only from God does 

true revolution come, the 

definitive way to change the 

world.” 

~ World Youth Day, Cologne, 2005 


“Being Christian is not the 

result of an ethical choice 

or a lofty idea, but the 

encounter with an event, a 

person, which gives life a 

new horizon and a decisive 

direction.” 

~ Encyclical letter “Deus Caritas Est,” 2005 

“No one lives alone. No 

one sins alone. No one is 

saved alone. The lives of 

others continually spill over 

into mine: in what I think, 

say, do and achieve. And 

conversely, my life spills 

over into that of others: for 

better and for worse.” 

~ Encyclical letter “Spe Salvi,” 2007 

“There are values which 

must never be abandoned 

for a greater value and even 

surpass the preservation 

of physical life. There is 

martyrdom. God is [about] 

more than mere physical 

survival.” 

~ Letter written as pope emeritus, 2019 

“Lord, I love you!” 

~ Last words before death on Dec. 31, 2022 

“The one who has hope 

lives differently; the one 

who hopes has been 

granted the gift of a new 

life.” 

~ Encyclical letter “Spe Salvi,” 2007 

Upper left: L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA CNA; 

Above: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP VIA GETTY 


One thousand four-hundred sixty-two small white 

bags with a tea-light battery-charged candle inside 

were arranged in a “luminaria” along the cathedral’s 

south ambulatory. The bags represented the number 

of identified homeless persons who died on LA’s 

streets from January to November 2022. 

Light for a crisis 

Religious and community leaders joined to 

remember LA’s homeless dead by their names. 

BY TOM HOFFARTH / PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICTOR ALEMÁN 

Delia Johnson heard from her 

family contacts that Major 

Slaughter, the brother of her 

former husband, had died recently after 

a long struggle experiencing homelessness. 

Johnson knew a bit about the 

situation of the man best known by as 

“Cowboy.” But she had long since lost 

touch with him. 

Information about a service would 

come soon, she was told. Slaughter’s 

daughter had claimed his body from 

the coroner’s office and was waiting 

for it to be released for cremation. The 

coroner noted the 63-year-old died 

Nov. 5, with the cause listed as “natural/unknown.” 

Still, the gravity of Slaughter’s passing 

didn’t really resonate with Johnson until 

she and a friend were quietly leaving 

the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 

Dec. 21 following the Archdiocese 

of Los Angeles’ first Homeless Persons 

Interreligious Memorial. 

Those in attendance were encouraged 

to take with them one or more 

of the small white bags with a tea-light 

battery-charged candle inside arranged 

in a “luminaria” along the cathedral’s 

south ambulatory. 

As Johnson scanned the names on 

the bags, the one with Slaughter’s 

name caught her eye — one of 1,462 

set upon the granite-tiled floor. That 

number represents all those homeless 

who could be identified that had died 

on the streets of Los Angeles this past 

year through Nov. 30. 

As Johnson picked up the bag, she felt 

the impact of the evening. 

“It was the work of the Holy Spirit,” 

said the Compton resident and longtime 

parishioner at St. Lawrence of 

Brindisi Church in Watts. 

“I was thinking about the procession, 

the reflections, the Gospel reading, 

and how all the ministers had shown 

solidarity in such a purposeful and purpose-filled 

occasion. But who knew my 

brother-in-law was spiritually calling 

my name? Hush, hush, somebody’s 

calling my name!” 

Johnson has been involved in an 

array of community organizations over 

the years, and today she serves on the 

Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Anti-Racism 

Task Force. She said she was drawn 

to the service to support the efforts of 


white 

inside 

edral’s 

number 

LA’s 

the Office of Life, Justice and Peace 

(OLJP), which spent months organizing 

the event. 

More than a dozen faith leaders from 

around Southern California joined 

Archbishop José H. Gomez for the 

event, including representatives from 

Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Bahá’í, and 

Muslim traditions as well as Lutheran, 

Episcopal, and Church of Jesus Christ 

of Latter-day Saints congregations. 

In the front row was newly inaugurated 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, 

whose campaign prioritized addressing 

homeless issues. Following through on 

a campaign promise, Bass declared a 

state of emergency over homelessness 

on her first day in office earlier this 

month. 

“The concept wasn’t meant as a 

Catholic experience, but for all the 

communities and neighborhoods in 

our city and county,” said OLJP Senior 

Director Michael Donaldson. 

Donaldson noted that since 1990, the 

National Coalition for the Homeless 

had been staging a National Homeless 

Person’s Memorial Day on Dec. 21, 

encouraging more participation nationally. 

The memorial is consciously set 

for the date of the winter solstice, the 

longest night of the year. 

Before reflecting on the Gospel reading 

of the parable of the good Samaritan 

in his remarks, Archbishop Gomez 

welcomed Mayor Bass, thanking her 

for prioritizing homelessness and praying 

that God grant her “wisdom and 

courage, prudence, and humility.” 

In his remarks, Archbishop Gomez 

remembered those who died on the 

streets, asking that “the home they 

could not find on earth, they now find 

in heaven, secure in the merciful arms 

of God.” 

He also prayed that all those present 

could receive the “courage and creativity 

that we need in order to meet the 

challenges of this moment in our city.” 

Pastor Stephanie Jaeger of the Evangelical 

Lutheran Synod of Southern 

California touted the advantage that 

faith-based groups have over government 

offices in addressing the crisis. 

“Faith communities are all about 

long-lasting relationships,” she said. 

“It’s something different than the services 

offered that can isolate and segregate. 

We are one with the divine that 

restores and renews and transforms. We 

bring the gift of welcome and solidarity 

and sacred space, and a shared sense of 

belonging to each other.” 

The memorial occurred just weeks after 

the Los Angeles County Crematorium 

Cemetery in Boyle Heights laid to 

rest the cremated remains of more than 

Counting 

the lost 

A homeless person on 

Wilshire Avenue near 

Koreatown in January. 

1,600 people in a mass grave — bodies 

unclaimed since 2019. Many among 

them were presumably homeless with 

no known family members to claim 

them. 

Father Chris Ponnet, one of several 

religious leaders who officiates at the 

burial, said such events are key to 

Statistics often used in media stories to quantify homelessness in LA may 

almost seem desensitizing, but they are worth considering when put into 

context: 

• In 2022, data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority 

(LAHSA) shows nearly 70,000 people in LA County and more than 40,000 

in LA city limits were without permanent shelter. That meant they were 

either surviving on the streets or in parks, or huddled in RVs or parked 

cars. Those numbers are a more than 4% increase from the 2020 Homeless 

Count. 

LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum 

of Care, managing more than $790 million annually in federal, state, 

county, and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing, and services 

to people experiencing homelessness. 

The 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count is scheduled for Jan. 24- 

26. Visit TheyCountWillYou.org for more information. 

• The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reports that the 

mortality rates among the homeless have more than doubled over the last 

eight years — from 630 in 2014 to more than 1,400 in its last full count of 

2020. The total will likely reach an all-time high of 1,600-plus for 2022. 

• Data shows more than 80% of those homeless who died were males. 

And while African Americans make up about 10% of the LA County population, 

they account for more than 25% of homeless deaths, according to 

LAHSA. 

• Only 1% of Los Angeles’ 3.8 million people are documented as experiencing 

homelessness. But LA County data showed that, during the first 

year of the pandemic, three times as many homeless died in this region 

than in New York City — 1,899 from April 2020 through March 2021. 

That happened despite the numbers showing New York City has more 

homeless people (78,000 of its 8 million total) than LA County (with 10 

million people). 

— Tom Hoffarth 


Interreligious representatives, and LA Mayor Karen Bass (center), attended the vigil service. 

acknowledging “the dignity of each 

person in life and in death.” 

“We have to realize these are people 

who could have died from COVID,” 

said Father Ponnet, pastor at the St. 

Camillus Center for Pastoral Care and 

chaplain at USC Keck Medical Center 

near downtown. 

“Hopefully this motivates people to 

say to the larger group: Health care is 

needed for all, and the homeless are 

our family, our neighbors. That’s the 

challenge for any religious group.” 

For more than 20 years, Jess Echeverry 

has guided the Westchester-based 

nonprofit organization SOFESA, 

which aims to help alleviate obstacles 

facing homeless and low-income families 

in Southern California. SOFESA 

and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul 

Los Angeles partnered with Donaldson’s 

office to organize the vigil. 

“It could have been me,” said Echeverry, 

who was homeless for seven years. 

Echeverry said that in addition to 

those who die from drug overdoses, 

assault, or even hypothermia, the 

homeless face a more hidden threat: 

the temptation to take one’s own life to 

end their misery and hopelessness. She 

said she attempted suicide twice during 

her homelessness. 

“For me, this is an important event 

because, in my heart, I’m doing something 

for the value of heaven — this 

has a spiritual value,” said Echeverry. 

“Does everyone know these names? 

No, but for these people who passed, 

I do believe they can see this and feel 

this. And most importantly, God sees 

us loving them.” 

Donaldson hopes such events help 

inspire more advocates for mental 

health, drug-addiction treatment, and a 

better system of foster care. 

“Parish communities can be voices for 

the voiceless, getting involved in their 

city councils and homeless committees,” 

said Donaldson, who worked 

with Chancellor Sister Mary Anncarla 

Costello, SND, and longtime archdiocesan 

Interfaith Officer Father Alexei 

Smith to plan the event. 

One of the charitable action items 

tied to the memorial was a QR code 

linking to a website where sleeping 

bags, socks, and blankets could be 

purchased for distribution. Community 

drives to collect items in connection to 

the memorial were taken up at St. Paul 

the Apostle in Westwood, St. Jerome 

Church in Westchester, St. Elizabeth 

Ann Seton Church in Rowland 

Heights, St. Linus Church in Norwalk, 

Dignity California Hospital Medical 

Center, Cantwell Sacred Heart 

of Mary High School, and UCLA’s 

Catholic Center. 

While venues including the Los 

Angeles Mission homeless shelter near 

Skid Row and St. Monica’s Church 

in Santa Monica have held regular 

interfaith memorials in the past, Donaldson 

foresees this larger-scale service 

continuing with a rotation of places of 

worship acting as hosts. 

“This isn’t meant to be a one-time 

event, but something to change the 

heart and mindset of how we want 

to remember those who died on the 

streets with dignity and purpose,” said 

Donaldson. 

Tom Hoffarth is an award-winning 

journalist based in Los Angeles. 



‘Jesus, is 

that you?’ 

Inmates celebrated the 

return of a Christmas 

tradition to LA Men’s 

Central Jail with 

prayers, presents, and 

even a few laughs. 

BY PABLO KAY / 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY 

VICTOR ALEMÁN 

After the first group of 33 inmates 

filed into the chapel of LA 

Men’s Central Jail the morning 

of Dec. 25 came the first Christmas 

surprise: due to an unspecified “situation” 

at the jail that morning, they’d 

be the only ones at Mass with Archbishop 

José H. Gomez this year. 

The only ones, that is, apart from the 

armed LA County Sheriff’s deputies 

keeping watch from the windowless 

chapel’s choir loft. 

As their special pale green jumpsuits 

indicated, these chosen few were a 

group of jail “trustees,” inmates whose 

good behavior and personal improvement 

has earned them smaller 

freedoms — including work in the 

kitchen — outside of their cells. This 

morning, several were wearing plastic 

rosaries around their tattooed necks 

for the occasion. A few brought bags 

of them in hopes of getting them 

blessed later. 

Once the Mass began, cues from a 

female cantor and jail chaplain Father 

Paul Griesgraber told them when to 

stand. When it was time to sit, some 

of the inmates fidgeted in the scarred, 

creaky pews. Others closed their eyes 

in prayer. Most tried mouthing the 

Christmas carols in their printed 

booklets. 

After hearing Luke’s account of the 

birth of Jesus in the Gospel, the day’s 

celebrant had little trouble keeping 

their attention. 

“Christmas is the promise that God 

cares personally for each one of us, 

that he’ll never leave us alone,” began 

the archbishop during the homily. 

The archbishop explained that 

God chose to come to the world as a 

baby, “so that he doesn’t frighten us.” 

Archbishop José H. Gomez hands an inmate a prayer 

card with the words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. 

Juan Diego after Christmas Mass on Dec. 25, 2022. 

This same Jesus wants to give us the 

strength and grace to “live our lives 

as a living Nativity scene,” he assured 

them, and all we have to do is ask for 

it. 

Due to the pandemic, this was Archbishop 

Gomez’s first Christmas Mass 

at the jail since 2019. As witnesses 


from past years can attest, the day’s 

message gets across rather easily to 

this crowd. 

Jail chaplain Steve Borja, an evangelical 

Christian with a background 

in counseling, was among those at the 

Mass. Even during the first months 

of COVID-19 he was allowed to 

walk the “tiers,” or cell rows, to visit 

inmates. His Catholic counterpart, 

Edgar Jimenez, later arrived to join 

him in the summer of 2020. 

“When we were coming in, they 

were actually surprised to see a chaplain,” 

recalled Borja. “It was a dark 

gray time inside the jail.” 

Although different in their approaches 

to ministry, the pair found themselves 

in high demand during the 

pandemic. Jimenez said the inmates 

valued the in-person contact in a time 

of isolation. 

“I wasn’t afraid of reaching out and 

shaking their hands,” said Jimenez. 

“That right there, it means a lot to 

them, and to me as well.” 

After the Mass, Archbishop Gomez 

was allowed to do the same. As in 

years past, he walked through two of 

the more restricted cell rows on the 

jail’s third floor. This time he handed 

out a prayer card with the words of 

Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan 

Diego and a copy of “The Whole 

Language: The Power of Extravagant 

Tenderness” (Avid Reader Press / 

Simon & Schuster, $27), the latest 

book by Father Greg Boyle, founder 

of Homeboy Industries. 

The scene on the third floor of the 

jail — among the “worst of the worst” 

in the country, according to the 

chaplains — was not exactly uplifting. 

Plastic wrappers and used Styrofoam 

cups littered the floors of several cells. 

Plenty of images were attached to the 

walls — some of family members, 

others of favorite sports teams, and 

still others that shouldn’t be described 

here. Behind the extra orange jumpsuits 

hung up between cell bars for 

privacy — a forbidden practice known 

as “tinting” — colorful words could 

be heard. 

One by one, the archbishop handed 

them their gifts and gave blessings to 

those who asked. He took his time 

to stop and chat with some, either in 

English or Spanish. 

Walking with him were several 

deputies, the jail captain, and Father 

Griesgraber, whose long white hair 

and beard (not cut since the start of 

the pandemic, he said) has made him 

a jail celebrity. 

“Jesus, is that you?” exclaimed 

one inmate as Father Griesgraber 

approached his cell alongside the 

archbishop. 

“Yeah, Jesus is right here,” the 

archbishop shot back, catching the 

joke directed at the man some call 

“Father Gandalf,” a reference to the 

gray-bearded protagonist in the J.R.R. 

Tolkien novels, “The Hobbit” and the 

“Lord of the Rings.” The inmates and 

deputies erupted in laughter together. 

Once the archbishop had visited the 

two pre-assigned cell rows, yells could 

be heard in the next one over. They 

had heard the commotion and wanted 

to see the visitor, too. With just a few 

seconds to decide, the guards in the 

entourage looked at one another in 

hesitation. “Why not?” seemed to be 

the unspoken consensus. 

After it was all over and Archbishop 

Gomez had left to celebrate his next 

Christmas Mass at the Cathedral of 

Our Lady of the Angels, Father Griesgraber 

offered his assessment of the 

morning’s proceedings. 

“They’re honored to be able to participate, 

to be able to get out,” said the 

priest. “They were grateful.” 

What came to mind were the words 

of the archbishop’s homily, delivered 

in terms the inmates could understand: 

the weakness of a newborn 

baby, the beauty of a family, and the 

importance of “not doing what we 

want, but what God wants.” 

“Archbishop relates at that level with 

them,” the priest said. “He’s got a 

special way of relating.” 

Inmates at LA Men’s 

Central Jail during 

Christmas Mass with 

Archbishop Gomez on 

Dec. 25, 2022. 

Father Griesgraber 

and Jimenez 

said they’ve seen 

God’s hand 

at work in the 

inmates. 

“You feel the 

spirit of God 

coming when 

you give them 

that chance, not 

by analyzing 

them, or giving 

them all the 

answers, but 


Archbishop Gomez greets inmates 

at the end of Christmas Mass at LA 

Men’s Central Jail Dec. 25, 2022. 

acknowledging them as children of 

God,” said Jimenez. “That’s a game 

changer, but you gotta give ’em that 

space.” 

Space, among other things, was a big 

challenge in the jail, too. But soon 

after the pandemic hit, thousands of 

low-level offenders were released from 

facilities around the county. That, 

along with the new, more lenient policies 

of new District Attorney George 

Gascon, has seen the jail population 

fall from its 5,000-plus capacity to 

around 4,000 inmates. 

“Now we have a different clientele 

that’s slightly more challenging,” said 

Jimenez, choosing his words carefully. 

“But once you get to know them, 

interact with them, then you start to 

break down that wall.” 

Father Griesgraber has served at the 

jail for the last five years. He’s learned 

to take things slowly with the inmates 

that request his services. Eventually, 

some Catholics will ask for confession 

or permission to attend weekly Mass 

— but only when they feel ready. 

“We move gracefully into the sacraments,” 

said the chaplain. 

What impresses him the most? Hearing 

the prayers, he said, of men who 

know the wrong they’re capable of 

doing, and the hurt they’ve caused. 

“They pray much better than I do,” 

said Father Griesgraber. “They’re 

praying out of their wounds.” 

Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief of 

Angelus.

Toward 

true victory? 

The way forward 

for common ground 

on abortion in our 

post-Dobbs era is 

becoming clearer. 

BY CHARLIE CAMOSY 

A woman holds a child in 2016 at a maternity home in Riverside, New Jersey. | CNS/JEFFREY BRUNO 

You can be forgiven as a pro-lifer 

if your jubilation after the 

overturning of Roe has turned 

into something, well, let’s call it “less 

positive.” 

It is understandable even if your 

feelings have become quite negative. 

Dramatic defeats at the ballot box, 

pro-choice Democrats and dishonest 

abortion activists ruling the airwaves 

and social media, and feckless Republicans 

unwilling to fight for basic 

human rights have been the order of 

the day since June. 

I do not share this view, but I’ve 

started to see even serious pro-lifers 

whisper that maybe overturning Roe, 

while clearly a short-term victory, 

could be the start of our losing the 

broader culture. In my book on Peter 

Singer’s work, I note that he and many 

other supporters of abortion rights 

certainly thought that Roe provoked 

the kind of pro-life backlash that we 

otherwise would not have seen — and 

that a democratic process (akin to 

the ones that took place in Europe, 

Australia, and elsewhere) would more 

securely enshrine abortion rights in 

the longer term. 

We must not allow that to happen. 

That it is now more likely is all the 

more reason for pro-lifers to work 

even harder on behalf of fundamental 

human dignity and equality across the 

board, including (and especially) for 

prenatal children who cannot speak 

up in their own defense. 

But as I write these words during the 


time of Christmas, there is no better 

reminder of the intensely intimate 

relationship between a prenatal child 

and her mother than thinking of the 

(very) pregnant Mary, mother of God. 

Church Fathers like St. Augustine 

used to say that Jesus received his 

human flesh from the Virgin Mary. 

Nowadays we can express this with 

more biological precision: She literally 

exchanged blood and other tissue 

with God! 

But that kind of intimate relationship 

should also cause pro-lifers to think, 

not just about protecting the prenatal 

child under law (though that is 

essential), but also about protecting 

and supporting her mother. And here, 

quite frankly, there are lots of reasons 

for hope in our post-Dobbs moment. 

Indeed, for every ignorant op-ed 

from professors at Notre Dame, there 

are dozens of thoughtful ideas coming 

from pro-choice people about how 

we might cooperate together across 

our differences on abortion to support 

women and families. After all, if someone 

is genuinely pro-choice — and 

not pro-abortion — they should and 

will work with us to create the kind of 

culture that helps women choose to 

keep their children. 

Working for this kind of common 

ground has been a central part of my 

vocation as a Catholic moral theologian 

and pro-life bioethicist. I’ve 

urged especially Catholic pro-lifers to 

become leaders in this search for common 

ground. St. Pope John Paul II, in 

his great social encyclical “Laborem 

excercens” (“Through Work”), wrote 

that Catholics should work to restructure 

labor so women do not have to 

choose between being mothers and a 

vocation they may have in the broader 

workforce. 

Writing in America magazine, John 

Carr and Kim Daniels — co-directors 

of Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic 

Social Thought and Public Life — 

showed that expansion of the child tax 

credit can and should bring together 

pro-life Republicans and Democrats 

who otherwise support abortion rights. 

And guess who followed right behind 

them with the same kind of support 

just six days later? You guessed it: Patrick 

Brown and Brad Wilcox, writing 

in a very different magazine: First 

Things. 

Or how about publicly pro-choice 

voices like Mary Ziegler and Reva Seigel 

teaming up in the opinion pages 

of CNN with publicly pro-life voices 

like Erika Bachiochi and Daniel K. 

Williams to argue for a united front in 

favor of the “urgently needed” Pregnant 

Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). 

Also supported by the United States 

Conference of Catholic Bishops, this 

law would go a long way to shaping labor 

in ways that Pope John Paul asked 

that it be shaped so that women are 

not structurally forced into making a 

deeply painful choice between being 

a mother and following other aspects 

of her vocation in the workforce. 

Happily, progress is being made. 

While the expanded child tax credit 

has not (yet) passed, whatever one 

thinks of the new omnibus spending 

bill, it is fantastic news that the 

PWFA — after long negotiation and 

compromise across the aisle — was ultimately 

included. As was the PUMP 

Act, a bill which gave women who 

need to pump breast milk at work far 

more rights and access to do so. The 

omnibus also funds states so they can 

permanently extend health care coverage 

to poor women for 12 months 

after birth. 

These are great victories, but pro-lifers 

must not stop here. We must let 

those who we send to Congress to do 

our pro-life bidding to not only pass 

bills that restrict abortion supply but 

also bills that reduce abortion demand 

by supporting mothers and families. 

We need expanded child tax credits, 

adoption reform, help with child 

care (especially at home), a formal 

campaign against intimate partner violence 

(which drives many abortions), 

and more. 

For Catholics, this means that we 

must breathe out of both our pro-life 

and social justice lungs. Prenatal children 

— and their mothers — deserve 

nothing less. 

Charlie Camosy is professor of 

Medical Humanities at the Creighton 

University School of Medicine. In addition, 

he holds the Monsignor Curran 

Fellowship in Moral Theology at St. 

Joseph Seminary in New York. 


Faking Christmas 

Two classics starring Catholic actress Barbara Stanwyck 

challenge our superficial approach to the holiday. 

BY JOSEPH JOYCE 

Dennis Morgan and Barbara Stanwyck in “Christmas in Connecticut.” | IMDB 

Christmas as we know it has 

always been about performance. 

As children we are 

raised as shepherds with pillowcases 

draped over our heads. Outside the 

pageant we soon learn to fake enthusiasm 

when we open the gift box to 

find that, through some clerical error, 

Santa has given us clothes. As we 

mature we become Santa ourselves, 

chomping cookies in half to mimic 

his haste. 

We string lights outside the house, 

a performance of Christmas cheer 

that loses significance once the 

extended family goes home. When it 

comes to caroling, we basically hunt 

down our neighbors to inflict holiday 

cheer against their will. The yuletide 

demands an audience; if a Christmas 

tree falls in the woods and there’s no 

one around, does it make a sound? 

Two black-and-white films that challenge 

the Christmas of mere appearances 

are “Christmas in Connecticut” 

(1945) and “Remember the Night” 

(1940), each coincidentally showcasing 

my favorite movie star, Catholic 

convert Barbara Stanwyck. 

Stanwyck was a dual threat of comedienne 

and dramatic actress, a searing 

firecracker of a woman against whom 

I measure all past and prospective 

romantic partners. I guess you could 

say I admire her work. This piece, 

like most of my life, is a machination 

arranged just to talk about her. 

“Christmas in Connecticut” finds 

her in farcical territory, playing Elizabeth, 

a magazine writer beloved by 

housewives across the country for her 

homemaking and cooking tips. Her 

lone male fan is a convalescing veteran 

(Dennis Morgan) who requests, 

and is thus granted by her editor, a 

Christmas feast at her quaint country 

home. 

The only hitch is that she has no 

such home, or indeed any ability to 

cook. Such was the Wild West before 

LinkedIn, where a firm handshake 

was the only reference you needed. In 

classic farce fashion there are complex 

webs of white lies and noms de 

plume, thwarted engagements and 

busted soufflés, stolen sleigh rides and 

pilfered infants. Basic stuff, really. 

The beats are familiar to anyone 

with a cursory knowledge with the 

act structure of “Frasier,” but the film 

hits at something far deeper than the 

usual hijinks. Although Elizabeth lies 

to her readers, it’s merely a donation 

to the common lie we all maintain. 

The trappings of American Christmas 

were largely born in the wake of the 

Great Depression and two world wars. 

Think on “White Christmas,” which 

is a nostalgic song about nostalgia 

itself. 

On some level, the viewer knows that 

Elizabeth and her pastoral picaresque 


are fiction. The difference is we aren’t 

nearly as surprised as Elizabeth is to 

find accomplices to her charade. 

If “Christmas in Connecticut” is 

about the power of Christmas illusions, 

“Remember the Night” is a necessary 

corrective on their dangers. The 

latter stars Stanwyck as Lee, a shoplifter 

arrested just before Christmas. 

Sensing the jury is filled with festive 

pity, the district attorney Jack (Fred 

MacMurray, in an early pairing with 

Stanwyck before “Double Indemnity”) 

decides to postpone the trial until 

after Christmas. Feeling a tad guilty 

for his trick, especially upon learning 

they’re both from rural Indiana, Jack 

offers to drive her back home to visit 

her estranged family on his own way 

back home. 

The setup feels familiar, as if the 

film anticipated the hegemony of 

Hallmark movies over the American 

psyche. But more impressive is how 

it deflates those same expectations as 

soon as they approach. Lee’s family 

reunion seems destined for mawkish 

tears and group hugs, but the movie 

doesn’t hedge from brutal truths: 

Families don’t estrange themselves for 

no reason, and too often when we lay 

ourselves at another’s feet, they prove 

too small to lift us back up. 

Mortified at his failure, both Jack 

and the film pivot to his boyhood 

farm, where his family proves far kinder 

to Lee than her own. 

Both Lee and the audience finally 

feel at ease. This is how Christmas 

should go. The farm is a bucolic paradise, 

the fake Connecticut country 

home made reality. Corn is popped, 

carols are sung, the yuletide generally 

made gay. (Jack’s sweet hearted 

mother is actually played by George 

Bailey’s mom from “It’s a Wonderful 

Life.”) We see Lee blossom as their 

unconditional love gives her the space 

to relish her existence, instead of 

continually justifying it. 

When a different sort of love starts to 

grow between Jack and Lee, we again 

feel the inevitable tug of festivity. 

We know this path, and it ends with 

mistletoe. But “Remember the Night” 

remains special because it too feels 

this tug and yanks back. As Jack’s 

mom sees the lingering looks between 

the pair, she begins to fret at the 

thought of her son hitching his wagon 

to a felon. 

Despite her brief sojourn as part of 

the family, Lee is firmly reminded that 

she is but a guest. We understand that 

Lee is life’s eternal visitor, welcome so 

long as she doesn’t settle. 

If Lee is to be saved, it isn’t in the 

trappings of Christmas. These are 

mere signifiers of the season. Christmas 

came to Connecticut not in the 

promised feast, but in the conspiracy 

of friends that made it happen. And 

Christmas wasn’t found in small-town 

Barbara Stanwyck (second from right) in a 

scene from “Remember the Night.” | IMDB 

Indiana, arranged like the interior of 

a snow globe. It comes later in a frigid 

New York courtroom, where Jack and 

Lee each try to sacrifice their future so 

the other doesn’t have to. 

It’s no sin to be cozy, but to quote 

singer Jason Isbell, “You thought God 

was an architect, now you know/ he’s 

something like a pipe bomb ready to 

blow.” Jesus is the prince of peace, but 

sometimes it’s far easier to see him in 

the chaos. 

Joseph Joyce is a screenwriter and freelance 

critic based in Sherman Oaks. 


DESIRE LINES 

HEATHER KING 

An apostle for the addicted 

Editor’s note: The following column first 

appeared in The Tidings in July 2015. It 

has been updated by the author in light 

of Msgr. Richey’s death last month. 

When I came into the Church 

26 years ago, I wasn’t friends 

with a single practicing 

Catholic, much less a Catholic who 

might understand that I’d been led 

to Christ through my recovery from 

alcoholism. 

Msgr. Thomas Terrence Richey. | SUBMITTED PHOTO 

Then I met Msgr. Thomas Terrence 

Richey, known by recovering alcoholics 

and addicts throughout the archdiocese 

and beyond as Father Terry. 

Anyone who knew Father Terry knew 

that he was the king of the one-liner. 

“Drinking never made me happy — 

but it made me feel like I was going to 

be happy in 15 minutes. 

“The good news is God loves you. 

The bad news is he loves everyone else, 

too.” 

I once asked him how I’d know if 

I was making spiritual progress. He 

thought for a minute. “If crazy people 

aren’t afraid to come up and talk to 

you,” he replied, “that’s a pretty good 

sign.” 

A native of Hawthorne, Father Terry 

entered the seminary at 14, served as 

director of Alcohol/Substance Abuse 

Ministry for the archdiocese for many 

years, and throughout the decades 

conducted interventions, led retreats 

nationwide, and was a friend to many 

at first glance “very unpromising” 

people. 

For decades he directed alcoholics 

and addicts to Alcoholics Anonymous 

(AA). He’s also observed what happens 

to them once they get there. 

“To be a drunk and get sober,” he 

pointed out, “is one of the ultimate 

death-and-resurrection experiences. 

When Christ said, ‘Blessed are the 

poor in spirit,’ some of the people he 

must surely have been thinking about 

were alcoholics and addicts. It’s a 

wonderful gift for a person to see, left 

to his or her own devices, the depths 

to which we’re capable of sinking. 

Sometimes I don’t know how people 

come to a relationship with Christ 

without hitting bottom with some kind 

of addictive, obsessive behavior.” 

I’d lived my whole life in fear of judgment. 

The first time I heard Father 

Terry, he talked about how when we 

get sober, or we come into the Church, 

we are in fact judged. We’re judged 

welcome. 

“We welcome you and we also recognize 

you as a child of God with the 

dignity of any other person on earth. 

We’re judging you to be a person of 

high standards, a person who will not 

be satisfied with acting from a heart 

that’s anything less than entirely free. 


Heather King is an award-winning 

author, speaker, and workshop leader. 

And we have some principles of loving, 

honest, responsible behavior that we 

suggest you follow. You’ll stay welcome 

even if you don’t follow them, but — 

here’s the thing: you won’t care. You 

won’t care that you’re welcome; you’ll 

miss out on all the wonder, the love, 

the growth.” 

Many of us are looking to be transformed 

in a certain way. It helped 

to hear that resurrection never looks 

anything like we think it’s going to. 

“Some of us have a deeply misguided 

desire to be saved through excellence,” 

Father Terry would note with a chuckle. 

“We want to be spontaneous yet 

profound, highly intelligent yet downto-earth, 

well-balanced yet passionate, 

dignified but self-deprecating. We want 

to be physically fit, good-looking, calm 

in the face of tragedy, suave in the face 

of heartbreak, and to have really, really 

good skin. Through the incarnational 

mystery of being broken open by fellow 

alcoholics and addicts, we forget about 

all that. We become what we really 

wanted to be all along: we become 

human. We realize the real point of 

sobriety is to get in good enough shape 

to help another alcoholic.” 

Still, old habits die hard. Who would 

I be, I wondered, without my perfectionism? 

My need to control? My 

accusatory self-talk? 

Father Terry would respond, “Implicit 

in all self-justification is accusation: 

One of the names for Satan in Catholic 

theology, in fact, is The Accuser. 

That’s not God talking to us; that’s us 

talking to ourselves. There’s no accusation 

in authentic spirituality — only 

invitation.” 

Two things happen when someone 

comes into AA, he maintained. The 

first is that there’s a kind of unspoken 

joy in the people who welcome and 

greet you. “Right away they trust that 

you have it in you to respond to the 

invitation of sobriety. You don’t get 

the bum’s rush. No one swarms you. 

There’s a spiritual maturity.” 

“It’s not in the mind of anyone who 

walks through the doors of AA,” he 

added, “ ‘I wish someone would see 

my goodness, my inner essence.’ That 

thought isn’t conscious. But we all 

need so much to be welcomed and 

trusted and honored as free children 

of God. And when that happens, some 

real change can occur.” 

The second thing that happens is the 

spontaneous urge to carry the message 

and treat other people the way you’ve 

been treated. 

“We have an inborn need to love. And 

in AA people are drawn to, find themselves, 

identifying with, the other. That 

‘Yeah!’ to other people’s brokenness, 

escapades, sense of humor, remorse, 

and willingness to make things right is 

a profound spiritual experience. People 

feel joy that someone else is coming 

alive; they’re triggered into identification. 

Those who stay sober in AA tend 

to have a little bounce to their step.” 

Father Terry would go on to become 

a monsignor. I was able to visit him 

over Thanksgiving at the memory care 

facility where he spent the last year or 

so of his life. He died in December, on 

the winter solstice. 

He formed me — and thousands of 

others — deeply as a recovering alcoholic, 

as a follower of Christ, and as a 

human being. 

And he always, always made me 

laugh. One spiritual director he used 

for years was Mark Kennedy, himself 

a recovering alcoholic. “Mark used to 

say: ‘There’s only one unforgivable sin. 

And that’s to avoid God until you’re in 

good enough shape to fool him.’ ” 


LETTER AND SPIRIT 

SCOTT HAHN 

Scott Hahn is founder of the 

St. Paul Center for Biblical 

Theology; stpaulcenter.com. 

How sacraments started 

The sacraments are 

what God had in mind 

for you and me “in the 

beginning,” when he made 

the heavens and the earth. 

This may come as a surprise. 

Though we revere the 

sacraments, too often Catholics 

treat them as something 

the Church teased out of a 

few New Testament prooftexts. 

That, however, is precisely 

backward. It would be 

more accurate to say that the 

Bible is what God’s people 

teased out of a providential 

plan in which God’s New 

Covenant sacraments were 

already present from the first 

moments of the Old Covenant. 

There is a unity to the two 

Testaments of the Bible; and 

the whole of the Bible is 

inseparably united with the 

small details of the Church’s 

life today. 

Jesus himself read the Old 

Testament this way. He 

referred to Jonah (Matthew 

12:39), Solomon (Matthew 

12:42), and the Temple (John 2:19) as signs pointing to his 

own life. Toward the end of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus took “Moses 

and all the prophets” and interpreted “what referred to 

him in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). St. Paul followed 

his Master in this reading of the Hebrew Scriptures (see 

Romans 5:14, Galatians 4:24), as did St. Peter (see 1 Peter 

3:20–21). St. Augustine summed up this interpretive method 

in a single phrase: The New Testament is concealed in 

the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New. 

What unites the two Testaments is what unites God and 

mankind. In the Bible, this bond is called “covenant.” A 

covenant, in ancient cultures, was a solemn agreement that 

created a family relation. Marriage was a covenant, as was 

the adoption of a child. When a family welcomed a new 

“The Institution of the Eucharist,” 

by Ercole de’ Roberti, 1451-1496, 

Italian. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 

member, both parties would 

seal the covenant by swearing 

a sacred oath, sharing a 

common meal, and offering 

a sacrifice. Periodically, the 

two parties might repeat the 

sacred oath, along with the 

meal and sacrifice, in order 

to renew the covenant bond. 

This is how God made his 

covenant with Moses, a 

covenant that was renewed 

annually in the Passover 

meal. 

Nor did this arrangement 

end with our redemption. 

Indeed, the only time Jesus 

mentioned the New Covenant 

was in the context of 

his Last Supper — when he 

offered the first Eucharist 

(Luke 22:20). Moreover, Jesus 

commanded his apostles 

to renew the covenant with 

God by the same means. “Do 

this,” he said, “in remembrance 

of me” (1 Corinthians 

11:25). 

From earliest times, 

Christians commonly called 

this action by the Latin 

word “sacramentum.” Both 

Roman Christians and their 

pagan persecutors used the 

word to describe the ritual 

worship of the Church. 

And sacramentum means “oath.” The Roman governor 

Pliny said that the Christians in his province met before 

dawn to sing hymns and bind themselves by oath to Christ, 

as they shared “an ordinary kind of food.” 

Thus, in the early Church — as in the practice of our 

parishes today — we see the Old Covenant oaths revealed 

and fulfilled in the New Covenant sacramentum. 

For a Catholic, there’s a real sense in which little has 

changed since the days of the Acts of the Apostles. 


■ SATURDAY, JANUARY 14 

Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast. Proud Bird 

Restaurant, 11022 Aviation Blvd., Los Angeles, 8-11 a.m. 

Keynote speaker: Michael Donaldson, director of the 

archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice and Peace. Donation: 

$50/person. Tickets are available online at aaccfe.org. 

Doorways, Portals & Prayers: A collage retreat. Holy 

Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 9:30 a.m.- 

3:30 p.m. With Chantel Zimmerman. Visit hsrcenter.com 

or call 818-784-4515. 

■ SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 

Virtual Diaconate Information Day. 2-4 p.m. To register, 

email Deacon Melecio Zamora at dmz2011@la-archdiocese.org. 

The Feast of Santo Niño. Cathedral of Our Lady of the 

Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 3 p.m. Join the 

36th celebration of the feast of Santo Niño. Bring Santo 

Niño statues for a special blessing. Celebrant: Father Rey 

Matunog. 

Dr. King’s Dream is Alive. LMU, 1 LMU Dr., Los Angeles, 

3-4:30 p.m. Panel discussion on ethics, biblical reflection, 

and the worship of Black Catholics as a beloved community. 

Panel will be available via livestream or in person. RSVP 

required. For more information, visit cal.lmu.edu/event/ 

mlk-seminar-2023. 

International Thomas Merton Society Chapter Meeting. 

Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 

2-4 p.m. Hosted by Sister Chris Macado, SSS. Visit hsrcenter.com 

or call 818-784-4515. 

■ TUESDAY, JANUARY 17 

The Sanctuary Course for Catholics: A Conversation 

about Mental Health. St. Christopher Church, 629 S. 

Glendora Ave., West Covina, 7-9 p.m. Event runs Tuesdays 

in December and January. For more information, call 

Father Kolbe Missionaries at 626-917-0040 or email 

FKMs@kolbemissionusa.org. 

Lector Formation Sessions (St. Peter Claver). St. Peter 

Claver Church, 2380 Stow St., Simi Valley, 7-9 p.m. 

Answer the calling to be a lector. Must attend all four 

workshops to receive course completion (Jan. 17, 24, 

31, and Feb. 7). Cost: $25/person, $40/couple. For more 

information and to register, visit https://events.lacatholics. 

org/lector-formation-english-st-peter-claver-simi-valley-1. 

■ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18 

LACBA CFJ Veterans Record Clearing Clinic. 5-8 p.m. 

Zoom clinic open to Southern California veterans, assists 

with learning CA traffic tickets, expunging criminal 

records, and felony reductions. Registration required. Contact 

213-896-6537 or inquiries-veterans@lacba.org. 

“What Catholics Believe” weekly series. St. Dorothy 

Church, 241 S. Valley Center Ave., Glendora, 7-8:30 p.m. 

Series runs Wednesdays through April 26, 2023. Deepen 

your understanding of the Catholic faith through dynamic 

DVD presentations by Bishop Robert Barron, Dr. Edward 

Sri, Dr. Brant Pitre, and Dr. Michael Barber. Free event, 

no reservations required. Call 626-335-2811 or visit the 

Adult Faith Development ministry page at www.stdorothy. 

org for more information. 

Lector Formation Sessions (St. John Vianney). St. John 

Vianney Church, 1345 Turnbull Canyon Rd., Hacienda 

Heights, 7-9 p.m. Answer the calling to be a lector. Must 

attend all four workshops to receive course completion 

(Jan. 18 and 25 and Feb. 1 and 8). Cost: $25/person, 

$40/couple. For more information and to register, visit 

events.lacatholics.org. 

■ THURSDAY, JANUARY 19 

Children’s Bureau: Foster Care Zoom Orientation. 4-5 

p.m. Children’s Bureau is now offering two virtual ways 

for individuals and couples to learn how to help children 

in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how 

to provide legal permanency by adoption. A live Zoom 

orientation will be hosted by a Children’s Bureau team 

member and a foster parent. For those who want to 

learn at their own pace about becoming a foster and/or 

fost-adopt parent, an online orientation presentation is 

available. To RSVP for the live orientation or to request 

the online orientation, email rfrecruitment@all4kids.org. 

■ FRIDAY, JANUARY 20 

Ammas, Monks, and Archetypes Weekend Retreat. 

Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino. Retreat 

with Father Stephen Coffey, OSB Cam., runs Friday 

at 5 p.m. through Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information, 

visit hsrcenter.com or call 818-784-4515. 

■ SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 

OneLife LA. LA State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St., 

Los Angeles, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Join LA Catholics in an 

annual walk beginning in Placita Olvera and culminating 

in a festival at LA State Historic Park with speakers, 

music, food trucks, and more. For more information, visit 

onelifela.org/register. 

Why Does Augustine Matter? Lecture series with 

Rowan Williams, Archbishop emeritus of Canterbury. 

St. Michael’s Abbey, 27977 Silverado Canyon Rd., Silverado, 

9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Archbishop emeritus Rowan 

Williams will present two lectures on his study of St. Augustine. 

Free event, registration required. Includes coffee, 

lunch, and afternoon wine reception. Visit angelusnews. 

com/events-calendar/why-does-augustine-matter. 

Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop. Holy Spirit 

Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 

With Marilyn Nobori and the contemplative outreach 

team. For more information, visit hsrcenter.com or call 

818-815-4480. 

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion Formation. 

St. John Eudes Church, 9901 Mason Ave., Chatsworth, 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $25/person, $40/couple. For 

more information and to register, visit https://events. 

lacatholics.org/emhc-formation-in-english. 

■ MONDAY, JANUARY 23 

Understanding the Annulment Process (Declaration 

of Nullity). 7-8:30 p.m. Free Zoom presentation from 

the archdiocesan Separated and Divorced Ministry. 

Presented by Mary Ann Brewer-Nolan, parish minister. 

To register, visit family life.lacatholics.org/separated-divorced. 

For more information, email Julie Auzenne at 

jmonell@la-archdiocese.org or call 213-637-7249. 

■ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25 

LACBA Family Law Clinic. 2-5 p.m. Zoom clinic will 

cover child support, child custody, divorce, and spousal 

support. Open to LA County veterans. Registration required. 

Call 213-896-6537 or email inquiries-veterans@ 

lacba.org. 

Items for the calendar of events are due four weeks prior to the date of the event. They may be emailed to calendar@angelusnews.com. 

All calendar items must include the name, date, time, address of the event, and a phone number for additional information.

Angelus News | January 13, 2023 | Vol. 8 No. 1

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