Local News

  • Robert Rogers encourages men to ‘live a life of no regrets’

    Rogers will speak at Rekindle the Fire men’s conference Feb. 25

    FORT WAYNE — Registrations are now being taken for the second annual Diocesan Men’s Conference, to be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Expo Center, 4000 Parnell Ave., Fort Wayne, IN 46805. Sponsored by Rekindle the Fire and the diocesan Office of Spiritual Development and Evangelization, the conference promises a day of inspiration and faith formation for the men of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

    Director of Apologetics and Evangelization at Catholic Answers Tim Staples, author and inspirational speaker Robert Rogers and Fort Wayne’s own Franciscan Father David Mary Engo will each offer their own brand of insight on “A Call to Lead.” The invigorating day will open with prayer and a blessing followed by a discussion on Confessions. The speakers will inspire those in attendance throughout the grace-filled day until 4 p.m. when they will gather for a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades.

    Robert Rogers, in full-time faith ministry for over eight years, hopes to inspire the men of the diocese with his powerful life story of tragedy and restorative faith. A native of Cincinnati, one of eight children, where the faith of his devout family was built on a foundation of prayer and service, Rogers will share in his witness that as a teen his faith became real to him and he became familiar with the Scriptures.

    He says, “I stopped just ‘going to church’ merely to ‘fulfill my obligation’ and instead actively engaged in the liturgy and Eucharist so that I might fully know Christ in a personal and profound way. An amazing transformation took place from the inside out.”

    His ever-growing personal relationship with Christ sustained him, he says, in the challenges he faced as his life unfolded. “After I married Melissa at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve 1991, amidst the joys of marriage, we also experienced two traumatic miscarriages, a son with Down syndrome, and a special-needs adoption of our daughter from China. We clutched our faith closely as we traversed each uniquely challenging trial along the way. “

    The men in attendance will learn that his faith was the only thing that saved him after the tragic death of his wife and all four children, who were drowned in a flashflood in Kansas on Labor Day weekend in 2003.

    He says, “I can’t survive life without my faith. It’s the essence of who I am. Faith is vital to me, vital to the men attending, and central to my talk. … I’m alive today to share my story only by the grace of God and the power of prayer.”

    Rogers, an active parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Wayne, hopes all men of the diocese who have a desire to know Christ more deeply will attend the conference.

    He says, “They (the conferences) are a catalyst for our faith — to activate, awaken, engage and energize it. Conferences like these can serve as a ‘stake in the ground’ to declare, ‘on this day at this place, I made a decision to change the way I live my life … to be a better husband, father and child of God.’ Hearing the witness and testimonies of other men challenge and encourage our faith immensely.”

    His message to the men is simple but profound: “Live a life of no regrets starting today — with God and one another. If we first get right with God, we have a chance to get right with one another. Know God — no regrets. Don’t waste another moment. Get to know God now in a deeply profound and powerful way. There are so many means offered through the Church: Adoration, prayer, the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, the Eucharist, the Holy Scriptures, the sacraments, the saints. … We must actively engage it. God is a God of restoration. That’s the essence of the cross, the empty grave, and the Resurrection. If God can restore my soul, He can restore anyone. ”

    Rogers hope for the men of the diocese? “To know God and live a life of no regrets — with God and with their families,” he says. “I’ll outline seven steps to no regrets at the conference that I pray will make an indelible difference in their personal lives.”

    Register soon

    Registration fee, that includes lunch, is $35 for adults, $25 for seniors or students of high school or college age. Parking at the coliseum is $4 per car. Deadline for registration is Feb. 18, on-line at wwwRekindleTheFire.net or by check mailed to “Rekindle the Fire” Office of Evangelization, attn.: Natalie Kohrman, 915 S. Clinton, Fort Wayne, IN, 46802. For information call Joe Witulski at (260) 452-6875. See registration form on back page.

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to:

  • Fort Wayne pro-life rally speaker calls abortions ‘American Holocaust’

    FORT WAYNE — Allen County Right to Life speaker Peter Heck pulled no punches in his description of the 50 million abortions that have been performed in this country since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the procedure 39 years ago. He called the atrocity an “American Holocaust.”

    Heck, who lives in Kokomo, is a nationally published columnist and radio talk show host heard on more than 200 stations around the country. He is also a passionate orator who makes a compelling case for life in many venues. He was keynote speaker for the local rally held recently before a full house at USF Performing Arts Center (formerly the Scottish Rite Center) in downtown Fort Wayne.

    Heck spoke directly to the men in his audience and called on them to assume responsibility, to lead the fight for life. Stop being content to merely “be on the right side of life,” he said. “Be an extremist. Embrace the label. We have been passive for far too long … we must go on the offensive.”

    Refusing to take a stand for life is mere cowardice, he added. President Barack Obama displayed such cowardice in 2008 when he called a question about when a child is entitled to human rights as “above my pay grade.” Heck had harsh words in response. “If an elected official can’t see that a human being is conceived in the womb, he’s not smart enough or moral enough to be our leader.”

    Theoretically, Heck pointed out, the argument for life should not focus on what each human being who reaches his full potential might contribute to society, but only on the importance of the human being himself.

    “Life is not valuable for what it does for us,” Heck said. “Life is valuable for what it is.”

    Heck closed his remarks with a powerful observation: “We stand for God, therefore we stand for life. On this issue there can be no compromise.”

    Allen County Right to Life Executive Director Cathie Humbarger welcomed those in attendance and introduced the many political officeholders and candidates in the audience.

    The pro-life audience encouraged many speakers with applause and seemed especially eager to “hit the pavement” on the annual March for Life through downtown Fort Wayne. This year’s event drew more than 1,000 participants.

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to:

  • Bill to regulate chemical abortion advances — ICC

    INDIANAPOLIS — A bill to regulate chemical abortions moves one step closer to becoming law. The Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) supports the legislation.

    Glenn Tebbe, ICC executive director, who testified before the Senate Health committee in support of the bill, said, “We believe all life is sacred, and believe those women considering abortion should be fully informed. This bill would provide for informed consent for chemical abortion and proper follow-up care.”

    The proposal, Senate Bill 72 (SB 72) authored by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, would recognize abortion-inducing drugs and require regulation of them under the category of abortion. It also enhances Indiana’s informed consent law for chemical abortion by requiring women seeking chemical abortion to be informed in the same manner that is required for surgical abortion.

    Holdman said, “Chemical abortion is unregulated in Indiana, as it is in many states, as an abortion. Yet, chemical abortion can be very traumatic to the patient, very painful to the patient, and may have lifelong side effects.”

    “The bill requires an in-person exam, which would put an end to telmed practice,” said Holdman. “It also requires informed consent, which is currently not required for chemical abortion,” he said. “And it would require the doctors to schedule or offer a 14-day option for a follow-up examination of the patient to make sure the abortion has been completed. The reason for the 14-day follow-up is to make sure there are no blood clots or mass that remains, which could cause infection.”

    “We know from what we’ve read and research shows that in many cases a chemical abortion is much more traumatic than surgical abortion,” said Holdman. “The woman is sent home. She will experience excruciating pain and the doctor testified that it’s much more common for excessive bleeding and cramping to occur.”

    “We know anecdotally that some woman have actually seen body parts or the entire fetus. This is much more traumatic to a young woman than a surgical abortion would be where the fetus would not be seen,” he said. “It’s hard for us to imagine that we are saying that surgical abortion is less complicated or more pleasant than a chemical abortion, but that’s the honest truth.”

    Sue Swayze, legislative director for Indiana Right to Life, who testified in to support of SB 72, said, “All of our abortion-related laws are related to surgical abortion. As chemical or medical abortions take hold, our laws are not keeping up with the latest medical science.”

    Swayze said, “SB 72 defines what an abortion-inducing drug is for the first time in Indiana law. It also seeks to regulate what we feel are misuses that we are hearing from in other states.”

    “We hear about telmed abortions where doctors are using Skype rather than being in person to examine the patient,” said Swayze. “But because the risk factors are so much greater for a medical (chemical) abortion rather than for a surgical abortion, and can have devastating consequences, we believe a doctor exam is crucial as is follow-up care.”

    Swayze said, “Using this drug after the manufacturers guidelines of 49 days, the complications go way up, and we wanted to provide for proper follow-up care. We know Planned Parenthood prescribes this up to 63 days as it is advertised on their web page.”

    Testimony before the Senate Health Committee indicated that when a failed chemical abortion occurs, it must be followed by a surgical abortion, meaning the woman would then need to return to a clinic for a second procedure — a surgical abortion.

    Kathleen O’Connor, public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Indiana opposed the bill saying, “SB 72 prohibits our ability to provide the highest quality care for those patients who seek a medical abortion” by limiting the way the doctor can treat patients. “We think it’s inappropriate for government to legislate the care a doctor must provide to his or her patient,” O’Connor said.

    John Stutsman, MD, assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology for the Indiana University School of Medicine, who serves as medical director for Planned Parenthood, testified in opposition to the bill saying that he felt it infringed upon the doctor-patient relationship, and to “please leave the practice of medicine to the physicians as the FDA does.”

    “I don’t believe there is anything in this bill that is extreme or over the edge,” said Holdman, “We want to make sure women know in advance what’s going to happen to them in the next few days or weeks ahead and the trauma they may experience. And with informed consent, we want to remind them that there’s a human life there. It’s something that needs to be told. Some folks want to keep it hidden, and in the dark, but I think it needs to have some light shed on it.”

    SB 72 passed the Senate Health Committee, 5-4. Following passage in the Senate, SB 72 will move to the House for further consideration.

    Chemical abortion facts

    The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that promotes reproductive rights internationally, reports that 25 percent of all abortions nationwide are chemical abortions.

    The Indiana Department of Health reported that in their 2007-2008 termination of pregnancy report that there was a 16 percent increase in chemically-induced abortions in Indiana.

    Four states maintain comprehensive regulations of abortion-inducing drugs and/or prohibit telmed abortions. They are Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Tennessee. Five states specifically impose minimal administrative regulations on the dispensation of abortion-inducing drugs: California, Georgia, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas. Four state laws regulating abortion-inducing drugs are in litigation: Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma. (Source: Americans United For Life.)

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to:

  • Bishop Rhoades speaks at Saint Mary’s College Aquinas Symposium

    Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, center, meets with Saint Mary’s College religious studies students Francesca Gifford ‘13, front left, Stephanie Cherpak ‘12, and Rebecca Marie Jones ‘12, right. The students greeted Bishop Rhoades when he arrived on campus Thursday afternoon. He was on campus as the featured speaker at the 15th Annual Symposium on St. Thomas Aquinas.

    NOTRE DAME — Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades was the invited speaker at the annual Saint Mary’s College Aquinas Symposium Jan. 26. He spoke on “The contemplation of truth by faith and reason: St. Thomas Aquinas, Blessed John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI.”

    In his address to students, faculty and friends of Saint Mary’s, Bishop Rhoades talked about how relevant the philosophy of Aquinas is to the modern world, and how the two popes have applied that philosophy to modern culture.

    “The philosophy that developed in the Christian tradition reached its apex in the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas,” Bishop Rhoades said, explaining that Aquinas recognized the independence of faith and reason, but also their reciprocal relationship.

    Bishop Rhoades said that Catholic teaching on faith and reason avoids the pitfalls of such errors as relativism, fideism, rationalism and fundamentalism. And he reflected on how both Benedict XVI and Blessed John Paul II “highlight the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that faith and reason share the same origin in God and thus are necessarily compatible, and that faith builds upon and perfects reason.”

    Faith stimulates reason to be open to ever broader horizons, keeps alive in reason the search for foundations, and enriches reason’s work, he explained. And reason helps faith by demonstrating truths that are preambles of the faith; giving clearer explanation of the truth of the faith; and resisting those who speak against the faith.

    Every person has a “natural and innate desire” to know the truth about life and its meanings, Bishop Rhoades said, but “We live in an age and a culture in which there has developed a certain skepticism about our ability to know the truth.”

    Such skepticism is not new, and in fact has been present throughout human history and thrives on “the bombardment of a multitude of currents of ideological thought,” he said.

    “There is no question that recent decades have seen an explosion of human knowledge in many areas, especially in the natural sciences and technology,” Bishop Rhoades said, noting that both John Paul II and Benedict XVI praised this progress.

    “Yet, at the same time,” he continued, “both pontiffs have been critical of the concurrent neglect of the search for the higher truths and ultimate values, what we call ‘the neglect of the transcendent.’”

    He cited the homily then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger preached to the conclave that went on to elect him Pope Benedict XVI. In that homily, Cardinal Ratzinger warned that the modern world was moving toward what he called a “dictatorship of relativism,” a culture “that does not recognize anything as certain and has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.”

    He also cited the 1998 encyclical of John Paul II, “Fides et Ratio” (“Faith and Reason”), in which the pope wrote about a “crisis of meaning” in the contemporary culture and called for philosophy to recover its trust in the human capacity to know the truth. And the pope named the philosophy developed in the Christian tradition as the best way to avert current philosophical dangers.

    Bishop Rhoades explained: “In the face of moral relativism today, St. Thomas’ principle that divine grace presupposes and perfects human nature is quite important. Reason is capable of discerning natural moral law. Such knowledge gives ground and foundation for the defense of universal human rights and the fundamental value of the dignity of the human person.”

    However, if reason means thinking only about material things or realities that can be proven only by the scientific method, “We become closed to the great questions about life, about the human person, and about God,” Bishop Rhoades continued. Such “reductionism” causes many errors, he said, including materialism and a sense that technology is more important than persons.

    Bishop Rhoades praised the curriculum at colleges like Saint Mary’s that gives students the opportunity to examine “the ultimate questions” by contemplating truth with both faith and reason. He noted that John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution “Ex corde ecclesiae” (“From the Heart of the Church”) defined the promotion of dialogue between faith and reason as a specific part of a Catholic university’s task.

    Bishop Rhoades took questions from the audience after his talk, and when a student mentioned that she was doing field work for Catholic Charities, he took the opportunity to reiterate what he had said in a press conference earlier in the day at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka.

    In that press conference, Bishop Rhoades had expressed strong objection to the federal mandate that religiously affiliated nonprofit employers must provide coverage for immoral services such as sterilization and contraception. That mandate affects Catholic institutions that serve not only Catholics, but non-Catholics as well.

    Bishop Rhoades received spontaneous applause from the audience for his comments on the federal mandate.

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to:

  • Diocese to offer ‘ARISE Together in Christ’ process for parish renewal

    The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, with the approval of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, has joined forces with RENEW International to introduce a new initiative — ARISE Together in Christ — focused on spiritual renewal and evangelization for faith seekers in the diocese.

    ARISE Together in Christ offers a “three-year parish centered process of spiritual renewal, evangelization and adult formation that enables members to develop a closer relationship with Christ, grow in community and reach out in service to others.”

    Natalie Kohrman, director of the Office of Evangelization, says the process will focus on establishing small Christian communities of eight to 12 members each who will meet regularly to read and reflect on Scripture and Church teaching, share how it relates in their personal lives and encourage active service and discipleship. The effort she hopes will stimulate “active and continual parish renewal.”

    The difference the Catholic community will see in comparison to other faith-sharing programs, such as Disciples in Mission, she says, is “that ARISE will focus on topics of five seasons.”

    The seasons Kohrman refers to indicate the five distinct six-week sessions that the process offers. They include “Encountering Christ Today,” “Change Our Hearts,” “In the Footsteps of Christ,” “New Hearts, New Spirit,” and “We Are the Good News!” The first of the five seasons will begin in September of this year, following information gathering meetings already underway and training for facilitators of the small Christian communities to be developed. Each season offers materials that will guide the faith-sharing group through various styles of prayer, Scripture reading, reflection, faith sharing, creative action and socialization.

    The dynamic process is designed to begin in the fall with session one, followed by session two that will lead the participants through Lent. Each of the two subsequent years will follow the same time sequence, with sessions three and four the second year, and session five completed in the fall of the third year. (Calendar year: Season I — fall 2012, Seasons 2 and 3 — Lent and fall 2013, Seasons 4 and 5 — Lent and fall 2014.)

    Kohrman says ARISE is designed to appeal to “various people and ages,” and adds, “It is available in Spanish and Vietnamese” and in several other languages with a large-print edition for the visually impaired.

    ARISE small Christian communities will meet regularly in homes, parishes, youth groups and on college campuses, says Kohrman. Facilitators will be provided with seasonal information to prepare for each session utilizing the well-organized materials and available training. In addition to ongoing support and online resources, the RENEW International organization will provide specific training workshops for facilitators and parish leaders for each season. “Renew,” says Kohrman, “is with us every step of the way.”

    According to the RENEW website, “RENEW International is a canonically-recognized Catholic organization based in Plainfield, N.J., in the Archdiocese of Newark. RENEW International has more than 30 years of experience revitalizing parish life and fosters spiritual renewal in the Catholic tradition by empowering individuals and communities to encounter God in everyday life, deepen and share faith, and connect faith with action.”

    The establishment of the small Christian communities of ARISE appropriately follows on the heels of the diocesan-wide Catholic Come Home campaign, which has brought many non-practicing Catholics back into the Church family.

    “It’s a logical conclusion to invite people to be part of ARISE and to continue their own faith formation,” says Kohrman.

    Though the diocese is aware that there exists previously established, year-round small Christian communities, the ARISE process has been adopted not to dissolve those existing communities but to ensure that all parishes, particularly the smaller ones, have an equal opportunity to establish their own small Christian communities.

    “It will be a more concerted effort across parishes,” says Kohrman.

    In addition to the intriguing opportunity to grow deeper in faith, ARISE is designed to benefit all who participate.

    Kohrman reports, “This is a regular parish initiative, but you can invite non-Catholics too. The catechetical elements are Catholic, but the faith-sharing aspect can be beneficial to anyone. It would be a great way to evangelize in a non-threatening way.”

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to: