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Contents © 2001
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

NEWS
JANUARY 2001

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ARTIST'S MILLENIUM WORK GETTING RAVE REVIEWS AROUND CALIFORNIA Seven parishes in California so far have acquired a collection of paintings produced to capture the dominant themes in the Church's 2,000-year history. Kentucky-based artist Gloria Thomas produced the twenty-one painting collection, each covering one century. They illustrate the most significant characters and events during each 100-year span. The artwork is displayed using 19-by-38 inch plates, brilliantly colored. Each panel is accompanied by a historical summary. It is not too late to see the Millenium Art Exhibit. Parishes and schools in California showing the artwork include St. James Church in Petaluma, St. Christopher Church in West Covina, San Rafael Church in Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), Kolbe Academy in Napa, Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Mary Star of the Sea in San Pedro.

Father Michael Culligan, pastor of St. James Church in Petaluma, bought the twenty-one painting exhibit and believes the art succeeds in giving people a better understanding of their faith. "It is very educational," he said, "because it shows the main personalities, good and bad, of each century. It is short, simple and to the point. If you look at, say, the seventh century painting and read the blurb which accompanies it, you really get a thumbnail sketch of that century."

The Petaluma parish found the exhibit to be such a great instrument for expressing the history of the Church, they placed their collection in the parish educational room and plans to keep them there for at least two more years. At Kolbe Academy in Napa, the artwork generated tremendous response, according to John Kamprath, the school's administrator. He said, "The reactions of people were all overwhelmingly positive, and all the people were very impressed with her skill as an artist. It's great because it represents the faith from an honest perspective. Here, truths of the Church are accurately presented without being distorted by liberal bias." Richard Sonnenshein, a veteran college professor of twenty-five years at Fairmont State in West Virginia, came to Napa to see the exhibit. He found it inspiring, "not just the beauty aspect but it really conveys the great spiritual dimension of the Church." Both Sonnenshein and Kamprath agree that the art impresses one by the artistic skill involved in the work and the accurate portrayal of church history, but that it also arouses a prominent emotion in the viewer. "The art struck those who viewed it not only as accurate but also as an encouraging presentation. " Kamprath said. Sonnenshein agreed, "It showed the most well known incident and or person from each century. Not only the good things, though." He continued, "It showed when the church was obviously doing well and even when things were not going so well but it makes one see that it clearly weathered all the storms."

Gloria Thomas specializes in sacred art and started work on the exhibit in 1996. The paintings were finished by October 1999. The twenty-one paintings were then laminated and reproduced. This left little time for marketing and publicity prior to the Jubilee Year. To date, 108 reproductions of Thomas' exhibit have been sold throughout the US, Australia and Tiawan. Stearns believes that earlier promotions would have yielded phenomenal results. Even so, Thomas feels that she has succeeded with her principal objective -- getting her paintings in places where many people could see them and better themselves by a greater appreciation of the reality of 2,000 years of Church history.

To create the historical summaries, Thomas joined forces with Warren Carroll, a Catholic historian and one of the founders of Christendom College. He wrote a descriptive and historical commentary for each plate enabling viewers to derive as much information as possible out of each painting. Father Culligan was impressed with the commentary. "It is very concise and very readable," he said, "Normally people do not have the time to read a whole volume of Church history, but they would have time to look at an exhibit of this kind and read the blurbs under each painting." Cardinal Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, also received a copy and according to Theo Stearns was "very pleased" and "called it a great catechetical tool". Mostly sold to parishes, schools, and pilgrimage sites, Stearns says that some individuals also bought them for parishes, seminaries and colleges such as the Franciscan University of Steubenville. There have been some purchases by private collectors. According to those who have seen it, the exhibit can be of great benefit for people who are interested in Church history.


ST. DOMINIC'S IN SAN FRANCISCO BRINGS AWARENESS OF "LEAPING LESBIANS" November, or All Souls month, is also known to some as AIDS awareness month. A registered parishioner at St. Dominic's on Thanksgiving morning was confronted with three sections of the AIDS memorial quilt hanging from the choir loft, facing the altar. The quilt is part of a national project called the NAMES project started in 1987 in San Francisco by gay-rights activists to bring greater awareness to AIDS and its victims. It was then that he noticed an angel on one of the panels that said 'Leaping Lesbians' and the name of a gay newspaper printed across it. As he looked further, he saw the ubiquitous Gay Pride flag proudly displayed along with information about various 'life partners' who had succumbed to the deadly disease. When the parishioner asked the pastor, Father Xavier Lavagetto, if he knew about it, the pastor reportedly replied, "That's inappropriate." The banner hung there until the end of November.

Others have seen it and been dismayed. Sometime attendee Stephen Ambuul is one of these. He said, "I think it's great that they're evangelizing and bringing in the homosexual community, but if you have that kind of congregation it's your job to make sure that they know that you can't just go to Mass and then live the rest of your life however you wish. If you attract that kind of congregation you should be evangelizing them and bringing them closer to God in every aspect of their lives."

Tim Ferguson serves as assistant to Father Lavagetto. He explained that the distribution of the quilts is not necessarily the decision of the recipients. "We did request in July to get the section that St. Dominic's made, but the other two were assigned to us randomly." He explained that he "looked over the quilt and made sure there wasn't anything offensive on it." He added that no one has complained about it to him or anyone at the church. When asked if he noticed the Gay Pride flags or the 'Leaping Lesbians' slogan, he replied that in looking over the quilt for offensive material he did not recall noticing any of these items.


PRO-LIFE BILLBOARD Drive by 14th Avenue and see a rare San Francisco sight -- a pro-life billboard. The long-time dream of the late Frank Geraty, one-time president of United For Life, which sponsored the billboard, it displays a phone number where women in crisis pregnancy situations can go for assistance. The 800 number connects the caller to the Project Gabriel hotline in the East Bay where volunteers direct women to areas offering free assistance in counseling transportation, housing, and medical aid. This service has helped hundreds of women in distress in the Bay Area and, in the process, has saved many lives. United For Life also plans to send a group of Trinity School students of Napa to the annual Washington, D.C., March For Life in January and will hold its annual dinner this spring, with Steve Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, as the featured speaker.


SAN FRANCISCO VICE SNAGS ANOTHER PRIEST On November 14, a priest with the San Francisco archdiocese was charged with felony assault and false imprisonment that occurred during an alleged sexual attack on a 17-year-old boy. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Father Bernard J. Dabbene, 63, also faces misdemeanor allegations of annoying or molesting a minor and sexual battery. Father Dabbene is a former principal of Salesian High School in Richmond. Dabbene, a priest for 34 years, is the San Francisco archdiocese's liaison to 89 parishes in San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo counties. He also serves on the San Francisco archdiocese's board of education, which oversees 78 parochial schools.


DAVIS' WINNING FORMULA Governor Gray Davis said on October 7, that the election results mirrored his middle-of-the-road governing style. "California will respond positively to candidates who are fiscally responsible, pro-choice, pro-environment and anti-gun,'' the governor said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "That is the winning formula in California.''


SACRAMENTO DIOCESE' CATHOLIC HERALD LEAVES NADER OUT Some Catholic readers of the Herald hit the roof when they saw the front-page special election edition of the paper which prominently featured only three presidential candidates, Gore, Bush, and Buchanan. Despite the fact that Nader was polling twice the support that Buchanan was, the paper inexplicably made no mention of him, to the great delight of Democrat politicos. The Herald also featured paid advertisements for Superior Court Judge Treena Burger. The ads included an endorsement of the candidate by Lou Desmond, "Counsel to the Bishop (1971-1997)," and members of various parishes throughout the Sacramento area. The Herald did not explain why Treena Burger is a good candidate for Catholics -- she won, by the way. Burger ads were also featured prominently in the homosexual publications, Mom... Guess What! Newspaper, and Outward Newsmagazine.


ACCORDING TO ZENIT NEWS AGENCY, RELICS OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST, or at least the "INRI" inscription, kept in the Roman Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, are real, says author Michael Hesemann, who presented the Italian version of his book Titulus Crucis in Rome's Basilica in October. Hesemann said he began his research in May 1995, when he received permission from Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, who was at the secretariat of state. Taking photographs of fragments of the Cross of Christ, particularly the "titulus," or inscription, kept in the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome, Hesemann traveled to Israel where he was given three answers by archaeology experts.

A Jewish scholar who analyzed the photos said that the inscription goes back "to the period that extends from the first to fourth century A.D." A Greek expert placed it with "absolute" certainty in the first century. Lastly, a Latin scholar agreed with the Greek expert. Hesemann then asked Italian expert Elio Corona for his help. Corona examined the wooden fragments that, according to tradition, were taken to Rome by Helen, mother of emperor Constantine. The expert said it was the "wood of an olive" tree. Hesemann also said that the carbon-14 dating places the relic in this historical period. He mentioned that the first accounts of Christian pilgrims already referred to the inscription. The German author affirmed that the "title," which is conserved in the Roman basilica, is only half of the original. The right side, which was mentioned by several witnesses up to the sixth century, has disappeared.


RU-486 PILLS ARRIVE IN U.S. The first shipments of the abortion pill known as RU-486 began heading to U.S. physicians on in late November. After a 12-year battle to bring the pill to the U.S. market, the Federal Drug Administration gave its approval in September. Under FDA guidelines, the drug must be given within 49 days after the start of a woman's last menstrual period. Planned Parenthood said about 60 of its clinics would offer Mifeprex, which must be followed two days later by a dose of Cytotec, a Pharmacia Corporation drug known generically as misoprostol. When the drug combination does not do what it is intended to do, women must have surgical abortions to complete the procedure. Danco Laboratories said that women can expect bleeding or spotting for nine to 16 days after taking Mifeprex. In some cases, heavy bleeding requires surgery. Other possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue and back pain.

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