The Anchor Diocese of Fall River
F riday , September 14, 2012
Catholics face important decisions at ballot box in 2012 B y Christine M. Williams A nchor Correspondent
BOSTON — One can tell that fall is on its way. Temps are cooler, children are headed back to school and — since this is an election year — the robo-calls have started. Campaign ads litter commercial breaks on television — as pervasive as autumn leaves will soon be. Unregistered Massachusetts residents must register within the next month in order to be
eligible to vote on November 6. The deadline is October 17. Before heading to the polls, members of the Commonwealth have important decisions to make. A U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs, and there are members of Congress to be sent to Washington, state representatives to elect and several important ballot questions. In a message to the Pontifical Council on the Turn to page 12
Five to receive awards at Red Mass — Page 15
Elizabeth A. Almeida
Gina L. DeRossi
Professor Dwight G. Duncan
Attorney Kenneth L. Sullivan
Judge Raymond P. Veary Jr.
Seminarian spends summer in India By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff
ROME — Jack Schrader of Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich may have spent his childhood living wherever his father’s latest military deployment took the family, but the 24-yearold has settled nicely into his seminarian studies in the shadow of the Holy Father in Rome, and most recently walked in the footsteps of Blessed Mother Teresa by spending this past summer volunteering at her Missionaries of Charity in India. Schrader was born in Japan and when he settled at Corpus Christi Parish he was already attending college. After attending parishes in different states and countries, Schrader brought his devotion to Corpus Christi by assisting the parish’s youth group in various activities. He also attended Mass almost every day, he said, and though he felt the call, he was encouraged to explore his feelings before committing his life to Jesus Christ as a priest. “I had always been Catholic, but for the first time I desired to go to Mass in order to encounter God truly present in the Eucharist,” explained Schrader via email
during a break from his theology studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. “Jesus Christ became important and real to me. When I was 16 years old, my pastor invited me to think and pray about becoming a priest. “Before this I had never thought of it. Soon after, I met some seminarians who encouraged me to take a real step forward in discovering God’s will. They told me
that the seminary is a place where someone can learn to be a virtuous Catholic man, even if he does not become a priest. They said that entering the seminary is the best way to see if God is really calling a man to be a priest; but I was not ready for the seminary immediately after high school. I decided to go to Franciscan University of Steubenville. There I joined the Turn to page 18
IN HER FOOTSTEPS — Accompanied by Sister Mary Prema, Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, seminarian Jack Schrader, currently studying in Rome, prays at the tomb of Blessed Mother Teresa at the Motherhouse in Calcutta, India. Along with three other seminarians, Schrader spent this past summer doing missionary work at Blessed Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
seeking a “no” vote — This is the cover of a parish guide put together by diocesan members of the Physician-Assisted Suicide Steering Committee formed to inform Massachusetts voters about the upcoming proposed bill that will appear on the November 6 ballot seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the Commonwealth. The entire content of the book can be found via a link on the Diocese of Fall River website at www.fallriverdiocese.org.
Lay committee urges ‘NO’ vote on Question 2 By Dave Jolivet, Editor
TAUNTON — In essence, the ballot question flew in under the radar. If accepted by the voters, the bill becomes Massachusetts law almost immediately with no debate on the State House floor or vote by the Massachusetts Legislature. Through the efforts of a lowprofile initiative petition, a question will appear on ballots across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on November 6 asking voters if they approve of a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the Bay State. This bill, called the Death with Dignity Act, despite the opposition of the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and many health care and religious organizations, is entirely in the hands of Massachusetts voters. The initiative was organized by a group labeling themselves “Death with Dignity.” Currently, physician-assisted suicide is a common-
law crime in this state. Many Massachusetts voters are not even aware the petition was started and that the proposal has successfully found its way on this November’s ballot. Even more citizens are not aware of what the proposed bill is about. In an effort to counteract the Death with Dignity effort, the Massachusetts Catholic Council created a state-wide Physician-Assisted Suicide Steering Committee, comprised of lay people, to make voters aware of the upcoming ballot referendum and to urge people to vote “NO” on Question 2 this fall. Kathy St. Laurent, a nurse and former director of Professional Development at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, and the current vice principal of Academic Affairs at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton; Marian Desrosiers, director of the Pro-Life Apostolate for the Diocese of Fall River; and Jean Arsenault, assistant direcTurn to page 10