His Eminence John Patrick Cardinal Foley (1935-2011)  is one of mine. I was blessed to take in his wisdom and wit at Catholic press convocations and in his last months when I had the privilege of corresponding with him and, because of his great kindness, participating in one of his last taped interviews on July 14, 2011.

“You do know that July 14 is Bastille Day,” said His Eminence. I had not made that connection but it now will be a date etched in my memory for it was the day that I shared eclairs and cream puffs with one of my church heroes as we celebrated the French holiday.

And, of course, I did my homework and came to Philadelphia on that day bearing chocolate–not Kentucky’s famed bourbon balls, though, as the Cardinal was a professed teetotaler (and he had a story for that, too).

My admiration for him was solidified years earlier when he was “Archbishop Foley” and I had come across his short but weighty assessment of Catholic media in The Catholic Journalist publication during which he threw done the gauntlet to create quality Catholic media. (In the July interview he stated: “Nothing less than the best is worth being offered to God.”)

The clipping remains on my desk. Here is that interview:

“Asked by O’Connell to grade the Church’s media efforts, the archbishop replied, ‘mediocre.’ The situation could be improved, he said, with a more welcoming attitude on the part of the Church, being open to media coverage of more events.

“‘The Church,’ he said, ‘is an infinitely fascinating institution, and so we should be open as far as possible to coverage of everything we do.’

“Of the Catholic press itself, he said, ‘We have an obligation not only to be orthodox, but also to be interesting and professional.’ Asked about different perspectives within the Catholic press, he replied: ‘Where there are essential matters of faith and morals, unity; where there are things tha(t) can be open to discussion, there should be freedom; but everything should be done in charity, which can sometimes be lacking today.’

“Archbishop Foley had a ready answer when asked to name the Church’s most effective communicator. The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, he said quickly, terming him ‘an inspiration.’

“The most memorable events he has witnessed close up were the election of Pope Benedict XVI and the funeral of Pope John Paul II that preceded it. ‘For me it was very consoling,’ he said, ‘because it showed how people react to goodness, and I think that’s what we should offer the people more–examples of goodness.’”

These thoughts and much more were shared again July 14 in the interview, which was conducted by Gretchen Keiser of The Georgia Bulletin, and attended by myself, Lisa Wheeler of The Maximus Group and camera man Dave Jannetta and his assistant.

During the hour of taping the weakened Cardinal shared insights, memories and advice that spanned his rich life experiences: times with his parents, his study of journalism at Columbia University, his priestly vocation and gratitude for his brother priests, his work during Vatican II and as president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Of course there were also a few stories that included the two popes he served.

The last line of the above newspaper clipping led to the naming of Goodness Reigns, and as providence had it, God willed our paths to meet in 2009 at Atlanta’s annual Eucharistic Congress–where I was helping to cover the event for The Georgia Bulletin one month after Goodness Reigns came to life.

I very briefly presented Goodness Reigns to the Cardinal at the end of this interview, but made sure to contact him later to keep him informed of the apostolate’s progress. (The Cardinal participated in a news story on new media I wrote for The Georgia Bulletin: http://www.georgiabulletin.org/local/2009/06/18/newmedia/)

In early 2011 I contacted the Cardinal and later in the year asked if he would agree to tape an address for the Goodness Reigns Film Festival to be held during World Youth Day’s Film Day in Madrid on August 17. He very graciously agreed.

On the morning of the Goodness Reigns Film Festival I shared the significance of Cardinal Foley’s address and his passion for the Catholic faith and media with the 32 (mostly young) filmmakers. I also told them of his need for prayers due to illness.

Diana, a young filmmaker from Mexico, later presented me with a relic of St. Ezequiel Moreno, a patron saint of cancer patients, and asked me to share it with Cardinal Foley. The relic was finally delivered around the time of the Cardinal’s birthday in November 2011. Shortly afterward, I received a letter dated Nov. 15 along with the relic, which he had venerated.

Reading the letter, I recalled my July visit and smiled. Before departing Philadelphia I had asked if  the Cardinal would sign bookplates for copies of “You Can Change the World” by Father James Keller that I intended to give to  participants of the film festival. Cardinal Foley was quick to explain that he usually stamped his signature now because his handwriting was too shaky. We decided on a blessing of St. Teresa of Avila prayer cards that I would stick in the books.

His Nov. 15 letter, however, ends with what is to me another one of his simple acts of kindness and humility that I always will remember, as he never ceased to be…

Madrid, Spain, Aug 13, 2011 / 12:50 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- World Youth Day in Madrid will help many young people find “a foundation on which to build their lives” in a time of crisis, says one of the key Vatican organizers of the event.

“The postmodern world is going through a difficult and deep crisis. Relativism creates a dangerous vacuum of common values and meaning,” Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, told Vatican Radio on Aug. 13.

“World Youth Day in Madrid aims to be a clear and persuasive answer to those needs of people today: that the foundation exists and is a living Person who has a name, Jesus Christ!”

World Youth Day is actually several days of events beginning this Tuesday August 16. It concludes with Mass with Pope Benedict on Sunday August 21.

Cardinal Rylko said that the event can help rescue young people from a “culture with no fixed points of reference” that consequently produces “rootless people, who are deprived of safe and sound foundations in their lives.”

For that to happen, he said, each local diocese has to make sure that their preparation and follow-up to the event is adequate to the task. Otherwise the week in Madrid could become just “a flash in the pan.”

He also feels that the location for this year’s World Youth Day provides a microcosm of the contemporary clash of cultures: post-modernism versus orthodox Christianity.

“Spain is like a vast laboratory where the serious problems and challenges of post-modernity have manifested themselves with particular force … such as the phenomenon of secularization, the trends towards a radical secularism, the laws of the state which are clearly opposed to natural law (the right to life, the nature of marriage and the family),” the cardinal explained.

Spain is presently in an economic crisis and has the highest rates of unemployment in the industrialized world. The cardinal said this means “without doubt” that Spanish society is “hungry for hope, it urgently wants to find prospects for the future.”

Therefore the Church of Spain, thanks to World Youth Day, is “called to rediscover its prophetic vocation and a new evangelistic courage.”

The cardinal concluded by echoing Pope Benedict’s call to “all young people – those who share our faith in Jesus Christ, but also those who are wavering or uncertain, or who do not believe in him” to share in World Youth Day. They should participate in the hope that it can prove “decisive for their lives” and can be “an experience of the Lord Jesus, risen and alive, and of his love for each of us.”

Washington D.C., Jul 25, 2011 / 04:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pontifical Council for the Laity chose eight bishops from around the U.S. to host English-speaking catechesis sessions for the upcoming World Youth Day in Madrid.

Over 28,000 U.S. pilgrims and 62 bishops have registered so far to participate in the global young adult event. The catechetical sessions will be held Aug. 17-19 in multiple sites around the Spanish capital’s metropolitan area.

The group of American catechists includes Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York – president of the U.S. bishops’ conference – and Archbishop Charles Chaput, newly appointed as archbishop of Philadelphia.

Other bishops speaking at the event are: Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago; Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, North Dakota; Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Alaska; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, and Frank Caggiano, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn.

The group will be among 250 bishop-catechists from all over the world, drawn from different countries and language groups.

Each U.S. bishop has been asked to prepare three catechetical sessions, one for each day, based on the theme for WYD Madrid 2011: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.”

On Wed. Aug. 17, these bishops will center their talks on the theme “Firm in the Faith,” which will invite young people to examine the gift of faith.

Thursday’s theme, “Established in Jesus Christ,” will touch on the importance of  young people establishing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and building their lives with him.

Friday’s catechesis will address the topic, “Witnesses to Christ in the World,” and will emphasize the need for all young people to be missionaries to the world around them, particularly among their peers.

The World Youth Day gathering in Madrid will be the twelfth meeting to take place at the international level since Bl. Pope John Paul II founded the event in 1985. The Madrid event is expected to draw over 1 million people.

http://www.madrid11.com/en/news/1068-ya-hay-ganadores-del-concurso-periodistico-de-la-jmj

View the video here: http://goodnessreigns.com/vote/all/an-extra-special-missionary/

Leticia’s recent article in the National Catholic Register on Jerome Lejeune, the geneticist who discovered the cause of Down Syndrome. He has since passed but his daughter, Clara, has written a book (Life Is a Blessing) about her father and his love for these special people. http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/remembering-jerome-lejeune/

Leticia also has a blogspot, which you can access here: http://cause-of-our-joy.blogspot.com/

For information and resources on Down Syndrome, visit the National Down Syndrome Society here: http://www.ndss.org/index.php

Good luck! –Father Dan

1.  Who is the subject of this recent video from WYD headquarters and what is the significance of his beautification date of May 1? Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5sZxFuyhEE&feature=player_embedded

2. Who did Mary appear to on May 13, 1917 in Fatima, Portugal?  What great miracle appeared in October of that year to show the people that she was actually appearing?

3.  In what Gospel do we find the “Beloved Disciple” and who is he?

4.  The Church has been given seven sacraments.  What is a sacrament?  Give scriptural references to at least three of the sacraments.

5.  Sex before marriage is wrong, yet we live in a world that readily embraces this action.  Tell your friend who thinks pre-marital sex is okay why this beautiful gift should be saved for marriage.

Here’s what’s in store for movie-goers from the movie’s wesite http://www.dragonsresources.com/.

Synopsis:

“There Be Dragons” is an epic action-adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva (Charlie Cox) and Manolo Torres (Wes Bentley), childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts.

Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement Opus Dei (work of God).

Manolo chooses war and becomes a spy for the fascists. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful Hungarian revolutionary, Ildiko, who has joined the militia in pursuit of passion and purpose. But when Ildiko rejects him out of love for the courageous militia leader Oriol, Manolo’s jealousy leads him down a path of betrayal.

As personal and national battles rage, the characters’ lives collide and their deepest struggles are illuminated through the fateful choices they make. Each will struggle to find the power of forgiveness over the forces tearing their lives and friendship apart.

Locate movie theaters showing this picture: http://www.dragonsresources.com/resources/theaters.html

Check back again if your home town is not currently on the list. More theaters will be added.

Before imparting his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the world), the Pope noted that at Easter “the hosts of angels, saints and blessed souls join with one voice in our exultant song. [...] But alas, it is not so on earth!”

“Here, in this world of ours,” he said, “the Easter alleluia still contrasts with the cries and laments that arise from so many painful situations: deprivation, hunger, disease, war, violence.”

The Holy Father said that his message for Easter was directed in particular to those “peoples and communities who are undergoing a time of suffering,” and he mentioned in particular the Middle East, Northern Africa and Japan.

“May the splendor of Christ reach the peoples of the Middle East,” he stated, “so that the light of peace and of human dignity may overcome the darkness of division, hate and violence.”

With regard to Libya, the Pontiff expressed a desire that “diplomacy and dialogue take the place of arms and may those who suffer as a result of the conflict be given access to humanitarian aid.”

And for the Ivory Coast, he urged “peaceful coexistence” and a “path of reconciliation and pardon, in order to heal the deep wounds caused by the recent violence.”

“In the countries of northern Africa and the Middle East,” Benedict XVI added, “may all citizens, especially young people, work to promote the common good and to build a society where poverty is defeated and every political choice is inspired by respect for the human person.”

The Pope also made a specific reference to Japan and other countries that have been “tested by natural disasters, which have sown pain and anguish,” expressing a desire that they “find consolation and hope.”

“May heaven and earth rejoice at the witness of those who suffer opposition and even persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ,” the Pontiff added. “May the proclamation of his victorious resurrection deepen their courage and trust.”

“The risen Christ is journeying ahead of us towards the new heavens and the new earth, in which we shall all finally live as one family, as sons of the same Father,” the Pontiff concluded. “He is with us until the end of time. Let us walk behind him, in this wounded world, singing Alleluia.

“In our hearts there is joy and sorrow, on our faces there are smiles and tears. Such is our earthly reality. But Christ is risen, he is alive and he walks with us. For this reason we sing and we walk, faithfully carrying out our task in this world with our gaze fixed on heaven.”