114, 1993 The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
State funds to go to prenatal care, child health care
By COLEEN WILLIAMS
Indiana Catholic Conference
ram °re Hoosier needs are
et in a bill signed by Gover-
r Evan Bayh this month.
.1034 reauthorizes $3.37
• illioa a year in funding for
Prenatal care, child health
md other services. The
establishes a state-
e SChool breakfast pro-
which could yield over
in federal funds.
se programs, which
state and federal
, will allow more eligi-
3siers to participate,"
Desmond Ryan, Indi-
Conference Ex-
Director. "Some pro-
will improve the
welfare of babies
mothers while oth-
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
Message editor
i POllomin is
erio. . g another in a
.n °]articles about eo le
",v, i P P
laclg .toward Synod '93.
Seri_ uea. are responses to a
v8 Of II " --
lffessO_ q estmns from the
ge.
lhC rt ramelspacher hopes
'reel oYnod '93 will
r), a real difference."
9f ''lSPacher is a member
gl:dod Central Plan-
--- ,aittee a rou of
L,rgv _ ,. g P
SQaS,rellgious and lay per-
teD,, rio have been meetino
YLrly for more than a
rarael
t ,_. Spacher. an o-
t'mst " • P
lye ir .from Jasper, is ac-
lsz.osf Pt zr' SKhna;hdt: So
it, St' Joseph Church, he is
lt Lved in Stephen Min-
,. ",t, $ v-, . --
r to ,, " UCharistic minis-
ll.e.hospitalized, and a
lt a hc adoration partici-
• u COmmittee member.
you say "yes" to
in synodal plan.
pastor asked me
agreed to it,
;h is very
to me, and I see all
Our own lives, our
with others, and
5
ers target children who might
otherwise start the day hun-
gry or end the day unsuper-
vised," he said.
Two grants of $190,000 in
state funds are dedicated to
supplement Indiana's share
in the federal Women, In-
fants, and Children (WIC) and,
Maternal and Child Health
Service programs.
WIC provides vouchers for
food supplements, nutritional
education and infant health
services. Around 184,000
pregnant women and chil-
dren up to age 5 with family
incomes not exceeding 185
percent of poverty (about
$21,405}, and at nutritional
risk are eligible for WIC.
Sixty-five percent of eligible
Hoosiers are served.
Maternal and Child Health
services refer pregnant
women, especially those in
underserved areas of Indiana,
to WIC programs, Medicaid
services, prenatal care, and
educational assistance.
The program also main-
tains a wide range of services
to children and families in-
cluding physical exams, nu-
trition, dental and health
screening, a Family Wellness
Hotline, and pediatric pri-
mary care development.
Child health services are ob-
tainable by children up to age
21, especially disadvantaged
youth.
HB 1034 includes $550,000
of state dollars for the School
Age Child Care project fund.
School Age Child Care assists
single parent and two work-
ing-parent families in secur-
ing after-school child care.
Over $2.3 million is autho-
rized for the Local Health
Maintenance Fund. Local
health departments may use
the funds to enhance any of
10 services including nutri-
tion, pregnancy care, immu-
nizations, and environmental
health.
A breakfast program is re-
quired in those public
schools where 25 percent of
students enrolled qualify for
free or reduced price school
lunches, over 390 in the state.
Federal start-up granis and
meal reimbursements are
available to participating
schools. Up to 30,000 chil-
dren from low-income fami-
lies will receive a nutritious
breakfast free or at reduced
cost. Other students may opt
to purchase a breakfast.
A 1992-93 Indiana Food
and Nutrition Network sur-
vey of Indiana school princi-
pals indicated a need and de-
sire for school breakfast by
students was the number one
reason cited for offering the
program. Improved student
attention span was the great-
est benefit found by respon-
dents for the survey.
Wide bipartisan support for
the breakfast program was
manifested in a House vote,
74-21, and a 35-13 vote in the
Senate. The amended version
of HB 1034 passed both
chambers unopposed. Rep.
John J. Day, D-Indianapolis;
authored the bill.
for the Synod: Curt Gramelspacher
all of society as areas that
should be affected by our
church. And this involve-
ment with the synod is one
way I can help influence the
Church's effect in all these
areas.
Describe your Synod Plan-
ning Committee experience:
I have found our planning
committee meetings to be
some very humbling experi-
ences. The credentials and
collective wisdom and talents
of all the other members is
overwhelming and, at the
same time, uplifting as the
varied personalities work to-
ward our common goals with
amazingly few obstacles. It
has definitely been a learning
experience for me.
What are your hopes for
Synod '93?
It is my hope that the
Synod will, in fact, make a
real difference in the areas
that will be addressed. And, I
believe it will, because we are
planning a process to be im-
plemented after the Synod
that will handle matters that
cannot be resolved in the
synod itself. It is unrealistic
to expect to handle every
diocesan problem in the two
days of the Synod.
Curt Gramelspacher, a member of the Synod Central Planning Committee, turns to listen to a
recent committee discussion. Behind him, Helen Boettcher takes notes. •
-- Message photo by Paul R: Leingang
Fr. Hesburgh recalls 'magic momentS'
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS}
Looking back on 50 years
of priesthood, Holy Cross Fa-
ther Theodore M. Hesburgh
recalled some "magic me-
",, PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD
Diocese of Evansville
SPRAY
and love, You sent Your Son to live among us,
might know and love You,
might serve and worship You as Your faithful people•
in living holy lives as faithful disciples of Jesus, Your Son,
may be known and felt in our midst,
may come to know and love You
may begin to serve and worship You.
us with Your Spirit to use fully the many gifts You have given us.
our faith.
to see Your plan for the Church.
look to the future, may our plans be faiLat to Yours,
e, the Church of Southwestern tnoian ,
Your kingdom through preaching and living Your gospel•
Praise be Yours through Jesus Christ Our Lord!
ments," such as anointing his
mother as she died or cele-
brating Masses at the South
Pole, in China and in
Moscow.
President of the University
of Notre Dame from 1952 to
1987 and now its president
emeritus, Father Hesburgh
celebrated a jubilee Mass May
6 marking 50 years of "the
enormous and impossible vo-
cation of carrying out Christ's
apostolate" in the priesthood.
The Mass took place in the
university's Sacred Heart
Basilica, where Father Hes-
burgh was ordained in June
1943.
In his 15-minute homily,
Father Hesburgh didn't focus
on his 15 presidential'ap-
pointments -- including
membership from 1957 to
1972 on the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights -- or his ser-
vice to four popes, including
representing the Holy See at
the International Atomic En-
ergy Agency from 1957 to
1970.
Father Hesburgh focused on
his gratitude for being able to
administer the sacraments, to
preach and to practice "the
apostolate Of just being there
... as a living symbol of ]esus
when he was present in flesh
and blood."
"If I could use this moment
to ask one more benefit, one
more grace from.the Lord, i
would ask to be able tO offer
the sacrifice of the Mass
every day until I die. Then I
will die happy." he told some
400 people at the Mass.
A coincidence made the
liturgy even more fitting as a
celebration of 50 years in the
priesthood: including Father
Hesburgh, the number of
priests from the university
and the Holy Cross commu-
nity concelebrating the Mass
came to exactly 50•
Father Hesburgh, 75, spoke
quietly and reflectively in his
homily about Jesus being the
"great high priest and one
true mediator," thepriest
hood of all the faithful d
He only mentioned indi-
rectly hm international aOjvt- the particular: #fis, ns
ties in politics, culture, social bilities and blesslng, of the
justice and education, Rather, ordained priesthood, .... i
