The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana 1 3
1998
Laura's turn
JIM and ANN CAVERA
father passed away on Friday, July 31. We
pa Smith, but he had a very full life
expressed a wish to be with the Lord.
we normally set aside for writing
be taken up with family obligations, we
our space would remain empty this week.
our daughter, Laura, brought us a gift.
are her reflections.
Iam the youngest of four children and the only
child of Jim and Ann Cavera. There is quite
age between my siblings and me. The next
oldest is Chris and he is 23 while I am only 15. So,
as you can tell, I am pretty much the only one at
home while morn and dad write their columns.
I remember doing homework on school nights
while my parents rushed madly around looking for
their notes for a column. Sometimes they would be
looking for the column itself. I would notice the
wild look in their eyes and the frantic look on their
face. It was better than TV.
Other times I would come home and see my
parents having a briinstorming session. My mom
never tells me or my dad what she is writing until
she is finished because if she tells us, she forgets the
great idea she had for a column. I call it a pre-
dictable senior moment.
One really annoying thing is that my parents
seem to see a column in everything that they do.
Everything is a possibility. Leave no stone
unturned. We'll even be driving down the road on
the way to church and I'll hear "Hey! That would
make a great column." I see my parents exchange a
look now and then and I begin to think, "Uh oh,
here comes the next column." Then as soon as we
get home they have to write it down so they don't
forget.
Sometimes mom and dad will write a column
and give it to each other to proofread. Usually mom
says " This is great. But .... "And then the chaos
starts all over again.
Finall}; when the column is proofread and writ-
ten again and again, it is time to decide whose
name goes at the bottom. A lot of times I hear "But
honey, he's your father," or one of my favorites:
"You did most of the work."
The reason I decided to write this column was I
had spent many nights watching the fun and the
agony in writing a column. I decided that it couldn't
be that hard.
I'm still deciding.
m Laura Cavera
Laura Cavera is a sophomore at Mater Dei High
School.
98 class of new U.S. priests older, more racially diverse
By JERRY FILTEAU
Catholic News Service
is another in a series
"Parish future, parish pre-
the priests who will
to parishes ?
(CNS) -- The
dass of newly ordained
in the United States is
r and more racially and eth-
diverse than the classes
i ordained priests were
according to a new
study released in May.
percent of the newly
under 30 years of
34 percent were in the
bracket, leaving 40
35 or higher.
fact that nearly three-
Were 30 or older indi-
were entering the
as a second career or
few years of expe-
the working world.
increase was in
of Hispanics being
ordained -- 12 percent of those
surveyed. In a 1984 national
study, Hispanics made up only
7 percent of all seminarians.
African-Americans represent-
ed 4 percent of the newly
ordained -- slightly up from the
2 percent to 3 percent of U.S.
seminarians recorded in other
recent studies.
The Hispanic and African-
American Catholic communi-
ties have long been underrepre-
sented in the priesthood, but the
1988 figures could signal a
future narrowing of that gap.
Asian-Americans and Pacific
Islanders represented 6 percent
of the newly ordained -- a fig-
ure higher than the estimated 2
percent to 3 percent of U.S.
Catholics who are of Asian or
Pacific Islands descent.
The new study, conducted by
the U.S. bishops' Office on Voca-
tions, was based on responses
this spring from 428 men newly
ordained or preparing for ordi-
nation this year -- 346 as dioce-
san priests, 82 in religious orders.
Commenting on the study,
Bishop Paul S. Loverde of
Ogdensburg, N.Y., chairman of
the bishops',Vocations Commit-
tee, said: "I predict that a similar
or growing percentage of priests
will enter the seminary at a later
age and that there will be
increasing cultural diversity
reflected in candidates for the
priesthood."
He said the profile of the 1998
ordination class reflected the
trend toward later vocational
choice in American society and
the increasing ethnic and cultur-
al diversity of U.S. Catholicism.
One of the apparent statistical
oddities in the profile was the
fact that only 2 percent of the
new diocesan priests were
African-American while 9 per-
cent of the new priests in reli-
gious orders were African-
American.
Bishop Loverde attributed that
to the strong presence of reli-
gious orders in Catholic schools
Raymond Brown, scripture scholar, dies
CITY, Calif.
Sul F Father Ray-
one of the most
Catholic Scripture schol-
history, died Aug. 8
at Sequoia Hos-
t Redwood City. He was
i S to be buried Aug. 17
! SUlF cemetery in
Md., following a
celebrated there
William H. Keeler
that, Archbishop
Levada of San Fran-
te a memor-
14, with Cardinal
' of Los Ange-
, at the chapel of St.
Seminary in Menlo
Father Brown was
retirement. Father
Witherup, Sulpician
superior, was to
Masses.
day before his death,
bcxk "A
That You May Have Life" -- was
published by St. Anthony Mes-
senger Press in Cincinnati.
Father Brown was Auburn
Distinguished Professor Emeri-
tus of Biblical Studies at Union
Theological Seminary in New
York, where he taught for 20
years before his retirement in
1990.
He was twice a member of the
Pontifical Biblical Commission,
1972-78 and from 1996 until his
death, and for 25 years he was
a member of the World Council
of Churches Faith and Order
Commission.
Author of 25 major books on
the Bible and more than a dozen
smaller ones, he was co-editor
-- with Jesuit Father Joseph A.
Fitzmyer and Carmelite Father
Roland P. Murphy -- of two
widely acclaimed comprehen-
sive commentaries on Scripture,
"'The Jerome Biblical Commen-
tary" in 1968 and "The New
Jerome Biblical Commentary"
in 1990.
One of his most notable
works was his landmark two-
volume- study, "The Gospel
According to John," which
broke new ground in the field of
Johannine studies for all Scrip-
ture scholars. A part of the
Anchor Bible series, the first vol-
ume appeared in 1966 and the
second in 1970.
Other works of note included
"New Testament Essays" in
1965, "Jesus, God and Man" in
1967, "The Virginal Conception
and Bodily Resurrection of
Jesus" in 1973, "The Birth of the
Messiah" in 1977, "The Epistles
of John" in 1982 and "The Death
of the Messiah" in 1994.
In Montreal in 1963 he
became the first Catholic to
address the Faith and Order
Conference of the World Coun-
cil of Churches.
He had attended the first ses-
sion of the Second Vatican
Council as an adviser to Arch-
bishop Joseph P. Hurley of St.
Augustine, Fla.
and in inner cities and the spe-
cial focus of some orders on min-
istry in the African-American
community making it more
likely that an African-American
who feels called to the priest-
hood would consider joining a
religious order.
The study did not t D" to assess
how many members of the 1998
ordination class were missed by
the surve): The average number
of U.S. ordinations in recent
years has been in the low 500s.
In 1966 the mean age at ordi-
nation for diocesan priests in
the United States was 272. years
and just beginning to rise slow-
ly. In 1975 it was 28.3 years. By
1984 it had grown to 31.5 years.
In the new study, the mean
age of the new diocesan priests
was 34.6 years. Among religious
orders, which typicaUy require
at least one extra year of spiri-
tual formation for religious life
before ordination, the mean age
was 35.9 years.
Dean R. Hoge, a sociologist About 80 percent of newly ....
The Catholic University of Amtn'- ordained reported work expert;
ica who has conducted numer-
ous other studies of U.S. Catholic
seminarians and priests, sum-
marized the findings of the sur-
vey in a seven-page report.
Hoge reported that only 19
percent of the newly ordained
had entered the semina D" after
high school.
The vast majority, 66 percent,
had earned a college degree
bachelor's or associate before
starting seminary studies.
About 16 percent had earned a
graduate degree or were work-
ing on one when the)' entered
the seminary.
The study found that new
priests were more likely than
other Catholics to have attended
Catholic schools.
While one 1993 study found
54 percent of Catholics under
the age of 55 had attended a
Catholic grade school, 59 per-
cent of the newly ordained had
done so.
ence before entering the semi-
nary.
Most prominent among prior
fields of work were education,
mentioned by 17 percent, and
church ministry; mentioned by
10 percent.
Among new priests were men
who had previously worked in
counseling, health care or social
work; in management positions,
banking, finance, accounting,
sales or real estate; in govern-
merit offices or law; in journal-
ism or the arts; in the military;
in science, engineering or com-
puter programming; in various
skilled or unskilled labor posi-
tions.
The study found that 24 per-
cent of the newly ordained were
born outside the United States.
Four percent of them were born
in Mexico and 4 percent in Viet-
nam. Others had been born in
Canada, other parts of Latin
America, other Asian countries,
The differences were more Africa, Europe or Aa.
marked at the secondary and Fewof the newly ordatned --
college levels, less than 5 percent---, men-
Only 26 percent of the larger tioned having -'eived previous
Catholic population attended a athletic, academic or. ,.other
Catholic high schobut 50 per- recognition, such as being on
cent of the newly ordained had their school's academic honor
done so. Only 10 percent of the roll or a member of theNation-
larger Catholic population had al Honor Society.
gone to a Catholic college, but Among their int hob- -:
59 percent of the newly bies, 16percent individual
ordained had done so. sports, 12 percent music!0 per-
The mean age of the newly cent reading and8t team
ordained responding to the stir- sports. Other hobbies mmtioned
vey was 34.8 years, indicating included musical instruments,
that a 30-year trend toward photograph); painting, travel,
older vocations has not yet campirgardhisto,and
ended, vious other interests,
