Bishop Peter Jugis recently signed the updated Protocols for Ministry With All Minors. The original protocol became diocesan law in 2004. Youth Ministry Director Paul Kotlowski and Providence Sister Betty Paul, in cooperation with pastors in the diocese, helped update the guidelines which were promulgated by Bishop Jugis.
— Sueann Howell | Catholic News Herald
Diocese revises policy to protect minors
CHARLOTTE — Changes are being made to the Diocese of Charlotte's policy governing the protection of children and young people.
The changes to "Protocols for Ministry with and to Minors," which will go into effect Sept. 1, create a more closely-aligned child protection policy for all youth-related ministries across the diocese, including its 92 parishes, 19 Catholic schools, faith formation programs, agencies and groups, events and more.
The updated policy applies to all ministries to all minors, from birth through high school.
Among its updates, it changes the adult chaperone-to-youth ratio from 1:8 to 1:10 with "two deep" leadership, includes consideration of certain possible pastoral situations such as unwed pregnancy, and correlates more closely with relevant civil laws.
It is the first update in nearly six years to the policy, which was first issued in 2004 by Bishop Peter Jugis.
"The hallmark features of this current revision include the expansion to include all minors, intentional and systematic collaboration with the diocesan Hispanic Ministry vicariate, and inclusion of pertinent existing diocesan Catholic schools' policies," said Paul Kotlowski, diocesan director of youth ministry, who led the update work in collaboration with others.
The diocese has had child protection policies in place for more than 20 years.
Its 1994 "Policy of the Diocese of Charlotte Concerning Ministry-Related Sexual Misconduct by Church Personnel" established an independent review board to investigate claims of abuse.
Less than six months after being installed as bishop, during an Ash Wednesday 2004 homily, Bishop Jugis apologized for the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Church that had victimized so many children, including those hurt by priests in the Charlotte diocese. The following week he announced a set of protocols for youth ministry based on the misconduct policy the diocese had relied upon since 1994 but which would mirror the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."
This "Protocols for Ministry with and to Minors" has been diocesan law since 2004.
The diocese has instituted a five-year review schedule since then, so that diocesan leaders can remain vigilant in working to ensure the safety of children entrusted into the Church's care, Kotlowski noted.
The current revision process was spearheaded by Kotlowski and Providence Sister Betty Paul, and is the result of extensive consultations with pastors and parish catechetical leaders over the past year and a half.
"It was a great experience to work with Paul on the update and to do our best to coordinate and integrate the protocols to include some of the policies in the Catholic schools and to do an integrated approach with the Hispanic community," said Sister Betty, who serves as diocese's northern region coordinator in the Faith Formation office.
"What was significant for me is that when we speak about young people in our Church, we're not just speaking about those persons involved in youth ministry programs, faith formation programs, in the Catholic schools, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Hispanic Ministry youth programs. It's the goal of integrating our whole Church and our involvement in the Church," she said.
"It's about expressing to those young people and their adults the importance of their safety and our responsibility for their safety, regardless if we are responsible for them in a particular venue or program...so that the responsibility is for all of us within the Catholic community."
"Each parish setting, school setting is different," she noted, adding, "Our goal is that the protocols will assist the parish leaders and school leaders in each of these settings, that they will help them to have a positive influence on their ministry."
The new policy is being distributed to all priests, deacons and parish leaders, as well as published on the diocese's website at www.charlottediocese.org.
Church staff, ministry leaders, volunteers and others will have the chance to learn about the updated policy during a Sept. 17 Education Vicariate training session at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. Parishes and others can schedule their own training on the new policy by contacting the Faith Formation, Youth Ministry or Hispanic Ministry offices.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
For more
At www.education.charlottediocese.com: Read the revised "Protocols for Ministry with and to Minors" that applies to all youth ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte
Update: Training for those interested in volunteering at the Charlotte Center for Women will be held Aug. 22 and 29 from 10 a.m. to noon. For more details, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
CHARLOTTE — Ever since Brice Griffin came out of a post-abortion Rachel's Vineyard retreat to help her heal from her own abortion, she has wanted to help others avoid making the same deadly mistake.
Griffin, a parishioner at St. Patrick Cathedral and ardent pro-life advocate, is taking her "jump in with both feet" attitude and working toward opening a women's health center on Latrobe Drive in Charlotte, close to the largest and busiest abortion mill in North Carolina. She wants to divert women from A Preferred Woman's Health Center, instead offering them a better way forward than abortion.
Standing on the sidewalk near the Latrobe abortion facility, praying for and counseling abortion-minded women, Griffin has seen license plates from South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and more. From Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014, this abortion mill alone performed 5,610 abortions – more than half the total in Charlotte over that time. Two women had to be taken to the emergency room following abortions at the Latrobe mill, which has the worst record of health code violations in North Carolina. And unlike other abortion facilities in the state, the Latrobe mill does not provide any health care services to women: the private, for-profit business focuses exclusively on chemical and surgical abortions.
Pictured: Stanton Healthcare/Charlotte Center for Women's team is pictured with the speakers from the fundraiser at St. Patrick Cathedral April 23. Pictured are (from left) Dr. Matt Harrison, Ryan Bomberger, Jewels Green, Patrick Mahoney, Brice Griffin and Mike Griffin. (Photo provided by Brice Griffin)
"Charlotte is an abortion destination. My ultimate goal with this new women's center is to completely replace our abortion business in Charlotte," said Griffin. "I want to reach out to these people and tell them that abortion isn't the only answer. I want to give them real options without compromising the life of the child or safety of the mother. I want to make it so we don't even need abortion as a choice for women."
What started as a vision for Griffin is getting closer to reality after partnering with Stanton Healthcare. Inspired by the example of human rights activist and feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, it was started in 2006 in Boise, Idaho, by Brandi Swindell. The clinic's free pregnancy services in Idaho became so successful that the nearby Planned Parenthood moved its location away from the Stanton Healthcare center, Griffin said.
"That's what we want to do here. I wanted this in Charlotte, near our abortion clinics. I thought it would be awesome to have that, especially with the abortion pill (RU-486) reversal process gaining momentum. When women walk out of the abortion clinic in tears, regretting what they've done, we'll be there to help them."
After a fundraiser for Stanton Healthcare/Charlotte Center for Women at St. Patrick Cathedral last month drew about 100 people and raised more than $12,000, Griffin said they have enough money to sign the lease on an office space in a retail park near the Latrobe abortion mill. The fundraiser included a large turnout from pro-life advocates not just from the Catholic community, but Protestant congregations in Charlotte as well.
Griffin said the next step toward making Stanton Charlotte a reality is training volunteers to be counselors. Dr. Matthew Harrison, thought to be the first doctor to have reversed a chemical abortion, will be the facility's medical director.
"I think there's a real need for free prenatal care in the Charlotte area," Harrison said. "Stanton Charlotte will give resources and services to the women going to the abortion clinic because they don't have anywhere else to go. We want to have the same types of resources as a crisis pregnancy center, prenatal care and job training to help moms be able to support themselves and their families."
Harrison, who works as an inpatient resident at Rowan Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, used to run his own clinic where he offered free prenatal care for abortion-vulnerable women.
"I've been looking for outpatient places to offer these services again, and Stanton Charlotte is a great opportunity," he said. "We want to place the center close to the busiest abortion clinic in town – to have a visible presence right there close to where the people are who need our help the most."
The hours and services for the new Charlotte Center for Women will depend on volunteers, Griffin said. They will start with counseling, free pregnancy tests and being able to offer the RU-486 abortion pill reversal kit, but Griffin said she hopes the center can quickly expand to include ultrasounds, job training and other services.
Griffin said she hopes to have the center open soon and at least operate during the same hours as the nearby Latrobe abortion mill, but she doesn't expect this center to take the place of the persistent sidewalk counseling ministry already in place outside Latrobe.
"I'd like to see the new center open today. It's going to depend on manpower and God's will," she said. "I've spent so much time in prayer for momentum and support on this project. Now we have that momentum and I saw all the support at the fundraiser. I see my prayers answered. I'm ready and chomping at the bit to get started."
Stanton has affiliates in southern California, Ireland, and is working on expanding in Detroit, Alabama and Ghana. The goal is to make Stanton Healthcare as recognizable as Planned Parenthood, Griffin said. Stanton's vision is to replace abortion businesses around the world because they believe that women and their families are entitled to quality, coercion-free care and compassionate alternatives to abortion.
Griffin, who has been active in the local and national pro-life movement, had an abortion in 1998. She has shared her testimony at the March for Life Charlotte and her teenage daughter, Zoe Griffin, shared her experience at this year's March for Life about learning that she had lost an older brother.
"There was no Stanton Healthcare next door, no sidewalk counselors when I walked out from having my abortion," Griffin said. "I suffered for many years with depression and suicidal thoughts."
She said she suffered in silence for nearly a decade until she listened to a homily by Father Larry Richards about confession, in which he urged those who have had an abortion to confess it, because "your child is praying for you in heaven."
"I ran to (my priest) and confessed my abortion and he directed me to Rachel's Vineyard," Griffin said.
"I had no idea so many suffered like I did. Once I realized how many people were out there hurting, I wanted to help. I just jumped in full speed and I haven't been able to slow down."
— Kimberly Bender, cnline reporter
More online
At www.thestantonproject.org/charlotte and www.charlottecenterforwomen.com: Learn more about the project, how you can help as a volunteer or donate
CHARLOTTE — Several hundred people came to protest outside the four Planned Parenthood facilities located in western North Carolina Aug. 22 – part of a nationwide "Protest Planned Parenthood" rally calling for an end to support for the nation's largest abortion provider.
Anti-abortion protesters prayed, gave speeches and held signs Saturday outside Raleigh-based Planned Parenthood South Atlantic's branches in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Nationwide, more than 300 protests were scheduled that day.
Planned Parenthood has come under fire recently with the release of undercover videos showing their officials describing the harvesting and sale at their clinics of body parts from aborted babies – some purportedly born alive. Seven videos released so far by the California-based Center for Medical Progress have provoked scrutiny from state and federal leaders, and five states to date have moved to withdraw Medicaid funding from their local Planned Parenthood branches.
South Carolina has announced an investigation of its Planned Parenthood locations, but North Carolina has not.
Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions in 2013 – one-third of all abortions in the U.S. that year – according to its latest annual report. At Planned Parenthood South Atlantic's nine North Carolina locations, six including Charlotte do abortion referrals and three – Asheville, Wilmington and Winston-Salem – perform abortions. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic bills itself as "one of the region's largest Planned Parenthood affiliates," with 15 locations spanning North and South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
In Asheville – Planned Parenthood's newest North Carolina location – more than 200 anti-abortion protestors and a handful of Planned Parenthood supporters staged opposing rallies along McDowell Street on Saturday. More than two dozen anti-abortion protestors also held a "Honk for Life" rally on Friday.
"The event was peaceful, but not necessarily quiet," said Meredith Hunt, one of the organizers. Hunt and others have kept up a steady prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood facility since it was first under construction last year. The location opened in January, and in April it began performing abortions.
In Greensboro, organizers counted more than 185 people at their rally outside Planned Parenthood's Battleground Avenue location on Saturday.
"The protest went well, and I was amazed at the turnout," said one of the organizers, Robert Bauer, in an email afterwards. "This from less than a week's notice. Many only heard about it in the last two days. Praise God!"
About 300 people came out to the Winston-Salem rally, organizers reported.
The largest turnout of all of Saturday's rallies was at Planned Parenthood's Charlotte Health Center, where Cities4Life organizers said they counted more than 1,000 protestors. Following the two-hour protest, approximately 100 people went to pray and protest outside Charlotte's busiest abortion mill, A Preferred Women's Health Center on Latrobe Drive.
Protestors called for people to sign petitions to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and to spur investigations of its fetal tissue harvesting practices. They also encouraged more participation in regular prayer vigils held nearly every day outside the abortion facilities in each city, and for more support of crisis pregnancy services to help abortion-minded women be able to choose life.
The Aug. 22 protests were coordinated nationally by the Columbus, Ohio-based group "Created Equal," as well as the Pro-Life Action League, Citizens for a Pro-life Society and 40 Days for Life.
A week earlier, an estimated 400 people also packed the sidewalk along Albemarle Road in front of Planned Parenthood's Charlotte location. That rally was organized by a new network of pro-life groups in the Charlotte area – the Catholic Pro-Life Action Network of Charlotte.
— Catholic News Herald. Photos provided.
MOUNT AIRY — Sunday Mass was celebrated on the lawn outside Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy Aug. 23 after a suspected arson damaged the parish's worship space.
Mount Airy fire and police are investigating a suspicious fire that damaged the entrance of the parish's Duncan Center, located at 1208 N. Main St., in the early morning hours of Aug. 22. No injuries were reported.
"The evidence points to an intentionally set fire at the front doors of the fellowship hall," said Mount Airy Fire Chief Zane Poindexter.
The fire was set around 3 a.m. at the entrance to the parish hall, which is now used for most Masses. The blaze damaged the overhang and ruined the doors. Gasoline was poured on the front doors and set on fire, said Father Lawrence Heiney, pastor of Holy Angels Church.
"At 10 (minutes) to 4 a.m., I was awoken to the sound of fire trucks," Father Heiney told the Catholic News Herald. "It wasn't particularly startling because I live next to the fire department, but they didn't seem to be going far. By the time I got outside, the flames were out."
The entrance way, door and exterior canopy sustained most of the damage. The sanctuary area was not burned, but it did suffer smoke damage, Father Heiney said. The fire wall between the entrance and the main hall more than likely spared the rest of the building, he added.
The fire caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, Poindexter said.
No damage was reported to the smaller, nearly 100-year-old church located next to the Duncan Center.
The fire was certainly "inconvenient," Father Heiney said, but "it's not majorly traumatic – though it certainly disrupts our routine."
Masses could continue to be held outside or be moved to a neighboring church which has offered Holy Angels' parishioners use of their space while repairs are made, Father Heiney said.
"We can't use the building for services or activities until the smoke is removed and the door replaced," Father Heiney said.
Nothing else needs to be replaced, he said.
Diocese of Charlotte properties officials said the parish's insurer, Catholic Mutual Group, has been notified of the fire and is arranging for a restoration company to clean up the smoke damage.
Mount Airy Police and Fire departments, the State Bureau of Investigation and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms continue to investigate.
"I have no idea who would do this or why," Father Heiney said. "It could be a random person wanting to cause damage. We can't rule anything out."
Parishioners reacted "as expected" and some felt personally assaulted by the event because it's their place of worship, he said.
Holy Angels, one of the northernmost parishes in the diocese, is comprised of about 200 registered families.
— Kimberly Bender, Catholic News Herald. Damage photos provided by Mary Gilreath via Facebook. View more pictures on Holy Angels Facebook Page.
No damage was caused to the nearly 100 year old church.
'The Church accepts your resolve with joy'
CHARLOTTE — Fifteen men have been formally accepted into the Diocese of Charlotte's permanent diaconate formation program.
During a July 31 Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis, the men were received during the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders. Also during the Mass, more than 50 of the diocese's current permanent deacons professed their recommitment to their ministry. The deacons' wives were also present and also recommitted to assisting their husbands in the work of the Church.
Addressing the candidates during his homily, Bishop Jugis explained to them that the Rite of Candidacy is a rite which one formally becomes a candidate for the sacrament of holy orders.
"The one who aspires to the permanent diaconate first publicly manifests his will to offer himself to God and to the Church for sacred ministry," Bishop Jugis said. "This public declaration our brothers will do shortly when they respond to the two questions I ask them, 'Do you resolve to complete your preparation?' and 'Do you resolve to prepare yourselves in mind and spirit to give faithful service?'
"And then after formally, publicly manifesting their will to enter into this period of preparation, the Church formally accepts them into the ranks of candidates, choosing them and calling them to prepare themselves to receive the sacrament of holy orders."
The rite is actually brief but quite an important step for holy orders, he said.
"It is a passage to a new status in the Church as a candidate now for holy orders – not a status of prestige, but a status of a different designation of who you are in the Church: no longer an aspirant but now becoming a candidate.
"Before ever arriving at this day, my brothers, much discernment has already taken place on your part and on the part of those who know you. You have been learning to trust Jesus as He leads you. And now as formal candidates for holy orders, a more intense formation for the permanent diaconate is about to begin.
"The Lord gives you special graces now as a candidate pursuing your vocation to the diaconate."
He told the men that the Gospel passage chosen for the Mass of Admission to Candidacy (Mark 1:14-20) teaches an important lesson about giving themselves to Jesus, essential for them as they proceed with their formation.
"Your situation may be likened to that of the four disciples in today's Gospel passage: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. They are pursuing their work as fishermen and then Jesus issues a call to them: 'Come after Me.'" They respond by following Him, crossing the threshold into a period of more intense formation for being sent out one day as His apostles.
"And so with you, in being accepted today into the ranks of candidates, you are crossing a threshold into a period of more intense formation and preparation for the sacrament of holy orders and being sent out one day as deacons."
Bishop Jugis reminded the 15 candidates that "Jesus has brought you this far along your path already and He wants you to give yourselves to Him as He leads you through the coming years of formation. Spend time with the Lord in prayer during these years of more intense formation."
He noted that the men are blessed to have the support of their wives who were with them and their families, the support of their friends and the support of the Church to help them on the path towards the diaconate.
"If it is God's will, one day you will be at the priest's side assisting him as he offers the Sacrifice of the Mass," he promised.
Each of the candidates was then called forward by Deacon Scott Gilfillan, director of formation for the permanent diaconate, and stood at the base of the sanctuary steps in front of the bishop.
"Beloved sons, the pastors and teachers in charge of your formation and others who know you have given a favorable account of you and we have full confidence in their testimony," he told them. "In response to the Lord's call, do you resolve to complete your preparation so that in due time through holy orders you will be prepared to assume ministry within the Church?"
"I do," they responded.
"Do you resolve to prepare yourselves in mind and spirit to give faithful service to Christ the Lord and His Body the Church?"
"I do."
"The Church accepts your resolve with joy. May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment."
After the Liturgy of the Eucharist, more than 50 permanent deacons from around the diocese stood in the pews to renew their commitment to their ministry.
"Your presence here, my dear brother deacons, this evening speaks of the vitality of the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Charlotte," Bishop Jugis told them. "The fact that you are here to renew your own commitment of service to the Lord and to the Church, and also that you are here besides that to support your brothers who become candidates this evening, does speak of your love for the sacred order which you have received and of the vitality of the ministry which you exercise."
He also observed, "These candidates must have seen something in you over the years that inspired them to listen more closely to a call from God to the permanent diaconate. They must have seen in your devotion and your love for Jesus and your love of the Church something which triggered an inspiration in their own heart and the Lord speaking to them through your ministry to call them also to come and follow Him in the service in the Church.
"You are acting as instruments of the Lord many times in unknowing ways – inspiring future generations of deacons to follow you, and not only them but also all the members of the family of the Church. We are so grateful for your devoted, sincere, loving ministry to Christ, and to the poor, the needy, the homeless, the sick and all the people of the Church.
"Thank you so much."
All of the permanent deacons then recommitted themselves to their ministry by answering Bishop Jugis' questions with a resounding "I do."
Their wives then also stood to renew their support for their husbands' ministry.
And of their ministry he also said to them, "May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Permanent deacon candidates:
Paul Bruck
St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte
Ralph D'Agostino Jr.
St. Leo the Great Church, Winston-Salem
David Faunce
Immaculate Conception Church, Forest City
Steffen Fohn
Holy Family Church, Clemmons
Frank Moyer
St. Barnabas Church, Arden
Timothy Mueller
St. Michael the Archangel Church, Gastonia
Matthew Newsome
St. Mary Mother of God Church, Sylva
Quang Nguyen
St. Joseph Vietnamese Church, Charlotte
David Ramsey III
St. Mary Mother of God Church, Sylva
Martin Sheehan Jr.
Our Lady of the Highways Church, Thomasville
Francis Skinner
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, High Point
Paul Sparrow
St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Charlotte
Peter Tonon
St. Ann Church, Charlotte
Donald Waugh Jr.
St. Bernadette Church, Linville
Jack Yarbrough
Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro