Scribd
Upload
16 views

Pope Uses Popularity To Chart New Direction: Spiritual

Pope Francis spent his first U.S. visit bridging issues between the disadvantaged and elite. He reframed issues within the Catholic Church and hoped to reduce polarization in the U.S. He urged American Catholic leaders to create a warm, inclusive church avoiding "harsh and divisive" language. The Pope wove together rarely linked issues like religious freedom and climate change. He sought mercy for refugees while upholding the duty to defend all human life. Overall, the visit amounted to a dramatic reframing of issues and a hope for less polarization.

Uploaded by

Price Lang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
16 views

Pope Uses Popularity To Chart New Direction: Spiritual

Pope Francis spent his first U.S. visit bridging issues between the disadvantaged and elite. He reframed issues within the Catholic Church and hoped to reduce polarization in the U.S. He urged American Catholic leaders to create a warm, inclusive church avoiding "harsh and divisive" language. The Pope wove together rarely linked issues like religious freedom and climate change. He sought mercy for refugees while upholding the duty to defend all human life. Overall, the visit amounted to a dramatic reframing of issues and a hope for less polarization.

Uploaded by

Price Lang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

SPIRITUALLIFE

I II III IV V VI

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015


NEWSOK.COM | OKLAHOMAN.COM

BOOKS

Retelling Eves story


William Paul Young, author of The Shack, discusses his new fiction book
Eve and its retelling of the Garden of Eden story in Genesis.
PAGE 2D
COMMUNITY

Pope uses popularity


to chart new direction
BY RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press

In Congress and at a parish school, at the


United Nations and a city jail, Pope Francis
spent a whirlwind U.S. visit bridging the realms
of the disadvantaged and elite, trying to turn
the attention of the mightiest nation on earth
away from ideological battles and toward a
world he said desperately needs help.
From the start of his first U.S. appearance,
he wove together issues that are rarely linked in
American public life.
At the White House with President Barack
Obama, he upheld religious freedom while
seeking urgent action to ease climate change.

Addressing Congress, he sought mercy for refugees, while proclaiming a duty to defend human
life at every stage of its development, a challenge
to abortion rights. Standing on altars before the
nations Catholic bishops, he acknowledged the
difficulties of ministering amid unprecedented
changes taking place in contemporary society, a
recognition of gay marriage.
But he urged American Catholic leaders to
create a church with the warmth of a family
fire, avoiding harsh and divisive language
and a narrow vision of Catholicism that he
called a perversion of faith.
The statements amounted to a dramatic
reframing of issues within the church and a
hope for less polarization overall in the United

ARTIST WILL
GIVE SHOW

An unidentified child reaches out to touch


Pope Francis face during a parade on his way
to celebrate Mass Sunday on the Benjamin
Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. [AP PHOTO/PABLO
MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS]

States.
Recalibration and reorientation are good
words to describe it, said John Green, a specialist in religion at the Bliss Institute of Applied
Politics at the University of Akron in Ohio.
SEE POPE, PAGE 3D

NORMAN Debby
Kaspari will be at The
Depot Gallery, 200 S
Jones Ave., from 2 to
4 p.m. Sunday to give
a painting demonstration in conjunction with her News
from the Woods
exhibit. Refreshments will be served.
She also will be at
The Depot from 6 to
9 p.m. Friday as part
of the Second Friday
Circuit of Art event.
During that event,
Bob French and John
Arnold, joined by
Kaspari on banjo, will
perform in concert
from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
The News From
the Woods exhibit
will continue at the
gallery through Oct.
30. Regular hours are
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To learn more, go to
normandepot.org or
call 307-9320.

COLLECTORS
GROUP SETS
MEETING
The Oklahoma
Paperweight Collectors Association will
meet from 1 to 4 p.m.
Oct. 17 at the Midtown Hilton Garden
Inn, 2809 Northwest
Expressway. Guest
speakers will include
glass appraiser Alan
Kaplan, of New York
City, who will speak
about his experiences on Antiques
Roadshow, and
glass artist Cathy
Richardson, sharing
her journey into the
field of lampwork
paperweights and
sculptures. To learn
more, contact Janet
Cook at 202-5814 or
[email protected].

VENDORS ARE
SOUGHT FOR
BAZAAR

BY CARLA HINTON

Religion Editor
[email protected]

TWO-TIME BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS BOOK AND


NONPROFIT SHARE HER JOURNEY FROM GRIEF TO GRACE
Sarah McLean felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit while on a
beach vacation the summer of 2013.
It was time to tell her story of triumph over disease; time to
share about her true-life transformation from grief to grace.
It was time to reach out to other women battling breast cancer; time to take them back to the days and months after she was
diagnosed with the disease at age 26; time to tell them about the
cancers return in 2011 and her second effort to beat it.
Most importantly, it was time to help them heal the hidden
scars of breast cancer, the wounds that McLean feels only the
Lord can mend completely.
McLean, 38, said her new book, Pink Is the New Black (Project 31 Press, paperback) is her answer to that prompting from the
Lord two years ago.
The book, subtitled Healing the Hidden Scars of Breast Cancer: A Journey From Grief to Grace, comes in time for October as
Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
McLean, who lives in Edmond with her husband, Steve, and
their children Colin, 10, and Tatum, 9, said chronicling her journey in the book made her feel vulnerable, but something just
clicked, and I knew it was time.
Its definitely been a labor of love. I had to relive it all in order
for it to be authentic, she said about writing the book.
In the end, its been redeeming and restoring and amazing to
watch God heal those deep wounds that I didnt even know were
there.
Reaching out
McLean said shes come a long way since she was diagnosed
with cancer in 2003. She said there wasnt much awareness then
about the chances of women younger than 40 getting the disease.
I have learned this along the way: You have to be your own
advocate, she said.
SEE PINK, PAGE 3D

SHAWNEE Wesley United Methodist


Women are seeking
vendors for their
fall bazaar, set for 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov.
6-7 at the church,
302 E Independence
St. Booth rent for
both days is $35 for
new vendors and
$30 for returning
vendors. One-day
booth rental is $17
for new vendors and
$15 for returning
vendors. Crafters and
commercial vendors
are welcome, but
no garage saletype items. Wesley
members will offer
baked goods and a
stew and cornbread
lunch Nov. 6. For an
application, contact
Marjean Johnson at
275-4961 or wesley
[email protected].

MENTAL
ILLNESS
AWARENESS
WEEK MARKED
EDMOND Mental
Illness Awareness
Week in Edmond
included a proclamation by Mayor
Charles Lamb: Every
citizen and community can make a
difference in helping
to end the silence
and the stigma that
has for too long
surrounded mental
illnesses. Downtown
business ownersshowedsupport
by decorating their
front doors with the
green ribbon that
symbolizes mental
health.
FROM STAFF REPORTS

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

BILLY GRAHAM
DEAR DR. GRAHAM: I
know the end of the year is
still several months away,
but Im already dreading it
because every December
we get a flood of mail from
organizations asking for
money. We want to be generous, but we cant support
all of them. How should we
decide?
H.L.
DEAR H.L.: Im thankful you
want your gifts to be used
wisely and I can assure
you that God wants them to
be used wisely also. After all,
Gods work requires finances;
even Jesus little band of
disciples was supported by
the gifts of others (see Luke
8:1-3).
How can you decide where
to give? Let me make three
suggestions. First, ask God
to guide you. Everything we
have came from Him, and He
wants to help us use it for
His glory. If you arent familiar
with an organization, seek
advice about it from others
(such as your pastor or church
treasurer). Study an organizations literature also, including
its financial reports.
Then prayerfully set some
priorities that is, decide in
general terms how you want
your money to be used. You
may have a special interest
in ministries that serve your
community, for example
but dont overlook the needs
of those who work in other
parts of the world. Dont
forget your churchs needs
at years end also. You cant
do everything, nor does God
expect you to. Trust Him to
raise up others to support
groups you cant.
Finally, as you give during
the coming months, dont forget the greatest gift of all
the gift of Gods Son for our
salvation. Commit your life
to Him, and let Him be your
example. For you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet
for your sake he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich
(2 Corinthians 8:9).
Send your queries to My Answer, c/o
Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway,
Charlotte, NC 28201; call (877)
2-GRAHAM, or visit the website for the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:
www.billygraham.org.
TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY

SPIRITUAL LIFE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015

3D

Pope: U.S. visit included spontaneous moments


FROM PAGE 1D

The pope is very adept politically. Even


people who ended up disagreeing with him on
certain points find him a very attractive and
persuasive man.
Tens of thousands of cheering, flag-waving
people lined the streets in Washington, New
York and Philadelphia to greet Francis, some
waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of the
wildly popular pope.
On a highly scripted, six-day visit that
ended Sunday, and despite unprecedented
security, Francis managed to inject spontaneity kissing babies, adding a last-minute
event to honor Catholic-Jewish relations and
going off text in Philadelphia for a heartfelt
meditation on family life.
The atmosphere was electric, said Auxiliary Bishop John OHara, of New York, after
Francis celebrated Mass for 18,000 people at
Madison Square Garden.
Amid the official ceremonies and the
crowds, he made the deeply personal gestures
of compassion that have become emblematic
of his papacy. He bowed in prayer over a disabled child as the sobbing father looked on
in New York. He gave a bear hug to an inmate
during a visit to a Philadelphia jail.
The Argentine pope on his first visit to the

Go Code

YQNU

For Carla Hintons


blog, go to
oklahoman.com and
enter this Go Code.

United States introduced himself as a fellow American and quoted from the countrys
founding documents. He answered critics
who said he was overly focused on the poor
to the exclusion of the middle class, and
wrong on economics, given his critique of the
excesses of capitalism. In Congress, he praised
the thousands of men and women who strive
each day to do an honest days work and
noted how much has been done in these first
years of the third millennium to raise people
out of extreme poverty.

Call to do better
But on every occasion he transformed these
compliments into a call for the church and the
country to do better.
His moral challenge could be seen in the
complex heroes he held up in his speech to
Congress: Abraham Lincoln; the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who condemned war and advocated interfaith cooperation; and Dorothy
Day, founder of the pacifist Catholic Worker

Movement that helped and advocated for the


homeless.
The history of this nation, Francis said
at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, is the
tale of a constant effort, lasting to our own
day, to embody those lofty principles in social
and political life.
As a Spanish-speaking son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, Francis gave the growing
Latino Catholic community a moment like
no other, putting them at the heart of the U.S
church. He canonized the Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra of Spain, who brought
Catholicism to the West Coast; spoke about
immigrants in nearly every public appearance;
and told Latinos do not be ashamed of what
is part of you.
Its unclear what lasting changes will come
from the popes trip. He broke a barrier in the
U.S.: He became the first pope to address Congress, an appearance that provided a robust
endorsement for the role of faith in public life
at a time when about a quarter of Americans
say they have no particular faith. Within the
church, the impact of papal visits can only be
measured after years or decades. Pope John
Paul II, over his more than two-decade pontificate, visited the U.S. seven times, inspiring a
generation of American clergy who call themselves John Paul II priests.

Pink: Breathe life into those places of despair


FROM PAGE 1D

And, then, you trust in God,


she added.
After battling breast cancer
the first time, McLean wanted to
reach out to other women going
through a similar experience.
She and Jane Wilson, also a
breast cancer survivor, created
the faith-based nonprofit organization Project 31, drawing from
Proverbs 31:30.
The organization offers a support group at Integris Baptist
Cancer Institute for women and
their spouses. It plans to offer
another support group at Lakeside Womens Hospital beginning
Oct. 10. Another Project 31 support group will begin meeting in
Yukon in November, she said.
In addition to the support
groups, Project 31 helps pay for
counseling for women with breast
cancer and their families. Also, the
organization is training breast cancer survivors to become mentors to
other women battling the disease.
McLean, who said she is now
cancer-free, said she feels the

GOING ON
PAINT THE TOWN PINK GALA FUNDRAISER
When: 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 23.
Where: Bricktown Chevy Events Center, 429 E California.
Cost: $100 per person.
Information: www.project31.us.

TO LEARN MORE
For more information about Sarah McLeans Project 31, go to
www.project31.us.

Lord has led her to this outreach.


I feel like part of what Hes
called me to do is to breathe life into
those places of despair, she said.
I think God is using me to
speak life and to speak of His
goodness and mercy.
McLean said breast cancer attacks a womans body
aspects of her femininity, such as
her hair, the ways she expresses
intimacy and, often, her ability to
have children.
She said her nonprofits name
is inspired by a verse in Proverbs
31 that talks about how outward

beauty is fleeting. The cancer survivor said she encourages women


to focus on their inner beauty and
all the places in their soul that the
disease cant touch.
I wanted us to focus on
whats inside that beauty, focus
on being a daughter of the King,
she said, referring to Jesus sovereign role. He can still bring them
out of the miry clay.

About the title


McLean said her books title,
Pink Is the New Black, comes
from the idea that pink, because

Author Sarah McLean poses in


her Edmond home with her new
book, Pink Is the New Black.
[PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN]

its associated with breast cancer,


became the color for mourning
and grief for some women and
their families. But, like the contrasting colors, she said her book
is about going from grief to grace,
finding a new normal and a new
peace.

You might also like