Category: Hagiography

Coffee in Worcester: WCCA TV13

DSCN1782The cover story of this week’s InCity Times is a hagiography of WCCA’s Mauro DePasquale, a guy who deserves all the praise he can get. I’m a WCCA volunteer, and Bruce is an intern, so this week’s review is of the WCCA office coffee.

Pie and Coffee: Did you take a look at the article? What did you think?

Bruce: Definitely him. One small problem—I’m not in any of the photos.

P: Maybe we should put a photo of you at WCCA in this article.

I love the introduction (written by Rosalie Tirella):

We’ll say it loud and we’ll say it proud: We love WCCA TV 13 and its Executive Director Mauro DePasquale! From the political shows to the kids news programs, from the exotic and highly capable Zara Dedi at the front desk to no-nonsense community leader turned TV producer Judy Langlois. From the esoteric to the mundane. From the political to the spiritual, TV-13 rocks! Located in the heart of downtown at 415 Main St., in an old bank practically a stone’s throw from City Hall—

[Patrick, a member of the WCCA youth program, walks into the room, takes the paper, looks at the photos, and comments—]

Patrick: Everyone’s there except me.

P: Patrick, why is everyone concerned about their photo being in here?

WCCA practices its own brand of politics: a refreshingly inclusive and progressive kind we’d like to see more of in ‘ol City Hall.

WCCA’s community producers and guests are black, white and brown. They’re old, young and middle-aged. They’re political insiders like City Manager Mike O’Brien; they’re political ousiders (like me!). They’re conservative and liberal; religious and questioning. To tune in to TV 13 is to feast at some funky urban banquet. DePasquale likes to call his station “the electronic park.”

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Continuing our struggle, and remembering El Salvador’s

Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Óscar Romero, which happens to coincide with antiwar demonstrations across the country.

In honor of the former, here’s a prayer from Bob Waldrop.

As regards the latter, here’s a report from Bruce and I at the huge peace march in downtown Worcester, which drew as many as 250 people.


Click To Play

Much more coverage at Indymedia

Nina Polcyn Moore, 1914–2007

“There’s a saying that Theresa had this ‘T’ written in heaven. Well, I saw this ‘CW’ written in heaven!” (Nina Polcyn Moore, 1986)

Nina Polcyn Moore, one of the last of the Catholic Worker pioneers, has gone to her God. She died on Saturday, February 10, surrounded by family, former Catholic Worker Barbara Blaine (Chicago St. Elizabeth’s), and Dr. Peter Mayock. Fr. Bob Pawell had prayed with her in the afternoon, and she died peacefully and sublimely ready to join our great cloud of witnesses. On my last visit with her, she told me that her current mantra was “Wrap it up!” That’s just one of many samples of her unfailing good humor even as her body went the way of all bodies.
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R.I.P., Rep. Robert F. Drinan, S.J. (D-Mass.)

You can learn a lot reading the news obituaries in the paper. This morning, I found out about Robert F. Drinan, a Jesuit who became the first Catholic priest elected to Congress. The prospect of a priest in office is an interesting one, but apparently the Vatican didn’t think it was such a good idea and asked him (and other priests) to step down by 1980. It sounds like he was a strong voice against war, but the paper notes cryptically that he was a “moderate” on abortion. Of course, a great number of Protestant ministers hold elected office in the U.S., but as a priest is supposed to take orders from the Vatican, that could create personal or church/state conflicts. Do any of you in Massachusetts know more about Father Drinan?

I’ll trade you a JFK for an MLK

From tonight’s city council agenda:

8i. Councilor Paul P. Clancy, Jr. and Mayor Timothy P. Murray request that Central St. to Main St. be renamed MLK, Jr. Boulevard, and, that Front St. from Main St. to Washington Sq. be renamed JFK Boulevard.

Also:

9.17
PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS
Police Department

A. Informational Communication Relative to the Number of Ambulance, Fire First Responder, and/or Police calls to 72-80 Cambridge Street for 2004, 2005, 2006 Related to Drug Overdoses, Weapons, and/or Physical Violence.

I’m told this is a Salvation Army building. Happy holidays.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for submitting these.

Four new saints!

Pope Benedict canonized four new saints today: a French nun on the Indiana frontier who founded St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, a Mexican bishop who risked his life to help the wounded during the Mexican Revolution, an Italian priest who pioneered education for the deaf and founded an order of nuns, and an Italian woman who founded an order of nuns and schools for girls.

“Basil Pennington” response

A reader letter:

Mike,

While searching Father Basil Pennington I encountered an old posting you may have made on Pie and Coffee. The posting indicated you “stopped by the monastery last week to pick up a donation of food for some shelters and soup kitchens in Worcester, and they also gave me several boxes with Fr Pennington’s clothes. It was like being handed a crate of holy relics.”

Father Pennington is meaningful in my life. He influenced me with his teaching on Centering Prayer, his writings, and a personal chance meeting in the book store while on retreat at Saint Joseph’s Abbey many years ago. Feeling like a kid approaching a great athlete I asked him to autograph his book Centering Prayer.

Your feeling of holding a crate of holy relics is very understandable.

Memories of Joseph Zarrella

Joe Zarrella, Catholic Worker pioneer, has gone home to God. Deo Gratias, as Dorothy Day would say. I first met Joe when I interviewed him for Voices from the Catholic Worker. The penetrating questions he asked me after the interview helped to seal my fate as a Catholic Worker. We became friends and I will never, ever forget him.
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