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| ENDOW participants listen to Helen Alvaré’s keynote address in Washington, D.C.
Carlos Molina | Today’s Catholic |
By Gloria ZapiAIN
For Today’s Catholic
The nation’s capital is at its best in the month of April, when the air is scented with hyacinth and lavender, and the massive plantings of tulips, azaleas and flowering cherry trees soften the chiseled edges of the towering marble monuments.
On April 24, a visiting group of ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Woman) members and their daughters from all over the country stood just inside one of those imposing structures, the Supreme Court Building on First Street, right across from the Capitol rotunda.
The group was ushered into a formal chandeliered parlor with a podium emblazoned with the Great Seal of the United States — and within a few minutes, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. appeared. We were honored to have about 30 minutes with Justice Alito, who explained the workings of the court and graciously answered the questions of the young women present.
Along with insights into Justice Alito’s major judicial influences early in his career as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, the group learned that during closed-door sessions when the nine Supreme Court justices meet alone to discuss pending cases, long-standing tradition holds that the most junior member makes coffee — a position currently held by Justice Alito.
In the evening, ENDOW participants were invited to join the studio audience of EWTN’s live broadcast of The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, filmed every week at the John Paul II Cultural Center. Among other things, it featured a spirited exchange with Father Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, on a variety of current topics including Catholic identity and Catholic universities, the morality of enhanced interrogation methods, and health care ethics. After the show, Raymond spent a good hour signing books and speaking with members of the audience.
This was only the prelude to ENDOW’s first event in Washington, D.C., “A New Springtime for Women,” a unique event co-sponsored by the Papal Foundation, ENDOW and the John Paul II Cultural Center. The main event took place April 25 in the beautiful and distinctive setting of the John Paul II Cultural Center — a combination museum; repository for personal memorabilia, photos and other artifacts associated with John Paul II; and a place of scholarly research, especially with a focus on inter-religious dialogue, so dear to the heart of John Paul II. It was in the rotunda of this building that Pope Benedict XVI met with interfaith leaders last year during his apostolic visit to the United States last spring.
Nearly 100 women of all ages, both consecrated and lay, from 17 states attended this exceptional event to celebrate the gift of their womanhood and grow in their understanding of Pope John Paul II insights into the inherent dignity of women. after warm words of welcome from Dr. Hugh Dempsey, deputy director of the Cultural Center, the day began with a bioethics panel of three distinguished speakers: Marilyn Coors, Ph.D., associate professor at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado, Denver; Patrick Lee, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and Father Kevin Fitzgerald, SJ, who holds the endowed chair for Catholic Health Care Ethics at Georgetown University Hospital and has double Ph.D’s in molecular genetics and ethics.
In spite of the stunning academic credentials of the panelists, a wonderful discussion fully accessible to the ENDOW participants on genetic research and testing, the ethics of human cloning and the open question of human embryo adoption followed their presentations. Afterwards, Mass for the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist was celebrated by Father Joseph Fox, OP, a Dominican Friar who emphasized the motherly relationship of Our Blessed Mother with the apostles and her role as the exemplar of the feminine genius.
Helen Alvaré, a consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, gave the powerful keynote address on Pope John Paul II’s and Pope Benedict XVI’s engagement of women’s issues in the 21st century. Her personal experiences and anecdotes during these two pontificates while she served as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as director of Pro-life Activities, then as a law professor at two universities, all while a busy wife and mother, made for a most intimate and insightful presentation. A thunderous standing ovation from all present followed her remarks.
In the later afternoon, participants could choose one of three presentations on some of the ENDOW studies currently available: Letter to Women (for those just learning about the mission of ENDOW and its methodology), Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer) and Discover Your Dignity: A Woman’s Journey through Life. Concurrently during the day, a special track just for teen girls based on the ENDOW youth study, True Beauty Revealed, was presented by the dynamic duo of Kate and Brigid Sweeney — sisters, ENDOW authors and collaborators.
What a day! The spirit and presence of Pope John Paul II was with us in a special way at the cultural center as the ENDOW participants rejoiced in the esthetic, spiritual and intellectual nourishment lavished on us during this new springtime event. And before leaving, happy and tired, I was able to do what I had wanted to all day — put my hand into the deep bronze impression of the hand of Pope John Paul II (yes, that’s what it’s there for) at the beginning of one of the galleries. Thank you, Holy Father; and thank you ENDOW for this East-coast spa day for the soul.
ENDOW IN San Antonio
ENDOW studies and facilitator training for both adult and youth programs are available in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The next facilitator training for adult programs will take place on June 13 at Assumption Seminary. Facilitator training for youth programs is slated Nov. 14.
For information or to register, contact the Office of Adult Formation at (210) 734-1960 or go to www.archdiosa.org and click on the tab marked ENDOW for a downloadable registration form.
For more information on current ENDOW study groups in San Antonio, visit www.endowonline.org
Gloria Zapiain is director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of San Antonio.