6 FROM PAGE ONE
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS APRIL 23, 2021
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BOUCHER
Funeral Home, Inc.
Complete Funeral Pre-Planning
Normand L. Boucher Andrew N. Boucher Jacob B. Cormier Directors
110 Nichols Street, Gardner, MA 01440 978-632-0203
A T H Y
111 LANCASTER STREET, WORCESTER 508-756-4689
CALLAHAN FAY & CASWELL
FUNERAL HOMES
Worcester and West Boylston
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KELLY FUNERAL HOME
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Henry-Dirsa Funeral Service Dirsa-Morin Funeral Home
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Worcester Funeral, Inc. Funeral & Cremation Service
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Richard S. Mansfield Director
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IRISH: Telling the story of legendary Irishman Daniel O'Connell
FROM PAGE ONE tion. In 1829, Mr. O'Connell defied the laws of the day and became the first Cath- olic to be elected to Parlia- ment in 300 years. He was instrumental in the pas- sage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829, which ended most restrictions on Catholics. About 15 years ago, Mr. McCann began writing a screenplay about Mr. O'Connell, but no one was interested in producing it, in part because of the high cost of filming such a period piece. So he adapted his screenplay into a three- act stage play that ran for two performances in 2017 at the Mary Rowlandson Elementary School in Lan- caster. People from St. John and Trivium School, an in- dependent Catholic school in Lancaster for boys and girls in grades 7-12, served as actors and crew. Mr. McCann starred as Mr. O'Connell. However, he never gave up hope to produce a film and last September he retired from his systems development job at Bank of America to do it. Mr. McCann owns more than a dozen books on Mr. O'Connell, some of which are more than 100 years old. He's also taking act- ing lessons in hopes of properly expressing Mr. O'Connell's charisma, wit, charm and oratory skills in the film. He was an amazing character, an unrivaled lawyer," he said. "He could hold audiences spellbound with his speaking." Mr. McCann admires Mr. O'Connell for giving up his comfortable life as a wealthy attorney to fight for religious freedom. Some Irish believe Mr. O'Connell should have used his power in Parlia- ment to do whatever it took to advance the Catholic cause, even breaking laws or promoting violence. But he pushed peacefully for Irish independence from England and even though he refused to defy the law in doing so he was imprisoned for three months. While he was in- carcerated, he managed to persuade people not to riot on his behalf. Mr. O'Connell's peaceful protests stand out in con- trast to the violent political protests of today. I hope the film will get a wide audience," Mr. Mc- Cann said, "because it's an unknown story and it has so much relevance to what's happening today." Mr. McCann isn't sure if his film will ever be shown at many movie theaters, but he'd love to premiere it at the Strand Theatre in Clinton on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2022. All actors in the film are volunteers, but Mr. McCann has hired a cinematogra- pher and he's going to rent a high-end camera and lenses, invest in costumes and feed the cast and crew, including extras, breakfast and lunch each day while filming. He's budgeted $50,000 for the film. This has been a passion project of mine for years and years and my family has patiently put up with me," Mr. McCann said. The bulk of the cast and crew are St. John's parish- ioners, including Peg and Peter Murphy and Chris Doucette. I think it's a great proj- ect for the parish to get be- hind," said Father James S. Mazzone, St. John's pastor. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Bill and I'm just impressed that this has been a project that he's had in his life for many years now." Father Mazzone plays the role of a priest in the movie. It's my honor to be in this movie," he said. "A small role as a Catholic priest, I can handle that." Father Mazzone admit- ted he had never heard of O'Connell before Mr. Mc- Cann informed him, but he's glad to know about him now. It's always helpful to have these non-violent he- roes," he said. Mr. McCann expects his movie to be about two hours long with a cast of 60 speaking roles. So far, he has lined up about 80 of the 150-200 extras he's seeking to play such non- speaking roles as members of courtroom juries and of political rally audi- ences. Anyone interested in becoming an extra can contact Mr. McCann at lib- eratorcasting@gmail.com by May 1. Shooting is scheduled to run from June 22 through the end of July, primarily at the Trivium School. I am cautiously optimis- tic," Mr. McCann said, "by that time the cloud of this pandemic will have lifted enough so we can move forward." Mr. O'Connell lived with a foster family until he re- turned to his own family at age 4. During the film, the foster mother will narrate Mr. O'Connell's life story to her family, including his great speeches, the court cases he argued, winning a seat in Parliament, even a duel he won. Mr. McCann is doing his best to make the film as technically accurate as pos- sible, including acquiring the proper dueling pistols. - To learn more about the film visit theliberatormovie. com or facebook.com/thelib- eratormovie.
If you, or someone you know, were abused by someone representing the Catholic Church, please believe in the possibility of hope and help and healing. We encourage you to come forward and contact:
Victims Assistance Coordinator
at the Diocese of Worcester
508-929-4363
(a direct, confidential line)
or jaudette@worcesterdiocese.org
VICTIM SERVICESI
'This has been a passion project of mine for years and years and my family has patiently put up with me.'
Bill McCann
Author, filmmaker, actor, historian
Area colleges plan graduations, alternate plans
Assumption University and the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and Anna Maria College in Paxton, announced the following graduation cel- ebrations for the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020. The Class of 2020 missed out on traditional celebra- tions last spring because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY - MAY 9
Assumption University is holding its 104th com- mencement exercises for the Class of 2021 at 10 a.m. May 9 at the DCU Center. George F. Will, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose col- umn has been syndicated by the Washington Post since 1974, is to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at the ceremony. Also receiving an honorary degree is Vincent Strully Jr., founder and CEO of the New England Center for Children, which impacts more than 8,000 students with autism in 34 states and 15 countries. Assumption is to recog- nize the Class of 2020 dur- ing a baccalaureate Mass beginning at noon on May 15 at the DCU Center. The Mass is being followed by a commencement ceremony. Members of the Class of 2020 received their di- plomas last year after a virtual conferral of degrees ceremony. They are the last class to graduate under the name Assumption College. Robert Royal, Ph.D., founder and president of the Faith & Reason Institute and editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing, will deliver the commencement ad- dress for the Class of 2020 and receive an honorary degree. Also receiving an honorary degree is James T. Brett, president and chief executive officer of The New England Council, an alliance of schools, hospitals, corporations and private organizations work- ing to promote economic growth and quality of life. A ceremony honoring the Career & Continuing Edu- cation and School of Gradu- ate Studies graduates of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 is to take place virtu- ally and be broadcast on May 9 after the Class of 2021 commencement. The keynote speaker, Kenneth J. Bates G'90, president and chief executive officer of Open Sky Community Services, is to receive an honorary degree.
COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS - MAY 21
The College of the Holy Cross is to host an in- person commencement ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on May 21 on the college's Fit- ton Field. The celebration is also to be livestreamed, and a video of it will re- main online afterward. The commencement address by Ambassador Linda Thom- as-Greenfield, U.S. rep- resentative to the United Nations, will be delivered virtually via a 900-square- foot LED video board. Ambassador Thomas- Greenfield and the follow- ing individuals are to be given honorary degrees: Dr. Michael Collins '77, chan- cellor of the University of Massachusetts Medi- cal School; the Rev. David Beckmann, coordinator of the Circle of Protection, an advocacy coalition of Christian organizations, and president emeritus of Bread for the World, and Sister Donna Markham, president of Catholic Chari- ties USA. Dr. Collins will offer a reflection for Class of 2021 graduates on May 21, and both Rev. Beckmann and Sister Donna will speak during a special virtual convocation event for the graduating Class of 2020 on May 22. The ceremony and re- lated events will adhere to COVID-19 health and safety standards, the college's press release said. Guests will be limited. If inclement weather forces a cancella- tion due to safety concerns, the college will move to an entirely virtual ceremony broadcast at 10:30 a.m. on May 21. Bishop McManus said in a statement: I am happy to offer to the graduates of the Col- lege of the Holy Cross, Class of 2021, the College's 175th graduating class, my prayerful best wishes as they leave Mount St. James to pursue their place in society as 'men and women for others.' Because of the understandable health con- cerns due to the on-going pandemic, I have not been invited to participate in this year's commencement ceremonies. However, it has been brought to my at- tention that a controversy has arisen as a result of the invitation to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the commencement speaker and an honorary degree recipient. At the center of this controversy is the ambassador's ac- knowledged support of a woman's right to a full range of reproductive health issues."
ANNA MARIA COLLEGE - MAY 21-23
Anna Maria College is to host its 72nd commence- ment exercises from May 21 to May 23, with several on-campus commence- ment ceremonies by cohort (including the Class of 2020) to facilitate social distancing and adhere to public health guidelines. Honorary degree recipi- ents are: William B. Evans, executive director of public safety and chief of police for Boston College and former Boston Police Com- missioner; New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoc- zka, and Sister of St. Anne Rita M. DeRoy. The college gave the fol- lowing information about the honorary degree recipi- ents. In 2013, immediately after running the Boston Marathon, Evans played a critical role in the Boston Police Department's re- sponse to the Boston Mara- thon bombings. He helped implement a plan of action and assisted in the capture of the suspect. Months later, Evans was named in- terim police commissioner and the next year commis- sioner, serving in that posi- tion for four years before accepting his present posi- tion. He has a master's in criminal justice from Anna Maria and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Krosoczka has writ- ten and illustrated more than 40 books for young readers. Krosoczka has appeared on NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, has given two TED talks and has a weekly on Siri- usXM's Kids Place Live and a popular YouTube web show called "Draw Every Day with JJK." Krosoczka founded School Lunch Hero Day, a national campaign that celebrates school lunch staff. He also established the Joseph and Shirly Krosoczka Memo- rial Youth Scholarships, which fund art classes for underprivileged children in Worcester. Sister Rita, the college's secretary and a trustee, has served as college treasurer and represented the Sisters of St. Anne twice previous- ly on the board of trustees. She serves on the board of the Esther Blondin Retire- ment Fund, the Provincial Council for the Sisters of St. Anne, and the General Investment Committee for the congregation. She is a computer technician for the St. Marie Province of the Sisters of Saint Anne and manager of profes- sional needs accounts for nursing home residents at the Marie Esther Health Center in Marlborough.
Public invited to discuss possible sex-education programs for city schools
Potential sex education programs for Worcester public schools are to be discussed Monday at a vir- tual meeting in which the public can participate. People concerned about some of the content of the programs are invited to get involved. The Worcester public schools Standing Commit- tee on Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports is holding the meeting virtu- ally at 5:30 p.m. April 26. When the meeting agenda with a link is available, it is to be posted on the Worces- ter Public Schools website, https://worcesterschools. org/about/school-commit- tee/teaching-learning-and- student-supports/. This meeting is a follow- up to a March 30 meet- ing in which committee members talked about choosing between Get Real, a program developed by Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, and an- other program, Rights, Re- spect, Responsibility. They also talked about develop- ing their own curriculum. Monday's meeting will include brief comments from the administration, then the public can make comments, then commit- tee members would speak and any motions being made would be voted on, according to Molly O. Mc- Cullough, standing com- mittee chairwoman. At this time there is not another meeting planned, she said in an email re- sponding to questions from The Catholic Free Press. We will be asking that only a few people from each group call in if they are sharing the same mes- sage - this is similar to what we do at our regular meetings," she said. "The way to get in line to speak is to raise the electronic zoom hand." She said the meeting will not have a question and answer for- mat, but each person may speak for two minutes. We are voting for a comprehensive health curriculum that has a sex ed component for middle school and up," she said. Families would always be able to opt out of the sex ed component, as it is not mandated." The Worcester School Committee is being pres- sured by Planned Parent- hood to expose students to graphic sex ed," said an email that The Catholic Free Press received Monday from Michael King, direc- tor of community alliances for the Massachusetts Fam- ily Institute, a local associ- ate of Focus on the Family. He asked that anyone concerned contact Ms. Mc- Cullough (774-502-8731 or Mcculloughm@worces- terschools.net) and Laura Clancey, one of the school committee members, (774- 823-6446 or ClanceyLB@ worcesterschools.net) and respectfully voice your concern regarding compre- hensive sex education." He is suggesting that parents ask that there be no comprehensive sex education in Worcester and that the school committee adopt instead a sexual risk avoidance program that is "truly age appropriate, medically accurate, and evidence based."
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