Archive for month: November, 2024

Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocese of Covington is no stranger to the work of the Gone But Not Forgotten: MLB Unmarked Graves Project. It was two years ago that David Shannon and Thomas Bucher, the project founders, provided a headstone to Henry “Hank” Gastright, who had been laid to rest at St. Joseph Cemetery, Wilder, in an unmarked grave. Their latest project focused on giving Robert “Bob” Clark of the 1891 Cincinnati Reds a headstone at St. Mary Cemetery, Ft. Mitchell.

Mr. Clark was born in Covington on May 18, 1863. He would go on to play seven seasons in Major League Baseball, starting his career with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and staying for five seasons, where he would become a well-known catcher, before concluding his career in the Majors with the Reds.

Mr. Shannon read from an excerpt of the October 1889 edition of the Brooklyn Eagle, “The first two years he (Mr. Clark) was with Brooklyn he did not distinguish himself very much and was given comparatively little work to do. This year however, he came to the front, and his work as been of the gilt-edge order. He has demonstrated that he is a great back stop, a quick and accurate thrower to bases, a fine batsman and a clever base runner. Clark is now admittedly Brooklyn’s star catcher. He is a well-built fellow, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighs 175 pounds,” said Mr. Shannon to the crowd gathered.

Over his five seasons with Brooklyn, Mr. Clark became a standout playing in a total of 260 games. Despite playing a number of games, Mr. Clark was seemingly always injured. The most games he played in a season topped out at 53 in 1889.

In the succeeding 1890 season, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Mr. Clark had a chance to win the Pennant, what would we now call the World Series. However, “The series,” it was reported, “which was fraught with disaster to the Brooklyn’s, resulted in his disablement … His injury was a serious blow to Brooklyn’s hopes, for before he was hurt, they had a chance to win,” Mr. Shannon read aloud.

Of his injury in the World Series, Mr. Clark was quoted as saying, “My doctor seemed to think that I was paying up for severely straining myself and overtaxing my strength in those Brooklyn games. We ought to have won the Pennant.”

Because of his proclivity for injury, Brooklyn allowed the Cincinnati National League Club, to purchase his contract. In a press release from March 25, 1891, “The Cincinnati National League Club yesterday, closed a contract with another player, who will add strength to the team. Bob Clark, the fine catcher, who has been with the Brooklyn League Club for the past five seasons, will next summer wear the red and white of the Queen City Organization. This engagement will prove a good one. Clark is a Covington boy and is very popular on both sides of the river. He has a large following, and from a box-office standpoint, as well as in a playing sense, the local League Club scored a big mark in securing him,” Mr. Shannon read aloud.

Due to injury, Mr. Clark played in only 16 games for the Reds in the 1891 season.

After his retirement Mr. Clark became a saloonist. Mr. Shannon read, “There was an article from February 1892 that said he (Mr. Clark) was doing a prosperous business with a liquid emporium in Covington.” In 1895 it was reported that he was a government official, other reports noted him as a tax collector for the city of Covington. In the years leading up to his death, Mr. Clark worked at a chemical factory. It was at this chemical factory that he sustained life threatening injuries that eventually led to his death.

Mr. Clark was born a “Covington boy,” said Mr. Shannon. It was his affinity for baseball and his love of his city that was remembered as the veil was lifted from his new headstone. A round of applause came as the new granite marker was taken in by friends of the family and the family themselves.

Mr. Shannon concluded the program, “Through this project, I feel like I have gotten to know Bob Clark … Robert Clark may be gone, but hopefully not forgotten.”

Laura Keener

Editor

Three-hundred and fifty years (1674) ago, in Paray-le-Monial, France, Jesus reveals devotions to His Sacred Heart to visionary Visitation Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque. Two-hundred years later (1874), in Bellevue, Kentucky, a church is established and dedicated under the patronage of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In October 2024, Pope Francis writes his fourth encyclical, “Dilexit Nos,” (On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ),” calling for a rededication to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Like a night time constellation spanning the constraints of time, Father Martin Pitstick, pastor, connected these seemingly random historic and current events as a guide for parishioners, encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and, ultimately, eternal life with Him in heaven.

“Many generations have sacrificed so that the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus might be known in this town. Many generations of parishioners have prayed in this church. They have come and they have gone,” Father Pitstick said in his homily. “A million years from today, this church will be dust. But the immortal souls of those who built it and who have prayed in it will remain forever in one of two places.”

Parishioners of Divine Mercy Parish, Bellevue, gathered Nov. 17 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the dedication of its church building, Sacred Heart Church. The celebration began with Mass, which was broadcast live on Sacred Heart Radio and live streamed on the parish website, and included a Eucharistic procession from the church, around the school buildings and back to the church for Benediction.

“The message for us today is that, even in the midst of tribulation, we need not fear. The Lord himself is with us, and he is our inheritance. This is the same message that Jesus gave Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque about the love of his Sacred Heart,” Father Pitstick said.

“The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a door open wide, and Jesus is inviting me and you to come into his heart, to take refuge and to receive all of the treasures and graces and mercy and forgiveness that you long for,” he said.

In an interview the week before the sesquicentennial celebration, Father Pitstick shared that the parish is in the middle of a three-phase major restoration of Sacred Heart Church. Phase 1 was a $1.1 million restoration of the exterior of the church — repairing and replacing the roof and the copper bell tower. The parish has raised another $600,000 to begin the interior restoration. A third phase will add an elevator from the main church to the restrooms and undercroft making the entire church handicap accessible.

“It’s taking longer than I would have liked because there’s a lot of choices of colors and designs,” said Father Pitstick, mentioning that he has contracted with a company that specializes in sacred architecture and is working with the diocesan Office of Worship, “to make a beautiful interior restoration with a nice marble sanctuary and good lighting.”

The interior restoration will also include fixing water damage and painting the ceiling and walls.

Aside from improvements to the physical church, Father Pitstick is equally, if not more, excited to talk about “the things that we’ve been doing in the parish,” things that are building up God’s church — the people.

In May, Father Pitstick led 20 people, including some parishioners, on a pilgrimage to Lourdes. There they had a powerful spiritual experience during a rosary procession. Inspired by the experience, Father Pitstick and the pilgrims held a one-hour rosary procession around the city of Bellevue.

“We alternated the rosary and Marian hymns and prayers. It was nice,” said Father Pitstick.

Father Pitstick said that for many years the parish was trying, without success, to develop a strong youth ministry. About five years ago, he was approached by Brad Torline, former associate director for the diocesan Office of Catechesis and Evangelization and now executive director of the Angelico Project, to begin a Young Adult ministry instead.

“It’s better to start with the young adults because, after you get that as an anchor, then you can go in both directions,” said Father Pitstick. As the young adults age out of young adult ministry, the idea is that many will continue as active parishioners and those that marry and have children of their own, would instinctively want some kind of similar youth ministry for their children. So far, with the foundation laid by Mr. Torline and for the last several years coordinated by Nick Thorvaldsen, Young Adult Ministry is thriving at Divine Mercy Parish.

“We’ve used the win, build and send model,” said Father Pitstick. Win, Build, Send is a popular model used by college evangelization ministries like FOCUS. “You have some big events that are fun — that’s win,” said Father Pitstick mentioning their annual river boat swing dance cruise, which typically draws over 100 young adults.

Build incorporates catechetical events, like Bible study or prayer events. Send involves going out on mission — sharing your spiritual journey, serving others and bringing others to Christ. The Young Adult group is currently planning for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with Mustard Seed Communities, a trip inspired after Bishop John Iffert’s visit to the Mustard Seed Communities in Jamaica earlier this year.

“Go to the website and see all the stuff that’s going on, go to the Instagram page or the Facebook page … they’re always doing something,” said Father Pitstick.

Additionally, the parish recently reactived its Knights of Columbus Council 702, one of the original councils in Kentucky. Also, for the spiritual and missionary development of parishioners, the parish has begun offering That Man Is You, for its men members, and Walking With Purpose for women. And they started a new initiative for young families to get together socially for some faith-based activities, like the upcoming Advent wreath making event. The parish also has an active St. Vincent de Paul conference.

Father Pitstick is also pastor of neighboring St. Bernard Parish in Dayton. He said that between the two parishes there are less than 500 registered households. But their small size doesn’t diminish the desire to do more and more for each other, the community and ultimately the Lord.

“It’s hard to find these resources, so I’ve really stepped out in faith and stretched. We have a lot of staff, and the staff is fueling these things,” said Father Pitstick. “It puts pressure on me to raise the money to do all these things, but it’s bearing fruit and so far we haven’t collapsed financially. It seems like we’re moving forward bit by bit.”

Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

Invited by the Diocese of Covington Safe Environment Office, Dr. Many Sanchez, director of programming at Culture Reframed gave a presentation entitled “Growing Up in a Porn Culture: How Social Media, Gaming and Pornography Harms Our Youth.”

The November 6 presentation explored the culture we live in today and the affect it has had on young women and teenagers; forced to conform or be invisible. Dr. Sanchez explained social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, their relationship to the porn industry and how there is more on the platforms that what meets the eye.

Joanna Angel, a famous pornographer, said in an interview once that girls today come to her set porn ready. “They were ready when they came to her set, she didn’t really have to coach them. They already knew what to do, they knew how to pose, they knew what to wear they knew how to do it,” said Dr. Sanchez. How though, is this generation of young women porn-ready?

The answer, Dr. Sanchez said, lies in a culture of comparison exacerbated by social media.

“Porn sells, and I know we have heard that sex sells, but really it is the same thing,” said Dr. Sanchez. This is an important facet of the conversation to understand because it is what drives posting habits on social media, subconsciously or not. Comparison culture makes teenagers, and young adults crave the validation of their peers, most commonly in the form of likes, comments and reposts of their content on social media.

Dr. Sanchez explained the validation that comes from the engagement of peers on social media posts from the perspective of a teenager, “The more hearts and likes and shares that I get the more social cred I have, the less invisible I become.” Because porn sells, that is often what teenagers, especially young teenage girls will turn to. Posting in a shirt that is a little too cropped, or shorts that are a little too short, will generate buzz and interest. These posts though, are often not seen by parents or guardians. Rather they are hidden beneath the surface.

“75% of 13-17 years olds have at least one social media profile, the average amount of fake accounts that the average teenager has today is five,” said Dr. Sanchez. It is the fake accounts or, “finstas,” where teenagers will seek this validation. Finstas will have specific peers and strangers, curated based on the attention that the poster desires.

While Instagram perpetuates this comparison culture, the beloved platform, Snapchat, had it’s start with a much more sinister motive. “Snapchat was originally marketed as Peekaboo, to send and receive nude photos,” said Dr. Sanchez. Snapchat has also recently released a dangerous new feature known as Snap Maps. This feature, unless disabled in user settings, shares real time location with snap friends in the area.

“This Snap Map will show anyone who you have in your circle where you are. If we don’t turn this off, this will be on. We have worked with anti-trafficking organizations that work with survivors, law enforcement, and Interpol. They said that these Snap Maps are exactly what predators are looking for. If they know that there is a concentration of kids here, they can jump on Snapchat and connect with kids,” said Dr. Sanchez.

The perpetuation of comparison culture and the deep seeded need for validation instilled in young girls reinforces the role of porn in today’s culture. This leads young girls open and vulnerable to predators.

Dr. Gail Dines, founder and CEO of Culture Reframed, was conducting interviews with 12 men who were incarcerated in a maximum-security prison. Each of the twelve men were incarcerated for the sexual assault of a family member. In an interview with one of the men he said, “It was super easy to groom my twelve-year old stepdaughter. I started with little compliments, I told her how pretty she looked, and that was a nice dress, and that skirt made her legs look gorgeous, and that makeup, and the way you’re doing your hair. It was so easy because she already knew what to do, the culture did a lot of the grooming for me.”

The first step to protecting the younger generations against porn culture is a knowledge of how they are being exposed and how the culture is sustained. Through social media and the desire for external validation of peers, porn culture seeps into everyday lives, without many realizing it. Dr. Mandy Sanchez and her colleagues at Culture Reframed are dedicated to addressing the harms of pornography in youth. For more information about the Diocese of Covington Safe Environment Office and the work they do go to covdio.org/safe-environment/.