Tom Gallagher's blog

Tom Gallagher, NCR blogger and Mission Management columnist, is blogging from Egypt, where he is racing across the Sahara Desert.

Day 4 - A rest day, but the race will continue
28-Oct-2009 02:57:06 AM [(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time(US & Canada)]

Sahara Race (Egypt) 2009
While my system is quieting down, I didn't have the calories and strength at the start line on Wed., the 4th stage. I decided to take longer to recover and prepare for Day 5, the 54 mile day. Yesterday's temperature was 49 degrees C, making it something around 125 degrees F - the hottest day on record for this race. Day 4 is expected to be about the same.

This morning I rode with Jack Denness, from Rochester, UK, to the next camp. Jack is truly an ultra endurance legend. Among his achievements, Jack has completed 12 Badwaters, the 135 mile footrace in Death Valley in July. Jack is resting today and will go out tomorrow as well. It was a real treat to chit-chat. It was a silver lining to not starting. By the way, Jack is 74.

When we left off our intrepid blogger was making his way across the Sahara Desert. Here's the update:

Day 2 - Really difficult, but completed
26-Oct-2009 02:37:52 AM [(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time(US & Canada)]

Sahara Race (Egypt) 2009
Last night we actually had about 2 minutes of rain and then again this morning.

Today was a 28 mile day, the longest of the week after the 54 mile day coming up on Thursday. Hot, all sand with some hardscrable. Going from Checkpoint 2 to 3 during the peak of the day took its toll on almost everyone. When I staggered into the check point the doctor and nurse advised that I rest a bit. So I stayed about 1/2 hour lying down in the shade with my feet up on a stool, which I needed because of the muscle cramps from my toes up to my back. Then the final stage was another 9 miles or so with the final two miles up and down three substantial sand dunes. Breakbreaking. I rolled into camp around 6:30pm - wiped out.

Some highlights include getting some cloud cover/shade during the day. The medical staff and volunteers are terrific.

Tom Gallagher at the Atacama Desert race in Chile A week or so ago, we alerted NCR readers that one of our bloggers, Tom Gallagher, would be racing across the Sahara Desert in Egypt on a 150-mile race. It's not his first such race; he has competed in the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Gobi Desert in China.

For Gallagher, these events combine, he says, “athletics, spirituality and terrific people in a compelling location -- the desert.”

Gallagher uses his races as fundraisers and raised more than $30,000 for Malta House for women and children in Norwalk, Conn., through the first two races. His goal is to raise $15,000 in the Sahara. You can find out more at www.maltahouse.org.

Gallagher is in the desert and -- believe it or not -- he's blogging.

Here are his first to entries. We'll keep you posted.

Stage 1
25-Oct-2009 01:36:24 AM [(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time(US & Canada)]

Monica Castillo Maggiano, director of Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, has been honored as one of 12 individuals nationwide selected to be part of the Independent Sector's first-ever class of American Express NGen Fellows.

Just launched at the beginning of October, the American Express NGen Fellows Program is designed to help build the next generation of nonprofit and
philanthropic leaders.

Congrats to Ms. Maggiano.

Besides the traditional missions of food and shelter, the Catholic Worker Movement in Dayton, Ohio, is doing some extraordinarily creative things:

Putting a spin on Friday night "Clarification of Thought" meetings, the Dayton Workers are debuting Bucholtz Tavern tonight. The tavern is a restaurant open on Friday and Saturday nights for the next 90 days. Patrons will pay $25 a piece for a candlelight dinner with jazz music and speakers. Proceeds will go to create a local food kitchen to help feed the needy.

The Dayton workers also have a web-based conferencing tool and a web TV platform. Check it out at catholic-itv.ning.com.

You have to hand it to the Dayton Workers. They are thinking outside the box, and I'm sure I join many in cheering for their collective success.

Since last year as the economic crisis spread many working poor and middle class families have lost their homes due to forclosure and bankruptcy. Many parishes and dioceses have responded with job search efforts and counseling activities.

Finding ways for families to avoid foreclosure and to remain in their homes is largely dependent on low mortgage rates, and importantly, a bank's willingness to lend. So when I read today's story on low mortgage rates, I think of all the folks whose lives have been upended due to job loss, higher mortgage costs and bankruptcy.

"Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed U.S. home loans fell for the second consecutive week, pushing borrowing costs to near record lows.

The average U.S. 30-year rate dropped to 4.87 percent from 4.94 percent last week. The 15-year rate was 4.33 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, said today in a statement.

Fifteen married men are to be ordained permanent deacons in Wilmngton, Del., diocese Oct. 15.

Fr. Norman Sullivan, a suspended pastor from Buffalo, was spared a jail term for embezzling $213,732 from his parish because the money has been repaid.

State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia ordered Sullivan, 74, to perform 1,000 hours of community service while he is on court-supervised probation for the next five years and ordered him to submit to warrantless searches while he remains under court control.

Sullivan pleaded guilty July 16 to third-degree grand larceny to theft of money from the former Most Holy Redeemer Parish from May 30, 2000 until Jan. 31, 2008. He told the judge "I am truly sorry" and that he is "disgraced and embarrassed."

Since his guilty plea Sullivan has been barred from saying Mass or administering sacraments or even dressing in priestly clothing.

Since 2004, the Erie County District Attorney's Office has prosecuted at least five other embezzlements from Catholic parishes and schools, ranging from $230,000 to $488,000.

On the brighter side of the news, a billionaire pharmaceutical developer has donated $100 million to a Santa Monica hospital, with more than half the funds going to research projects and facilities.

Patrick Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele Chan, donated the money to St. John's Health Center, a 380-bed Catholic hospital.

St. John's Chief Executive Lou Lazatin said Thursday $55 million will create several research centers and fund future projects.

The donation includes $35 million already spent on renovating and expanding the hospital and $10 million to attract doctors and scientists.

The couple donated a separate $35 million to St. John's in 2007.

Nikita Gaurav, an eighth-grader at Valley Catholic Middle School, Beaverton, Ore., is one of 10 finalists nationwide for the title of top young scientist. She will travel to New York to compete in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge on Tuesday. The winner will be awarded $50,000 in U.S. savings bonds.

What are Gaurav's dreams? She said, "I would like to become an eco-friendly architect or a mechanical engineer who designs sustainable technology."

For more information on the competition, go to this Web site.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is launching an extreme makeover that promises big changes for the Twin Cities' 650,000 Catholics.

Brilliant filmmaker, Ken Burns, and his colleague Dayton Duncan, and their team have done it again. Their documentary on the U.S. national parks is outstanding. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature’s most spectacular locales, "The National Parks: America’s Best Idea," is a six-part, 12-hour documentary series on the history of America’s national parks.

Democratic political strategist and pundit, James Carville, came up with the effective and stinging slogan, "It's the economy, stupid," as a way for presidential candidate, Bill Clinton, to attack President George H.W. Bush, during the 1992 campaign. The slogan is as relevant now as it was then. Yet, for most people it seems impossible to understand economic theory and policy. The most important economic issue for families is jobs. After that it's wages, benefits and retirement.

Yesterday, Sunday, I attended the two and 1/2 hour Rite of Dedication of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Sacred Heart University, located in Fairfield, Conn. Peter Steinfels of The New York Times wrote about the event on Sept. 25th.

Bishop Bill Lori, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and as the local bishop, presided. The official program noted that the university was founded in 1963 during the Vatican Council II, and therefore, the chapel's being named for the Holy Spirit echoes the spirit of Vatican II. The university takes its "inspiration and energy" from that ecumenical council.

With child obesity off the charts and reaching epidemic proportions - just look around the next time you visit Disney World, teaching young people how to eat well is critical.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health points out that a kid's peers influence eating habits and that the only defense is teaching good habits at home.

Public radio's StoryCorps has been capturing moments of American life since 2003 and archiving them at the Library of Congress. Now StoryCorps is capturing the stories of U.S. Latinos. StoryCorps is seeking more life stories from U.S. Latinos and launched "StoryCorps Historias" on Thursday in an effort to get them.

"The mission is just to honor and celebrate our lives through listening," said Diana Velez, a StoryCorps Historias spokeswoman.

The acute stress of unemployment, budget cuts, longer work hours for the employed and uncertainty are the hallmarks of today's job market. Technology has enabled us to be on-call 24/7.

Fortunately, The Wall Street Journal describes in detail the merits of making sure workers take time off, have dinner with their families, get refreshed.

All of us should embrace this notion that taking time for yourself and your family is actually a good thing for the workplace and productivity.

The Vatican announced it has appointed an Italian economist, a German businessman and an American Knight of Columbus to the panel that supervises the Vatican bank, known formally as the Institute for the Works of Religion.

Earlier this year I wrote a story titled, "Rightsizing the church: physical accountability," about the need for all Catholics to make healthier choices in their lives.

Today's Dallas News has a similar story. It offers an interesting strategy taking place in Texas dioceses.

Oprah Winfrey has named U.S. educated Nigerian Jesuit Fr. Uwem Akpan as her 63rd influential book club selection. Uwem Akpan said he was humbled to learn his debut collection of short stories had caught Oprah's eye.

Oprah said that Akpan's 2008 collection, Say You're One Of Them "left [her] stunned and profoundly moved".

This is the first short story selection Oprah has chosen as a book club selection. The five short stories give voice to an African child growing up in the face of incredible adversity.

Read an excerpt from the story "An Ex-Mas Feast."

A guest writer for NCR, U.S. Ambassador to Malta Doug Kmiec, was interviewed by the Times of Malta.

In the interview, Kmiec says:

My most recent mission management article, describes the importance of prison ministry, especially in helping ex-offenders find jobs.

Today, Cuba announces that Catholic and Protestant inmates will now be allowed to attend Roman Catholic Mass and Protestant services inside prisons. This is a substantial step forward by the Cuban government. However, Jewish inmates and other believers are not included in this new policy for unknown reasons.

As is well known, Catholic families get little-to-no financial aid from towns or states if they choose to attend a non-government school. However, some goods and services do benefit Catholic school families and teachers, like textbooks and workbooks. Without a state budget in Pennsylvania, Catholic school teachers cannot get the materials they need.

In general, Catholic families,who represent votes and political fundraising, lack a unified voice and a sophisticated lobbying strategy in state capitals that carries political heft, say like that of the health insurance industry. It's no wonder that year after year Catholic schools continue to "die on the vine," as they appear set to go the way of the typewriter.

You got to hand it to Catholic Charities USA. The timing of the release of its 2008 survey is impeccable, as the U.S. is focused on healthcare reform, jobs and the economy (among other issues, say, e.g., the wars). This survey is a clear reminder that private, market forces are not working for the poor. The "anti-federal government" crowd should spend some quality time reading this survey, and then perhaps, flipping to Matthew 25: 31-46.

Not surprising, according to a new according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, "nearly six in 10 Americans are now concerned about job or pay losses in the coming months, little changed since February, and there has been no increase in the percentage who see the federal government's stimulus efforts as having an impact, even as the pace of layoffs has eased in recent months. And there is lukewarm public confidence that the government is enacting measures to stave off another financial crisis."

With doctrinal talks scheduled between Vatican officials and the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna is saying the SSPXers will be expected to respect Judaism, other Christian churches and other world faiths, according to a report from Reuters: Vatican to insist rebels respect Jews, other faiths.

He also said that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which the SSPXers reject, were "not negotiable."

Back in January, the Vatican formally lifted a 20-year-old excommunication imposed on four SSPX bishops who where ordained in defiance of the late Pope John Paul II in 1988 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. This caused quite a stir, see Benedict's reconciliation move stirs controversy, not least because one of the bishops was a well-known Holocaust denier.

Rising Sea Levels Putting New York City at Risk

Wall Street Journal science columnist Rob Lee Holtz reports in an animated video that with climate change melting ice caps will create higher seas in the coming decades making New York City awash in water.

He points out that New York City pumps 14 million gallons of water a day out of the subway system. One possible safeguard is a massively expensive storm surge protector across the Hudson River.

As New York and all of America take time to remember the victims of the attack on September 11, 2001, it is worth keeping an eye on the potential deadly ramifications of climate change.

Time Magazine columnist Amy Sullivan joins the chorus, asking: "Was an Anti-Abortion Bishop Too Vocal for the Vatican?"

In February 2009, I wrote about the cancer called "affinity fraud," where investors with the same religious affiliation, ethnic background or come from the same group get preyed upon by a crook, who takes their money based on a false sense of trust.

Now a $50 million scam targeted Mormoms.

“Affinity can be a powerful element,” says Mitchell Zuckoff, a professor of journalism at Boston University and author of “Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend,” a 2005 book about Charles Ponzi’s 1920 fraud. “That’s what gets people to lower their inhibitions. There’s this attitude, ‘He’s like me. I can trust him.’ It’s almost hard- wired into our DNA.”

The bottomline is this: If a charity invested in Madoff's ponzi scheme, took money out of the Madoff Fund, those funds can be clawed back by the bankruptcy trustee for distribution to victims.

Irving Picard, the liquidator for Bernard Madoff’s investment business, said he might sue charities that took out more money than they invested with the imprisoned con man to force them to return the difference.

Picard, a lawyer with Baker & Hostetler LLP, declined to discuss specific nonprofit institutions. “We will look at charities on a case-by-case basis before determining what action may be appropriate,” he said.

Picard so far has pursued only charities that he claims should have known about the fraud. He sued longtime Madoff investor Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist and lawyer, and his charity in May for allegedly taking fake profit of $6.7 billion for himself and his affiliates over a 20-year period. His charity is now closed.