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KEEPING
FAITH
Christina Campoll joined
Indiana Universitys chapter of Amnesty International because, she said,
thats what I felt called to do -- serving and protecting
people.
Campoll, 21, a parishioner at St. Pauls Catholic Center in
Bloomington, Ind., led an effort by the Amnesty group in the spring to pass the
Youth Sentencing Reform Act in the Indiana General Assembly. The bill would
have raised the minimum age for execution to 18 years at the time of the
offense, instead of 16 years.
Although they found a representative to sponsor the bill, it was
defeated quickly when it was introduced in January. However, Campoll, who will
be coordinator of the Amnesty chapter next fall, said she will spend the summer
researching how to effectively lobby for a bill. The group plans to have it
refiled by January 2000.
Since 1997, Dr. Joe Spalitto,
a dentist, and his wife Liz, a dental hygienist, have traveled to
Guatemala to offer dental care to rural, indigenous people.
They have annually joined a group of parishioners from St. Thomas
More Church in Kansas City, Mo., who visit their sister parish in San Andres,
Itzapa. On each trip, they have assisted more than 200 patients with severe
dental problems. For most of the people who come for dental care, it is their
only opportunity to see a dentist. In 1998, Joe Spalitto also arranged for an
oral surgeon and an osteopathic doctor to join the trip.
The couple has also joined a group of volunteer doctors to work at
a clinic in Santa Maria de Jesus in Antigua. The group treated over 1,500
patients.
The Spalittos organized a fundraiser for St. Thomas Mores
sister parish in January. They hoped to raise $5,000 and instead received more
than $12,000 in donations. This summer they will return to San Andres, Itzapa,
accompanied by their son, Pete Spalitto, a dental student. The St. Thomas More
group will also include a physician, a medical student, a nurse, a
microbiologist, electricians, teachers, priests and other parishioners.
The real inspiration is the smile and sincere appreciation
that the people of Guatemala return to the missionaries, the Spalittos
said.
Send suggestions for Keeping Faith to Teresa Malcolm at
NCR. Her e-mail is tmalcolm@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, June 4,
1999
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