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A federal tax return for Texans for a Republican Majority tells a different story about the group's spending in the 2002 election from what the group told Texas campaign finance authorities, according to documents filed late Tuesday by lawyers for Democratic candidates.
GOP tax return tells different tale
Republican committee reported different campaign spending on different forms
By Laylan Copelin, Austin American-Statesman
A lawyer for the Republican Majority committee said Tuesday night that the Democrats are confusing state and federal regulations.
The political action committee created at the direction of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has always said it raised and spent almost $1.5 million during the 2002 state elections. About $600,000 of that came from corporate donors and is the subject of the civil lawsuit and a yearlong grand jury investigation into whether the group illegally spent corporate money to influence two dozen legislative elections.
The Republican Majority committee has said it didn't report the $600,000 to state election authorities because it was spent on the committee's administrative expenses, not to directly benefit Republican candidates. It did report $900,000 in donations to candidates on its state election report.
Yet the committee's 2002 tax return lists $1.16 million -- instead of the $900,000 -- as "activities related to support of Republicans for state Legislature and statewide offices in the state of Texas." It also shows $122,528 in fund-raising costs.
"None of these expenditures can remotely be classified as administrative costs of TRMPAC," according to the lawsuit, "and they total $1,291,041.92."
Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, the political committee reported only $127,457 in management and general expenses on the tax return, not the almost $600,000 it cites as administrative costs on a different IRS form.
"The result is that there was a failure on the part of defendant (Bill) Ceverha to report, as required by law, at minimum some $460,000," the lawsuit alleges.
Ceverha, a former state representative, served as treasurer of the Republican Majority committee. John Colyandro, the committee's executive director, signed the tax return. Terry Scarborough, the lawyer for Ceverha and the committee, said the committee's 2002 money was reported differently on three reports as required by law.
"The difference is how the IRS defines program services and how the (state) election code defines it," Scarborough said. "It's apples and oranges. It's a different set of rules and definitions.
We have complied with all the rules."
In the lawsuit, four losing Democratic candidates are claiming that Texans for a Republican Majority failed to report all the money spent to defeat them. For damages, they are seeking double the amount that the political committee allegedly did not disclose to the Texas Ethics Commission.
The grand jury investigation is covering similar ground.
State law bars spending corporate and union money in campaigns, but it allows political committees to spend corporate or union money for administrative expenses.
The investigation and lawsuit might turn on the question: What's an administrative expense?
Lawyers for the Democratic candidates contend it is only routine overhead, such as office rent, utilities or the salaries for bookkeepers. Lawyers for Texans for a Republican Majority argue that corporate money spent on polls, research and consultants is legal as long as it did not benefit candidates directly.
"There is not going to be much dispute about what happened," Scarborough said. "The dispute is going to be over the interpretation of the law."
The tax return was just one document among an 8-inch-high stack of paperwork filed just before a 5 p.m. deadline.
The paperwork is in response to a motion by the Republican Majority committee to dismiss the lawsuit.
The documents include depositions by Ceverha, Colyandro and the committee's accountant as well as general ledgers, expense vouchers, phone records and e-mails.
They paint a picture that has been reported for several months.
DeLay had the political committee created to help elect a Republican majority in the Texas House of Representatives, which in turn elected Rep. Tom Craddick as the first Republican speaker in modern times. A Republican-dominated Legislature then created new congressional districts favoring DeLay's Republican ambitions.
DeLay and a committee of state Republican officials recruited and supported Republican candidates for the Legislature.
Colyandro was in charge of deciding which of the committee's activities were political or administrative.
Evidence already has shown that professional fund-raisers, paid with corporate dollars, raised and forwarded money to Republican candidates. The committee also paid for lawyers to represent a legislative candidate when his legal residency was challenged. Finally, the committee donated $190,000 to the Republican National Committee in corporate money that could not be legally given to candidates. The national committee then returned the same amount in legal donations to seven Texas House candidates.
Colyandro has said the fund-raising methods might have been sloppy but not illegal. He has defended all of his other decisions on whether to pay particular bills with corporate money. He said Republican National Committee donations to Texas candidates were a coincidence. Among Tuesday's documents was a bill to the Texas Association of Business from Contact America, a California firm that phoned voters.
The document seems to show that Texans for a Republican Majority was paying bills for the state's largest business organization.
One issue in the grand jury investigation is whether the state business group was conspiring with others when it distributed $1.9 million in ads in the legislative elections, then refused to disclose the corporate donors who financed the effort.
However, Scarborough said, the Democratic lawyers did not include documents showing the bill was a mistake.
He said Contact America rebilled Texans for a Republican Majority for the $65,175 in October 2002.
"Contact America just billed the wrong group," Scarborough said. "It was corrected a long time ago."
Labels: News Clips


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Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori speaks during the May 19 Region IV encuentro held at The Catholic University of America in Washington. (CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard)
Accompanying families, reaching out to youth recurring encuentro themes
Norma Montenegro Flynn
Feature, Hispanic Ministry, Local News, News
WASHINGTON — The Catholic Church needs to walk with and accompany Hispanic and immigrant families, reach out to youth and young adults, and strengthen faith and leadership formation.
These were the recurring themes voiced by participants of the episcopal Region IV encuentro held May 19, at The Catholic University of America in Washington.
As part of the National Fifth Encuentro process, nearly 100 regional participants — lay and religious leaders from seven dioceses — from Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, gathered for the day to "encounter," as the word "encuentro" suggests, each other and listen to the voices from parish communities and organizations within the region.
Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori participates in the May 19 Region IV encuentro held at The Catholic University of America in Washington. (George Goss/Arlington Catholic Herald)
They discerned priorities and strategies on Hispanic ministry and how to better answer Pope Francis' call to become missionary disciples reaching out to those on the peripheries.
"It's important for us to get to know the drama, the anxieties of our people to bring the peaceful presence of Jesus Christ into their lives," said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington and lead bishop for the Region IV encuentro.
"We have to be able to speak the same language from soul to soul in order to be able to connect them," he said in an interview with Catholic News Service, noting that such accompaniment doesn't change through the years.
Participants sharing in small groups and at-large, widely spoke about the ways Hispanic families need the Catholic church community to accompany them in their struggles, their desire for a better and more accessible faith formation, on outreach to youth and young adults, on family values and on keeping families together.
In a region with high numbers of recent immigrants, Central Americans who were Temporary Protected Status recipients and others covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, many voiced fears of deportation that breaks families apart.
TPS was recently terminated by the Department of Homeland Security leaving over 300,000 Salvadorans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Haitians facing possible deportations. About 690,000 DACA recipients are in a similar immigration limbo.
"Over and over, we saw that specially youth are feeling overwhelmed with the many stresses that they have, stresses because of immigration issues that affect them directly, especially those with DACA, those under TPS, and those whose parents, relatives or friends are undocumented," said Lia Salinas, director of Hispanic ministry for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Region VI encuentro co-chair. "That is a voice that needs to be heard and that needs to be addressed."
Proposed strategies to accompany families include: nurturing families through each stage, helping families integrate into their communities and following up with pastoral care. They also proposed to provide support for families who suffer separation and be involved in advocacy.
As part of advocacy efforts, many participants signed letters to their senators seeking a legislative solution for TPS recipients. The letters are part of the Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services.
Throughout the day, participants shared priorities and strategies in the ministerial areas of evangelization and mission; vocations and leadership development; youth and young adult ministry; family ministry; immigration and social justice; faith formation and catechesis; intercultural competencies, stewardship and development; and Hispanics and public and professional life.
Priorities across the different areas of work included: the need to prepare catechists, priests, deacons and lay leaders to be multilingual and multicultural to reflect the universal church, placing greater emphasis on cultural integration and competencies.
"We have to develop the competencies, they're very important, but I just want to stress the importance of developing an open heart," noted Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to participants. He noted that although more needs to be done in the different areas, the church is headed down the right path.
Other priorities addressed were: finding ways to strengthen Hispanic ministry by strengthening the formation of Hispanic leaders; making available training in Spanish and scholarships to assist those who want to further their formation but lack the resources to do it; supporting and build up leaders, particularly among youth and young adults; access to Catholic education for youth, and providing a greater support for families, single parents and women.
In the afternoon, a group of bishops or their representatives joined the small group conversations and later exchanged views and answered questions with the participants.
We're called to proclaim and live the joy of the Gospel, we come here today very much aware of the real struggles that so many immigrants, people, families experience in their lives, and struggles are difficult," said Father Thomas Ferguson, vicar general of the Diocese of Arlington, who represented Bishop Michael Burbidge. "But even in the midst of carrying the cross or embracing the struggle and the sorrow and the suffering, it is radiated in this room joy, because we've been called by Jesus to carry out his work."
Other panel participants were: Archbishop Lori; Bishop Dorsonville, Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark E. Brennan and Msgr. John J.M. Foster, vicar general for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, representing Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.
Episcopal Region IV includes the dioceses of Arlington and Richmond, Virginia; Wilmington, Delaware; Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia; and the Washington and Baltimore archdioceses; and the U.S. military archdiocese.
Participants came from all walks of life including immigrants and nonimmigrants; ministry leaders from city, suburbs and rural communities; and leaders of Catholic ecclesial movements, organizations and institutions.
"We want to in some way continue the encuentro process in the parishes and the diocesan teams to prepare and ignite that fire that it's still there," said Gabriel Garza, a delegate in the Archdiocese of Washington, voicing the desire of many to continue being engaged in the process of leadership, consultation and discernment that the Fifth Encuentro has begun.
Military spouses and active duty members stationed in Japan, Italy, Hawaii and the eastern and western U.S., also participated in the meeting as part of the delegation representing the U.S. military archdiocese, which is based in Washington.
The military archdiocese facilitated access to the encuentro process for Catholics in the military services who wished to participate.
Zack Mackeller is a senior airman in the Air Force and became involved after attending a Catholic conference in Chicago. He represents the voices of young Catholics in the military and embraces the call to be a missionary disciple.
"I try to engage people as they are, where they're at. Just that very basic, person to person connection, that's really all you can do. Then the Holy Spirit will unite people in its own way," he said.
Recommendations will be included in a final report, which will form part of the working document for the National Fifth Encuentro, or V Encuentro, to be held in Grapevine, Texas, Sept. 20-24.
The Region IV participants will be part of over 3,000 delegates from across the country who are expected to convene during those four days to discern priorities and develop strategies for the "Pastoral Hispana," or Hispanic ministry, in the United States, including seeking ways to better respond to the call to be missionary disciples.
"Evangelizacion y alegria," or evangelization and joy, were the two words of encouragement that captured what Archbishop Lori wished for the delegates who will attend the National Fifth Encuentro.
The day concluded with a sending-off Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, with Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl presiding and Bishop Burbidge, Archbishop Lori and Bishop Dorsonville concelebrating.
Copyright ©2018 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Norma Montenegro Flynn, a freelance writer for the Catholic Review and a contributor to Catholic News Service, is a communications consultant. She has worked in Catholic communications for seven years and is a graduate of American University, where she pursued journalism studies. Norma lives in the Annapolis area with her family.
Norma Montenegro Flynn es una periodista independiente que contribuye artículos para Catholic Review y Catholic News Service. Ella ha trabajado en comunicaciones en el campo católico por varios años y estudió periodismo en la American University en Washington D.C.
An open letter to the former royals during #Megxit January 21, 2020
Bishop Strickland says he asked pope about McCarrick report January 21, 2020
Supreme Court to reexamine contraceptive mandate for religious employers January 21, 2020
Pope urges bishops to teach discernment, including on political issues January 21, 2020
God calls the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Baltimore to be a welcoming, worshipping community of faith, hope, and love. Through his Spirit, the Lord Jesus lives in those who believe, and reaches into our world with his saving message and healing love.
Archdiocese of Baltimore
As disciples of Jesus our mission is:
Evangelization: to evangelize ourselves, our families, our parish and local communities, and our world.
Liturgy: to celebrate our faith with joy through vibrant and prayerful worship.
Education: to educate and become educated in the truths of the Gospel and in the formation of conscience.
Service: to reach out in love and service to those in need.
Stewardship: to develop the material, financial and human resources of the Church and to manage them as faithful stewards.
An open letter to the former royals during #Megxit
Pope urges bishops to teach discernment, including on political issues
© 2020 ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE, ALL RIGHT RESERVED

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Periodization may just be the greatest thing to happen to the weight lifting world. When you know how to properly use periodization, you have unlocked the door that will allow you to overcome any plateau and make progress for years to come.
This is a very complicated science within three smaller subgroups of periodization: macrocycle, mesocycle and microcycle. Basically, periodization means changing up your workout. But how you go about doing it is the tough part. Most people do this by switching to a new workout every month or rotating the days they train each muscle. That is not periodization its "muscle confusion."
Proper periodization will produce amazing results while "muscle confusion" might produce results sometimes. When you use periodization properly you will be working with the other nine growth factors to make changes to your workout so you can continue to make progress. You do this by adjusting your training intensity on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
Your body needs to adapt to make progress. When you train, there are two directions your body will pull towards: Over-training or under-training. Somewhere between those two in a small area where growth takes place, the "Ideal Training Zone." By properly applying the 10 growth factors you will be able to stay within that ideal zone and continue to make progress until you reach your genetic potential.
By training intensity, I mean the effort at which you workout. There are many ways to adjust the intensity of your workout program: changing the amount of reps and sets, rest time, tempo, etc.
For now, I'm going to talk about training intensity as a separate factor. The fact is you're not going to push yourself and apply the same amount of effort into each and every workout and into each and every set. Physically and mentally, you just can't. Some days you may leave the gym feeling totally exhausted while other days you might feel like you hardly even workout out. Knowing how much training intensity to put it depends a lot on you and what stage of periodization you're in, most of the time your training will be between 100 percent all out effort and 70 percent effort.
At times sets will be done to complete failure using drop sets and partial reps, while other times you'll feel like you could have done a few more reps. Knowing what intensity to train at is part science and part you. It takes time to learn how your body responds and adapts to training.
What I've done is create a series a training systems that follow the above 10 growth factors. I didn't simply give you a temporary program to follow. I gave you an endless system of training that will teach you and allow you to understand these 10 factors.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime."


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dj-kay-slay
#MusicStillMatters New Music: DJ Kay Slay ft. Busta Rhymes, The Game & Tech N9ne – Jealousy
09.07.17 | 1 Comment | WiL
DJ Kay Slay's forthcoming album "The Big Brother" is set to drop September 22. The Drama King a new song song off the project called "Jealousy" featuring Busta Rhymes, The Game and Tech N9ne. Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: DJ Kay Slay Ft. Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Kevin Gates & Meet Sims – Wild One
August 18th, DJ Kay Slay will be dropping his album The Big Brother. As we await it's arrival, the Drama King unleashes "Wild Ones", which will appear on the project.
(Video) DJ Kayslay Presents: "Whats the Science" Featuring Kool DJ Red Alert Episode 1
Video Vintage Throwback
Though The Drama King Kay Slay is known as a Mixtape Legend during the 90s & 2000s, his ties to hip hop in the 70s & 80s as a Graffiti Artist run strong. Fast forward to 2017, With his knowledge of where the game has been, he feels a strong responsibility to use his platform to teach the younger generation of Hip Hop's rich history & beginnings. What better way to kick off his new Showcast "Whats the Science", then to have pioneer DJ & Radio Legend Kool DJ Red Alert as his first guest for Episode 1.
#MusicStillMatters NEW MUSIC: DJ Kay Slay Feat. Freeway, Young Chris, Oschino & Memphis Bleek – Im Coming
The Drama King Kay Slay calls on Roc-A-Fella Alumni to assist on his latest single "I'm Coming".
#MusicStillMatters New Music: DJ Kay Slay Ft. Joell Ortiz & Dave East – Rap Attack
DJ Kay Slay gather's Joell Ortiz & Dave East for new joint called "Rap Attack". Listen below.
(Video) DJ Kay Slay ft. Dave East, Raekwon & Papoose – Microphone Murderers
03.10.16 | 1 Comment | TatWza
DJ Kay Slay drops the visuals to his track, "Microphone Murders" featuring Papoose, Dave East and Raekwon. Watch the video after the jump.


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Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions, (NYSE: TLM), (TSE: TLM.TO)
The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:** Talisman Energy Inc, Canada's No.5 independent oil producer, said Friday it still plans to sell its oil properties in Iraq's Kurdistan region, even after its partner announced a massive oil discovery on its properties.
Talisman Energy Inc. (Talisman), is an oil and gas producers, through a combination of exploration, development and acquisitions. Shares of TLM traded higher by 2.29% or $0.24/share to $10.73. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.63 and as high as $13.38. On average, 4392680 shares of TLM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 11414145.
Talisman Energy Inc. (Talisman), is an oil and gas producers, through a combination of exploration, development and acquisitions. Shares of TLM traded higher by 2.18% or $0.25/share to $11.74. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.48 and as high as $13.83. On average, 2492600 shares of TLM.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2934619.


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Sony India has informed retailers that the PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, and PlayStation VR (PS VR) India price has been dropped with immediate effect. This comes after the GST Council cut rates on a host of consumer electronics including video game consoles. Both 500GB and 1TB PS4 Slim versions have a new MRP to reflect this as does the PS4 Pro 1TB console. Multiple retailers and sub-distributors speaking to Gadgets 360 have confirmed that other PS4-related accessories that get lower prices include the PS VR, DualShock 4 controller, PS4 Aim Controller, PS4 Platinum Wireless Headset, PS4 Wireless Stereo Headset, PS4 vertical stand, and the PS4 Twin Pack.
Expect all stores, from sites like Amazon and Games The Shop to local, offline sellers to update their prices soon enough. Here's the full list.
It will be interesting to see how much of an impact these new prices have. Reason being, prior to their announcement, multiple industry sources speaking to Gadgets 360 speculated that Sony could sell the PS4 for around Rs. 20,000. However this is far from the case. Anyway, some stores put their own discount over and above MRP, selling the PS4 Pro for around Rs. 37,000 and PS4 Slim 500GB for close to Rs. 26,000 prior to the GST rate cut. Perhaps these new MRPs from Sony could see prices slip further.
That said, the PS4 has been the number one console in the country since its launch. The widely accepted install base for the PS4 in India sits in the range of 380,000 to 400,000 units including grey market sales as well as the limited PS4 Pro sold via various channels (official or otherwise) sold till date, which has seen it surpass the PS3 with which only mustered 350,000 units in its lifetime.


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Piero del Pollaiolo (mk36)
Italian Early Renaissance Painter, 1445-1510 Italian painter and draughtsman. In his lifetime he was one of the most esteemed painters in Italy, enjoying the patronage of the leading families of Florence, in particular the Medici and their banking clients. He was summoned to take part in the decoration of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, was highly commended by diplomatic agents to Ludovico Sforza in Milan and Isabella d Este in Mantua and also received enthusiastic praise from the famous mathematician Luca Pacioli and the humanist poet Ugolino Verino. By the time of his death, however, Botticelli s reputation was already waning. He was overshadowed first by the advent of what Vasari called the maniera devota, a new style by Perugino, Francesco Francia and the young Raphael, whose new and humanly affective sentiment, infused atmospheric effects and sweet colourism took Italy by storm; he was then eclipsed with the establishment immediately afterwards of the High Renaissance style, which Vasari called the modern manner, in the paintings of Michelangelo and the mature works of Raphael in the Vatican. From that time his name virtually disappeared until the reassessment of his reputation that gathered momentum in the 1890s Related Paintings of Sandro Botticelli :. | Workshop of Botticelli,Portrait of a Young woman | Mystic Natitity (mk36) | Lament for Christ Dead | Adoratio of the Magi | Trinity with Mary Magdalene,St john the Baptist,Tobias and the Angel (mk36) |
JANSSENS, Jan
Flemish painter (b. 1590, Ghent, d. after 1650, ?) Flemish painter, active also in Italy. He became a master in the painters' guild of his native Ghent in 1621, but before that he spent considerable time in Italy, particularly Rome, where he is documented in 1619 and 1620. There he became associated with the international Caravaggesque movement and was especially influenced by the paintings of the Utrecht Caravaggisti, such as Gerrit van Honthorst and Dirck van Baburen. Immediately after his return to Ghent, Janssens introduced the style of Caravaggio there. His altarpieces and other painted compositions with mercilessly realistic representations of biblical and hagiographic themes were particularly sought after for churches in and around Ghent. In these works Janssens achieved a high emotional impact by modelling the figures and objects with a strong light from a hidden source. Typical examples are the Christ Crowned with Thorns (1627; Ghent, St Peter) and the Martyrdom of St Barbara (Ghent, St Michael). Such paintings met the demand that sprang from the Counter-Reformation for strongly emotional representations of religious themes. Janssens also occasionally worked for a public that was more international in outlook, as is demonstrated by his Caritas Romana
school of paris or Burgundy
early fifteenth century
George Frederick
British 1817-1904 George Frederick Watts Galleries


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Company A-Z Cuproban Systems
Cuproban Systems
Marine Cathodic Protection and Pipeline Anti-Fouling Systems
10 Science Park Road, 03-18 The Alpha,
Singapore Science Park II,
Singapore 117684,
www.cuproban.com
Cuproban Systems is one of the UK's oldest manufacturers of marine pipeline anti-fouling systems. In existence since 1985, we have several hundred installations worldwide in a variety of vessels including cruise and commercial vessels, ferries, rigs and platforms.
The company has now expanded to a full services provider of marine cathodic protection products. In addition to pipeline electrolytic anti-fouling and corrosion-control systems, we offer aluminium and zinc sacrificial anodes (in selected markets) and impressed-current cathodic protection systems. With a centralised international marketing head quarters in Singapore and agents and distributors in several countries, the company is well-positioned to cater to the global shipping customer.
Aluminium and zinc sacrificial anodes
The company offers a wide range of aluminium and zinc sacrificial anodes for ship-hull and ballast-tank protection and for protection of offshore platforms and pipelines, jetties, wharves and other marine structures. Aluminium and zinc sacrificial anodes are available from ready stocks in Europe, Singapore and China.
Impressed-current cathodic protection systems
Impressed-current cathodic protection systems work by taking the ship's power, using a transformer rectifier unit to convert it into direct current and impressing this on to the hull through inert anodes strategically positioned on the hull. The current flows from the inert anodes through the seawater and back to the hull — the quantum of current being determined by suitably positioned reference electrodes that monitor the hull's potential — and is such that the hull's potential is always maintained at the protected level.
Cuproban Systems offers a range of impressed-current cathodic protection systems from 25A to 400A. The control panels are offered in a wide range, from simple linear systems to advanced systems using high-frequency power supplies, enabling individual-anode current control. Features such as automatic data-logging and remote display are also available in different models of control panels. The panels are rugged and typically meet IP54 requirements, offering maintenance-free and long-lasting protection.
Inert anodes are typically MMO-coated titanium anodes in the form of disk anodes and linear anodes, capable of handling currents from 25A to 175A. These anodes typically have lives of 15 to 25 years and come with epoxy-resin or neoprene-rubber holders. Reference electrodes can be of zinc or Ag/AgCl. The anodes and electrodes are supplied with rugged cofferdam assemblies. These are easy to install but also extremely safe, having undergone pressure testing.
Advantages of an impressed-current cathodic protection system as compared to a sacrificial anode CP system include:
Careful design can compensate for significant coating damage and help extend dry-docking intervals
No anode removals required during dry-docking, reducing maintenance costs
Instrumentation on the control panels enables the protection levels to be continuously monitored
Anodes are generally flush-mounted on the hull, or even if surface-mounted are very few in number, thereby reducing structural loading and hydrostatic and hydrodynamic resistance, and thus reducing the ship's fuel consumption
Shaft-grounding systems for ship propellers
For complete protection of ships, it is imperative to electrically ground the ship's propeller to the hull, for which Cuproban Systems provides shaft-grounding systems complete with slip rings, brushes, brush rigging and optional monitoring equipment.
Electrolytic anti-fouling and corrosion-control systems
Cuproban's electrolytic anti-fouling systems consist of copper and aluminium (or soft iron) anodes strategically located in sea chests or sometimes in-board, but as close to the sea water intake point as possible. One such set of anodes is recommended for each seawater service. The anodes are connected to a control panel that feeds a current to the anodes. This causes the copper anodes to release cupric ions and the aluminium anodes to release aluminium ions that form an aluminium hydroxide, 'floc'.
The resultant ions and floc produced by the anodes is carried by the seawater, spreads through the pipework and creates an environment that is distinctly unfriendly to marine life. Thus any marine life larvae that enter the pipeline will not settle but will pass right through to discharge. An added benefit is that the aluminium hydroxide floc creates a protective film on the pipelines, thereby significantly reducing pipeline corrosion.
The result is cleaner pipelines with long and trouble-free life, resulting in lower maintenance and running costs.
Anti-fouling and corrosion-control systems for small pipelines
For pipelines with space constraints, for instance on warships and submarines, we offer special dual-purpose anodes with both the anti-fouling and corrosion-control anodes fitted together in a space-saving package.
Spare anodes for anti-fouling systems
The company can also offer spare anodes of other leading anti-fouling systems, for emergency replacement work.
The Cuproban Anti-Fouling and Corrosion Control System
Cuproban Systems (Singapore) Pte Ltd
10 Science Park Road, 03-18 The Alpha
Singapore Science Park II
+65 6777 9606 +65 6777 9756 [email protected] www.cuproban.com
Cuproban Systems Limited
Park House, Watford Road
Middlesex, HA6 3PF
+44 1923 829679 +44 1923 827487 [email protected] www.cuproban.com


By Caitlin Knute Tuesday, November 10, 2015 CARY, NC (WTVD) -- Upon first meeting D.J. Svoboda of Cary you can't help but be captivated by his enthusiasm and genuine desire to make the world a better place. In particular, he wants to end bullying and is trying to encourage people to more accepting of others, especially those who might seem "different." It's something he can personally relate to since D.J. is autistic. But, as D.J. puts it, that's not a bad thing. It just means he and others with autism see and react to the world a little differently than the rest of us. "Sometimes a child with autism gets really upset, and some people might think it's because of bad parenting, but it's not. It's because the child or teen with autism, or even the adults with autism, cannot explain how he or she is feeling," he explained.


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Marine Algal Antioxidants
Submit to Antioxidants Review for Antioxidants Edit a Special Issue
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Special Issue "Marine Algal Antioxidants"
A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2019).
Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.
Dr. Christophe Brunet
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
Interests: microalgal biology; photophysiology; pigments; antioxidants; algal biomass and cultivation; marine biotechnology
Special Issue in Antioxidants: From Marine Organisms to High Value Products with Health Benefits
Dr. Clementina Sansone
Interests: marine biotechnology; drug discovery; cell biology; pharmaceuticals; nutraceuticals and cosmetics
It is a pleasure for us to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Antioxidants by submitting original research papers or review articles focusing on Marine Algal Antioxidants.
The aim of this Special Issue is to present recent investigations into marine algal antioxidants and antioxidant networks functioning in algae.
The topics covered in this Special Issue will spawn from the diversity of antioxidant molecules in marine algae to their ecological role in marine ecosystems and their potential interest for biotechnological applications. Since the huge ecological forcing difference between marine and terrestrial systems, related for instance to the diversity of carotenoids reported in the marine algal world, compared to terrestrial plants, it is expected that antioxidant molecules (diversity, production, role) in marine algae also present peculiar properties.
This Special Issue aims to present data and the state-of-art on the way to increase antioxidant production for their exploitation in different fields, such as nutraceutics or cosmetics. On this topic, the plus-value of algal biodiversity for antioxidant molecule production will be also questioned.
There is no way to improve the sustainable and efficient production of bioactive molecules from photosynthetic organisms without an ecological knowledge of both the targeted organisms and family of molecules. The latter enters into finely-tuned mechanisms of defence, protection and/or repair acting in a balanced syntony with the photosynthetic and metabolism activity, modulated by adaptation, acclimation or regulation features operated by the organisms.
While a plethora of antioxidant molecules produced by higher plants are known and have been well-documented by many reports, little is known about the bioactive molecules from marine algae, with the exception of the carotenoids pool. Other families of antioxidant molecules are found in microalgae, such as phenolic compounds (e.g., flavonoids), lipophilic molecules synthesized by photosynthetic organisms, such as ascorbic acid (vitamin c) and tocopherols (vitamin E), and glutathione and phycobiliproteins present in few algal groups. While it is reported that these families of molecules with potential antioxidant roles are present in microalgae, little is known about their diversity, role or activity.
We look forward to receiving many contributions and stimulating a productive discussion on this exciting thematic of marine algal antioxidants.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Antioxidant biodiversity
Phycobiliproteins
Antioxidant network and protective mechanisms in microalgae
Sustainable production of microalgal antioxidant molecules
Analytical methodology: Antioxidant molecules determination
Analytical methodology: Antioxidant activity determination
Antioxidant activity in vitro
Molecular pathways activated by microalgal antioxidants
Open AccessEditorial
Clementina Sansone
Christophe Brunet
Antioxidants 2020, 9(3), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9030206 - 02 Mar 2020
Sea and marine biodiversity exploration represents a new frontier for the discovery of new natural products with human health benefits ("the exploitable biology", [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Algal Antioxidants) Printed Edition available
Jump to: Editorial
Quantification of Polyphenols in Seaweeds: A Case Study of Ulva intestinalis
Marie Emilie Wekre
Karoline Kåsin
Jarl Underhaug
Bjarte Holmelid
Monica Jordheim
Antioxidants 2019, 8(12), 612; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8120612 - 03 Dec 2019
In this case study, we explored quantitative 1H NMR (qNMR), HPLC-DAD, and the Folin-Ciocalteu assay (TPC) as methods of quantifying the total phenolic content of a green macroalga, Ulva intestinalis, after optimized accelerated solvent extraction. Tentative qualitative data was also acquired [...] Read more.
In this case study, we explored quantitative 1H NMR (qNMR), HPLC-DAD, and the Folin-Ciocalteu assay (TPC) as methods of quantifying the total phenolic content of a green macroalga, Ulva intestinalis, after optimized accelerated solvent extraction. Tentative qualitative data was also acquired after multiple steps of purification. The observed polyphenolic profile was complex with low individual concentrations. The qNMR method yielded 5.5% (DW) polyphenols in the crude extract, whereas HPLC-DAD and TPC assay yielded 1.1% (DW) and 0.4% (DW) respectively, using gallic acid as the reference in all methods. Based on the LC-MS observations of extracts and fractions, an average molar mass of 330 g/mol and an average of 4 aromatic hydrogens in each spin system was chosen for optimized qNMR calculations. Compared to the parallel numbers using gallic acid as the standard (170 g/mol, 2 aromatic H), the optimized parameters resulted in a similar qNMR result (5.3%, DW). The different results for the different methods highlight the difficulties with total polyphenolic quantification. All of the methods contain assumptions and uncertainties, and for complex samples with lower concentrations, this will be of special importance. Thus, further optimization of the extraction, identification, and quantification of polyphenols in marine algae must be researched. Full article
Chlorophyll Oxidative Metabolism During the Phototrophic and Heterotrophic Growth of Scenedesmus obliquus
Mariana Manzoni Maroneze
Leila Queiroz Zepka
Eduardo Jacob Lopes
Antonio Pérez-Gálvez
María Roca
Antioxidants 2019, 8(12), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8120600 - 29 Nov 2019
Different cultivation strategies have been developed with the aim of increasing the production rate of microalgal pigments. Specifically, biotechnological approaches are designed to increase antioxidant metabolites as chlorophyll and carotenoids. However, although significant advances have been built up, available information regarding both the [...] Read more.
Different cultivation strategies have been developed with the aim of increasing the production rate of microalgal pigments. Specifically, biotechnological approaches are designed to increase antioxidant metabolites as chlorophyll and carotenoids. However, although significant advances have been built up, available information regarding both the chlorophyll metabolism and their oxidative reactions in photobioreactors is scarce. To unravel such processes, the detailed chlorophyll and carotenoid fraction of Scenedesmus obliquus has been studied by HPLC-ESI/APCI-hrTOF-MS from phototrophic and heterotrophic cultures. Scenedesmus is provided with a controlled strategy of interconversion between chlorophyll a and b to avoid the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at high irradiances in addition to the photoacclimation of carotenoids. Indeed, precise kinetics of 132-hydroxy- and 151-hydroxy-lactone chlorophyll metabolites shows the existence of a chlorophyll oxidative metabolism as a tool to manage the excess of energy at high light conditions. Unexpectedly, the oxidation under phototrophy favored chlorophyll b metabolites over the chlorophyll a series, while the heterotrophic conditions exclusively induced the formation of 132-hydroxy-chlorophyll a. In parallel, during the first 48 h of growth in the dark, the chlorophyll fraction maintained a promising steady state. Although future studies are required to resolve the biochemical reactions implied in the chlorophyll oxidative metabolism, the present results agree with phytoplankton metabolism. Full article
In-Vitro Antioxidant Properties of Lipophilic Antioxidant Compounds from 3 Brown Seaweed
Gaurav Rajauria
Lipophilic compounds of seaweed have been linked to their potential bioactivity. Low polarity solvents such as chloroform, diethyl ether, n-hexane and their various combinations were used to extract the lipophilic antioxidants from brown seaweed namely Himanthalia elongata, Laminaria saccharina and Laminaria digitata [...] Read more.
Lipophilic compounds of seaweed have been linked to their potential bioactivity. Low polarity solvents such as chloroform, diethyl ether, n-hexane and their various combinations were used to extract the lipophilic antioxidants from brown seaweed namely Himanthalia elongata, Laminaria saccharina and Laminaria digitata. An equal-volume mixture of chloroform, diethyl ether and n-hexane (Mix 4) gave the highest total phenol (52.7 ± 1.93 to 180.2 ± 1.84 mg gallic acid equivalents/g), flavonoid (31.9 ± 2.65 to 131.3 ± 4.51 mg quercetin equivalents/g), carotenoid (2.19 ± 1.37 to 3.15 ± 0.91 μg/g) and chlorophyll content (2.88 ± 1.08 to 3.86 ± 1.22 μg/g) in the tested seaweeds. The extracts were screened for their potential antioxidant capacity and the extracts obtained from the selected solvents system exhibited the highest radical scavenging capacity against 2,2′-diphenly-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (EC50 98.3 ± 2.78 to 298.8 ± 5.81 mg/L) and metal ions (EC50 228.6 ± 3.51 to 532.4 ± 6.03 mg/L). Similarly, the same extract showed the highest ferric reducing antioxidant power (8.3 ± 0.23 to 26.3 ± 0.30 mg trolox equivalents/g) in all the seaweeds. Rapid characterization of the active extracts by liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detector and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-PDA–ESI-MS/MS) identified cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, fucoxanthin, violaxanthin, β-carotene, chlorophyll a derivatives and chlorophyll b derivatives in the tested seaweed. The study demonstrated the use of tested brown seaweed as potential species to be considered for future applications in medicine, cosmetics and as nutritional food supplement. Full article
Genome–Scale Metabolic Networks Shed Light on the Carotenoid Biosynthesis Pathway in the Brown Algae Saccharina japonica and Cladosiphon okamuranus
Delphine Nègre
Méziane Aite
Arnaud Belcour
Clémence Frioux
Loraine Brillet-Guéguen
Philippe Bordron
Olivier Godfroy
Agnieszka P. Lipinska
Anne Siegel
Simon M. Dittami
Erwan Corre
Gabriel V. Markov
Understanding growth mechanisms in brown algae is a current scientific and economic challenge that can benefit from the modeling of their metabolic networks. The sequencing of the genomes of Saccharina japonica and Cladosiphon okamuranus has provided the necessary data for the reconstruction of [...] Read more.
Understanding growth mechanisms in brown algae is a current scientific and economic challenge that can benefit from the modeling of their metabolic networks. The sequencing of the genomes of Saccharina japonica and Cladosiphon okamuranus has provided the necessary data for the reconstruction of Genome–Scale Metabolic Networks (GSMNs). The same in silico method deployed for the GSMN reconstruction of Ectocarpus siliculosus to investigate the metabolic capabilities of these two algae, was used. Integrating metabolic profiling data from the literature, we provided functional GSMNs composed of an average of 2230 metabolites and 3370 reactions. Based on these GSMNs and previously published work, we propose a model for the biosynthetic pathways of the main carotenoids in these two algae. We highlight, on the one hand, the reactions and enzymes that have been preserved through evolution and, on the other hand, the specificities related to brown algae. Our data further indicate that, if abscisic acid is produced by Saccharina japonica, its biosynthesis pathway seems to be different in its final steps from that described in land plants. Thus, our work illustrates the potential of GSMNs reconstructions for formalizing hypotheses that can be further tested using targeted biochemical approaches. Full article
Figure A1
Open AccessCommunication
Promises and Challenges of Microalgal Antioxidant Production
Antioxidants 2019, 8(7), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8070199 - 27 Jun 2019
The exploration of natural antioxidants for nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals industries has recently increased. This communication aims to grasp the relevance of microalgae in the panorama of natural antioxidant molecules supply to industrial applications as alternatives and/or complements to those typically used from higher [...] Read more.
The exploration of natural antioxidants for nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals industries has recently increased. This communication aims to grasp the relevance of microalgae in the panorama of natural antioxidant molecules supply to industrial applications as alternatives and/or complements to those typically used from higher plants. Microalgal richness in antioxidant compounds and scavenging ability compared to higher plants is discussed in the context of microalgal biodiversity. We mainly focus on families of powerful antioxidant compounds that have been scarcely investigated in microalgae, such as phenolic compounds, sterols, or vitamins, discussing the promise and challenges of microalgae as providers of health benefits, for instance, through their use as functional food ingredients. Full article
Fucoxanthin, A Carotenoid Derived from Phaeodactylum tricornutum Exerts Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities In Vitro
Ulrike Neumann
Felix Derwenskus
Verena Flaiz Flister
Ulrike Schmid-Staiger
Thomas Hirth
Stephan C. Bischoff
Microalgae contain a multitude of nutrients and can be grown sustainably. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, could have beneficial health effects. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and antiproliferative effects of fucoxanthin derived from this diatom in vitro. The effects of purified [...] Read more.
Microalgae contain a multitude of nutrients and can be grown sustainably. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, could have beneficial health effects. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and antiproliferative effects of fucoxanthin derived from this diatom in vitro. The effects of purified fucoxanthin on metabolic activity were assessed in blood mononuclear cells and different cell lines. In cell lines, caspase 3/7 activity was also analyzed. Nitrogen monoxide release and mRNA-expression of proinflammatory cytokines were measured. For antioxidant assays, cell free assays were conducted. Additionally, the antioxidant effect in neutrophils was quantified and glutathione was determined in HeLa cells. The results show that neither did fucoxanthin have anti-inflammatory properties nor did it exert cytotoxic effects on mononuclear cells. However, the metabolic activity of cell lines was decreased up to 58% and fucoxanthin increased the caspase 3/7 activity up to 4.6-fold. Additionally, dose-dependent antioxidant effects were detected, resulting in a 63% decrease in chemiluminescence in blood neutrophils and a 3.3-fold increase in the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione. Our studies show that fucoxanthin possesses antiproliferative and antioxidant activities in vitro. Hence, this carotenoid or the whole microalgae P. tricornutum could be considered as a food or nutraceutical in human nutrition, showcasing beneficial health effects. Full article
Antioxidant and Photoprotection Networking in the Coastal Diatom Skeletonema marinoi
Arianna Smerilli
Sergio Balzano
Maira Maselli
Martina Blasio
Ida Orefice
Christian Galasso
Little is known on the antioxidant activity modulation in microalgae, even less in diatoms. Antioxidant molecule concentrations and their modulation in microalgae has received little attention and the interconnection between light, photosynthesis, photoprotection, and antioxidant network in microalgae is still unclear. To fill [...] Read more.
Little is known on the antioxidant activity modulation in microalgae, even less in diatoms. Antioxidant molecule concentrations and their modulation in microalgae has received little attention and the interconnection between light, photosynthesis, photoprotection, and antioxidant network in microalgae is still unclear. To fill this gap, we selected light as external forcing to drive physiological regulation and acclimation in the costal diatom Skeletonema marinoi. We investigated the role of light regime on the concentration of ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds and among them flavonoids and their connection with photoprotective mechanisms. We compared three high light conditions, differing in either light intensity or wave distribution, with two low light conditions, differing in photoperiod, and a prolonged darkness. The change in light distribution, from sinusoidal to square wave distribution was also investigated. Results revealed a strong link between photoprotection, mainly relied on xanthophyll cycle operation, and the antioxidant molecules and activity modulation. This study paves the way for further investigation on the antioxidant capacity of diatoms, which resulted to be strongly forced by light conditions, also in the view of their potential utilization in nutraceuticals or new functional cosmetic products. Full article
Red Light Control of β-Carotene Isomerisation to 9-cis β-Carotene and Carotenoid Accumulation in Dunaliella salina
Yanan Xu
Patricia J. Harvey
Antioxidants 2019, 8(5), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8050148 - 27 May 2019
Dunaliella salina is a rich source of 9-cis β-carotene, which has been identified as an important biomolecule in the treatment of retinal dystrophies and other diseases. We previously showed that chlorophyll absorption of red light photons in D. salina is coupled with oxygen [...] Read more.
Dunaliella salina is a rich source of 9-cis β-carotene, which has been identified as an important biomolecule in the treatment of retinal dystrophies and other diseases. We previously showed that chlorophyll absorption of red light photons in D. salina is coupled with oxygen reduction and phytoene desaturation, and that it increases the pool size of β-carotene. Here, we show for the first time that growth under red light also controls the conversion of extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene by β-carotene isomerases. Cells illuminated with red light from a light emitting diode (LED) during cultivation contained a higher 9-cis β-carotene content compared to cells illuminated with white or blue LED light. The 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio in red light treated cultures reached >2.5 within 48 h, and was independent of light intensity. Illumination using red light filters that eliminated blue wavelength light also increased the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio. With norflurazon, a phytoene desaturase inhibitor which blocked downstream biosynthesis of β-carotene, extant all-trans β-carotene was converted to 9-cis β-carotene during growth with red light and the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio was ~2. With blue light under the same conditions, 9-cis β-carotene was likely destroyed at a greater rate than all-trans β-carotene (9-cis/all-trans ratio 0.5). Red light perception by the red light photoreceptor, phytochrome, may increase the pool size of anti-oxidant, specifically 9-cis β-carotene, both by upregulating phytoene synthase to increase the rate of biosynthesis of β-carotene and to reduce the rate of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and by upregulating β-carotene isomerases to convert extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene. Full article
Scheme 1
Figure A1 Cont.
Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Polysaccharides from Ulva pertusa and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activity
Bao Le
Kirill S. Golokhvast
Seung Hwan Yang
Sangmi Sun
The use of green marine seaweed Ulva spp. as foods, feed supplements, and functional ingredients has gained increasing interest. Microwave-assisted extraction technology was employed to improve the extraction yield and composition of Ulva pertusa polysaccharides. The antioxidant activity of ulvan was also evaluated. [...] Read more.
The use of green marine seaweed Ulva spp. as foods, feed supplements, and functional ingredients has gained increasing interest. Microwave-assisted extraction technology was employed to improve the extraction yield and composition of Ulva pertusa polysaccharides. The antioxidant activity of ulvan was also evaluated. The impacts of four independent variables, i.e., extraction time (X1, 30 to 60 min), power (X2, 500 to 700 W), water-to-raw-material ratio (X3, 40 to 70), and pH (X4, 5 to 7) were evaluated. The chemical structure of different polysaccharides fractions was investigated via FT-IR and the determination of their antioxidant activities. A response surface methodology based on a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the extraction conditions as follows: extraction time of 43.63 min, power level of 600 W, water-to-raw-material ratio of 55.45, pH of 6.57, and maximum yield of 41.91%, with a desired value of 0.381. Ulvan exerted a strong antioxidant effect against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and showed reducing power in vitro. Ulvan protected RAW 264.7 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress by upregulating the expression and enhancing the activity of oxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and superoxide dismutase (CAT). The results suggest that the polysaccharides from U. pertusa might be promising bioactive compounds for commercial use. Full article
Carotenoid Production by Dunaliella salina under Red Light
The halotolerant photoautotrophic marine microalga Dunaliella salina is one of the richest sources of natural carotenoids. Here we investigated the effects of high intensity blue, red and white light from light emitting diodes (LED) on the production of carotenoids by strains of D. [...] Read more.
The halotolerant photoautotrophic marine microalga Dunaliella salina is one of the richest sources of natural carotenoids. Here we investigated the effects of high intensity blue, red and white light from light emitting diodes (LED) on the production of carotenoids by strains of D. salina under nutrient sufficiency and strict temperature control favouring growth. Growth in high intensity red light was associated with carotenoid accumulation and a high rate of oxygen uptake. On transfer to blue light, a massive drop in carotenoid content was recorded along with very high rates of photo-oxidation. In high intensity blue light, growth was maintained at the same rate as in red or white light, but without carotenoid accumulation; transfer to red light stimulated a small increase in carotenoid content. The data support chlorophyll absorption of red light photons to reduce plastoquinone in photosystem II, coupled to phytoene desaturation by plastoquinol:oxygen oxidoreductase, with oxygen as electron acceptor. Partitioning of electrons between photosynthesis and carotenoid biosynthesis would depend on both red photon flux intensity and phytoene synthase upregulation by the red light photoreceptor, phytochrome. Red light control of carotenoid biosynthesis and accumulation reduces the rate of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as increases the pool size of anti-oxidant. Full article
The Long-Term Algae Extract (Chlorella and Fucus sp) and Aminosulphurate Supplementation Modulate SOD-1 Activity and Decrease Heavy Metals (Hg++, Sn) Levels in Patients with Long-Term Dental Titanium Implants and Amalgam Fillings Restorations
José Joaquín Merino
José María Parmigiani-Izquierdo
Adolfo Toledano Gasca
María Eugenia Cabaña-Muñoz
Antioxidants 2019, 8(4), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8040101 - 16 Apr 2019
The toxicity of heavy metals such as Hg++ is a serious risk for human health. We evaluated whether 90 days of nutritional supplementation (d90, n = 16) with Chlorella vulgaris (CV) and Fucus sp extracts in conjunction with aminosulphurate (nutraceuticals) supplementation could [...] Read more.
The toxicity of heavy metals such as Hg++ is a serious risk for human health. We evaluated whether 90 days of nutritional supplementation (d90, n = 16) with Chlorella vulgaris (CV) and Fucus sp extracts in conjunction with aminosulphurate (nutraceuticals) supplementation could detox heavy metal levels in patients with long-term titanium dental implants (average: three, average: 12 years in mouth) and/or amalgam fillings (average: four, average: 15 years) compared to baseline levels (d0: before any supplementation, n = 16) and untreated controls (without dental materials) of similar age (control, n = 21). In this study, we compared levels of several heavy metals/oligoelements in these patients after 90 days (n = 16) of nutritional supplementation with CV and aminozuphrates extract with their own baseline levels (d0, n = 16) and untreated controls (n = 21); 16 patients averaging 44 age years old with long-term dental amalgams and titanium implants for at least 10 years (average: 12 years) were recruited, as well as 21 non-supplemented controls (without dental materials) of similar age. The following heavy metals were quantified in hair samples as index of chronic heavy metal exposure before and after 90 days supplementation using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and expressed as μg/g of hair (Al, Hg++, Ba, Ag, Sb, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Pb, Pt, Tl, Th, U, Ni, Sn, and Ti). We also measured several oligoelements (Ca++, Mg++, Na+, K+, Cu++, Zn++, Mn++, Cr, V, Mo, B, I, P, Se, Sr, P, Co, Fe++, Ge, Rb, and Zr). The algae and nutraceutical supplementation during 90 consecutive days decreased Hg++, Ag, Sn, and Pb at 90 days as compared to baseline levels. The mercury levels at 90 days decreased as compared with the untreated controls. The supplementation contributed to reducing heavy metal levels. There were increased lithium (Li) and germanium (Ge) levels after supplementation in patients with long-term dental titanium implants and amalgams. They also (d90) increased manganesum (Mn++), phosphorum (P), and iron (Fe++) levels as compared with their own basal levels (d0) and the untreated controls. Finally, decreased SuperOxide Dismutase-1 (SOD-1) activity (saliva) was observed after 90 days of supplementation as compared with basal levels (before any supplementation, d0), suggesting antioxidant effects. Conversely, we detected increased SOD-1 activity after 90 days as compared with untreated controls. This SOD-1 regulation could induce antioxidant effects in these patients. The long-term treatment with algae extract and aminosulphurates for 90 consecutive days decreased certain heavy metal levels (Hg++, Ag, Sn, Pb, and U) as compared with basal levels. However, Hg++ and Sn reductions were observed after 90 days as compared with untreated controls (without dental materials). The dental amalgam restoration using activated nasal filters in conjunction with long-term nutritional supplementation enhanced heavy metals removal. Finally, the long-term supplementation with these algae and aminoazuphrates was safe and non-toxic in patients. These supplements prevented certain deficits in oligoelements without affecting their Na+/K+ ratios after long-term nutraceutical supplementation. Full article
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https://www.mdpi.com/journal/antioxidants/special_issues/Marine_Algal_Antioxidants


text:
How I fell in love with a building – and why I miss my office
At a time when many are reflecting on the highs and lows of working from home, this short piece is a homage to the role of architecture in our lives.
And, in particular, one building – 58 Marylebone High Street – our Circus home for the past 16 years. A home we leave today.
58 is a rare self-contained 1964 building with a glorious view of Marylebone Church at the front, and a private garden at the back. For Circus, an oasis for extraordinary work in our gallery, and radiant space for active client debate above. How magnificent it has been; how lucky are we to have been its second resident.
For me, it has always been a love affair. I found the building through a Google search – where would I like to be? Marylebone. What type of buildings do I love? Mid Century Modern. And there it was; the late John Harris had just retired and the building created for his own architectural practice was for rent.
Six months of tea and cake with John and his wife, Jill, followed; to check I was the right sort, that I could be trusted with their beautiful building. They lived behind – and had designed the studio at the end of their garden. Captured rather glamorously in Harper's Bazaar in 1965, "the coolest building in London" was the caption then, and still feels true today.
Once I passed muster with Mr Harris, there followed a long courtship with Howard de Walden as we worked together to restore the building, and protect the windows, stairwells, tiles and mezzanine.
From the get go, we created both a gallery and a debating space encouraging reflection, conversation and unexpected encounters between clients and artists. Through Private Views we would wave to Mr and Mrs Harris across the garden – and they would dance along.
Our last show, our 50th, was due to be At This Moment of Time, in collaboration with ceramicist Bae Sejin. But, of course, the world changed. The Private View was cancelled and the beautiful ceramics are on their way back to South Korea.
When I think back through my career, the office environment frames my memories – Imagination with its magnificent atrium, Fitch with a glorious vista of Soho Square, Bonhams with its quirky Knightsbridge gallery, or The Body Shop with a pagoda incongruously in the middle of a Littlehampton roundabout. These spaces create companies, they create cultures.
Many companies will look at the learnings of Covid-19 and cut real estate; they will be encouraged by people not wanting to return to their soulless transactional offices. But we should demand more. 58 demonstrates the true potential of a shared working space; not as a sterile physical necessity, but as an energetic protagonist in our lives.
Much work can be achieved in our homes; a direct output with perhaps higher productivity. But, the physical kinetic response to working in beautiful space is not to be underestimated for both the individual and the collective; for the guest and for the company itself.
Buildings are important – not just as symbols, but as emotional encouragement for better work, for new perspectives, for beauty and for a happier day.
It is the coolest building in London. And what joy it has given. 58 is testament to the emotive power of architecture to inspire and connect us. Let's not forsake the concept of the office too readily. Circus, meanwhile has come to the end of its lease. A decision made long before Covid-19, and is looking forward to a new home in the Autumn.
Written by Dilys Maltby
A Circus point of view
Perspectives and reflections
Terence Conran - and the role of design in everyday life
How I fell in love with a building - and why I miss my office
Why I still believe in Purpose: as parable and proof, not puff
Head, Heart and Hand – A celebration of others
Brave, memorable and true A Plural Performance


Hundreds of castles—some occupied, many more ruined—survive in the historic British landscape. These structures once served both as military devices and as private homes. Many still dominate town centers. Some are enormous complexes; others little more than eroded earthworks. Each, however, played its role in history, effecting both social and economic change while permanently marking the territory it ruled. And each reveals a fascinating window into the past. Join us on this breathtaking journey through Southern England and Wales as we visit twenty of Britain's greatest medieval castles and discover the stories they have kept for posterity.


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'Our reckoning': US sisters take up call to examine their role in systemic racism
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth dismantling racism 1 CROP.jpg
At the 2012 bicentennial of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, Sr. Theresa Knabel and sculptor Edward Hamilton unveiled a plaque honoring the enslaved people owned by the congregation until the end of the Civil War. (Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)
An Adrian Dominican sister spent a year poring through the congregation's archives under the direction of the order's leadership team, trying to document a policy, a procedure, a decision — anything, really — that would show why the community had so few Black sisters.
She dug through more than 145 boxes of records but found nothing, not even statistics on how many Black women had tried to enter the community and either were turned away or changed their minds.
"To our credit or stupidity — or unconsciousness, probably — we didn't record people's race," Sr. Pat Siemen, the congregation's president, said of the 2018 document search. "We were more interested in whether people had a baptismal certificate than we were in their race."
Adrian Dominicans dismantling racism 3 CROP.jpg
Dominican Sisters of Edmonds celebrate the investiture of novices — including the congregation's first Black sister, Deanne (Martin de Porres) Gayle — and of first, renewing and finally professed sisters on June 14, 1964. The Edmonds congregation later merged with the Adrian Dominicans. (Courtesy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters)
Finally, two things became clear: The archives weren't going to yield what the leadership council was looking for, and there were a couple of numbers that were an inescapable truth beyond any statistics that old records might reveal.
"After 135 years — at one point, we had 2,500 sisters — we've had only six [professed] Black sisters in our history, and only two Black sisters today," Siemen said — four left the congregation after final vows. "There are certain obvious conclusions one comes to."
Congregations across the United States are undergoing similar examinations, spurred first by historian Shannen Dee Williams' address to the 2016 Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly and with a new urgency after a police officer's murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
For many communities, sisters' efforts to eliminate racism are beginning by first addressing their own failures.
"We as women religious are absolutely called to this work. It's fundamental to who we say we are, and the first step is to revisit our history, all our collective history and our specific history," said Sr. Elise García, also an Adrian Dominican and the current LCWR president. "We have to admit and recognize the ways we have been complicit in this."
'These are sacred conversations we're being called to. This is going to take my lifetime. This is going to take generations.'
—Sacred Heart Sr. Maria Cimperman
García said her congregation realized that the archives were not going to produce some evidence of where they went astray.
"The numbers were not going to tell the story," she said. "The story was in our women. The story was in us."
That change in perspective also meant the sisters looked at the archives differently, and the records began to help tell the story by what wasn't there, like the fact that the 70 years of vocation brochures they found had almost no photos of women of color.
From the archives' photos and letters, the sisters learned that in addition to the four Black sisters who left, since 1945 at least another 83 women of color withdrew from the community. The reasons they gave included: "I felt avoided and intentionally excluded"; "[I] am not willing to become deculturated"; and "I do not trust the institution anymore, because there is not a guarantee that I will not feel mistreated, for reasons, I can only guess, such as racism."
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Adrian Dominican Sisters pose with parishioners and priests of the Blessed Martin de Porres Mission in Fort Pierce, Florida, for a portrait in 1945. Despite arriving in the United States nearly a century earlier, this was one of the first times the Adrian Dominicans ministered to people of color. (Courtesy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters)
For much of the congregation's early history, the Adrian Dominicans likely wouldn't have come in contact with people of color because of America's racial segregation. The sisters arrived in the United States in the 1800s from Germany to serve German immigrants, and they later settled in rural southern Michigan, which was almost completely white. When their ministry expanded to other immigrant groups, those groups were also European.
In the early 1900s, they were called to staff schools in Cleveland and Chicago, but there were no children of color in the neighborhoods in which they ministered. They opened a school in Arizona that served Hispanic children, but the mission had been initiated to help the sisters sent there recover from tuberculosis. That they could also run a school was a bonus.
It wasn't until 1940 that the order had a mission dedicated to Black children, when it opened a school for Black students in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"We've always had some sisters highly conscious of racism, but it didn't necessarily go wider than those sisters already working in communities of color," Siemen said.
Adrian Dominicans' 1970s effort to address racism 'fizzled out'
In 1974 and 1975, Adrian Dominican Sr. Jamie Phelps made a proposal to the congregation's newly elected leadership council, calling for a Minority Commission to represent minority groups within the community and study its ministries, as well as for a formation program to facilitate Black vocations.
According to Reckoning With Racism: A Lenten Journey, a booklet published in February by Adrian Dominican Sr. Elise García on the history of the congregation's treatment of Black sisters, the response from the leadership council was positive, and they promised to implement many of the suggestions Phelps and other minority sisters had made.
But by 1976, the movement slowed, bureaucratic resistance to change took over, and the minority sisters were told in a letter that while the council agreed their concerns needed to be addressed, there would be no Minority Commission to oversee them because "none of us feels that establishing a separate office for this purpose is feasible. Whatever the needs to be addressed, we have the channels for doing so in our present structure."
"It just sort of fizzled out," said theologian M. Shawn Copeland, a former Adrian Dominican who was one of the sisters involved in the effort. "That part is exhausting, because you keep going and going and going and nothing ever happens. It's not that things are shot down; they just don't go anywhere."
Sr. Pat Siemen, the congregation's president, said that's not going to happen now: Forty-five years after Phelps' proposal, the Adrian Dominicans are establishing an Office of Racial Equality and Cultural Inclusion, which will examine the congregation's structure, policies and practices from top to bottom.
"We want the future to look different than the past and the present," Siemen said. "There have been initiatives and efforts, but it hasn't been sustained. We are at a different point now."
—Dan Stockman
Until the social upheaval of the late 1960s, America's segregated society meant people of color were largely out of sight and out of mind for the Adrian Dominicans, a phenomenon that continues for most white people today.
At their 1968 chapter, the Adrian Dominicans added "racism" as one of their central issues to address. They were officially on the record saying fighting racism was important, but that didn't lead to much action.
LCWR begins the work
Likewise, Williams' 2016 address was the prelude to that year's conference resolution, which committed LCWR members to "examine the root causes of injustice, particularly racism, and our own complicity as congregations."
Williams, who by then had been working on a book — Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle — for nearly a decade, postponed finishing it when at least five congregations opened their archives to her after the address. Others invited her to speak at their motherhouses so their sisters could learn their own histories. (Williams is on an extended sabbatical and could not comment for this story. Her book is scheduled to be published by Duke University Press in April 2022.)
Initially, LCWR's 2016 commitment for members meant LCWR itself began to work hard on the issue, said Sr. Patricia Chappell of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, but she said she got the sense many congregations had other priorities. Chappell was executive director of Pax Christi USA for eight years and president of the National Black Sisters' Conference for five years. Now the co-coordinator of her community's anti-racism team, she has long been involved in anti-racism work, helping religious communities confront the systemic racism within their congregations.
But if little seemed to be happening at the congregation level, Floyd's murder in 2020 gave the effort an urgency unknown before, Chappell said, and since then, she has personally worked with 30 religious communities on their efforts to confront racism.
Sr. Jayne Helmlinger, a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange, California, and the current past-president of LCWR, said LCWR's presidential triumvirate had a phone call scheduled for the day after Floyd was killed.
"We had to set the agenda aside" because they could talk of nothing but Floyd's death and its implications, Helmlinger said. "I think that was the turning point."
Helmlinger said what made Floyd's death so pivotal for her was the realization that while white viewers of a viral video of his death were shocked, Black viewers were horrified but not surprised — Floyd's murder was just another example of a Black person being killed by police. Helmlinger said she and the others in leadership had to come to grips with the fear and trauma Black people are forced to live with every day, decade after decade.
"Suddenly, we were looking through a new lens," she said. "It felt very different and called for a response."
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Graduates of Dominican High School in Detroit celebrate Ring Day in 1984. The high school, which closed in 2005, was a sponsored ministry of the Adrian Dominicans. (Courtesy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters)
LCWR officials contacted the National Black Sisters' Conference and asked for a partnership.
"We know it's our work to do, so we weren't asking the Black Sisters' Conference to step up and do the work," Helmlinger said. "We asked them to join us on our journey."
Sr. Josita Colbert, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur and the president of the National Black Sisters' Conference, said LCWR is making great strides in its efforts and said she believes they will pay off, as any commitment has to start with the leaders.
"People have been responding and trying to be much more open," she said.
LCWR also hired Kathy Obear, a facilitator and the author of ... But I'm Not Racist!: Tools for Well-Meaning Whites, to help leaders in the organization confront their own racism.
"You can't [dismantle] organizational and institutional racism without doing the personal work," Helmlinger said. "I know it's changed me as a leader just as much as it's changed me as a human being."
Less than three months after Floyd's death, LCWR took the 2016 resolution a step further and called on members to join efforts to "name and eradicate racism within themselves, their congregations, their ministries, and LCWR as an organization."
The organization's members responded.
"For religious communities — primarily women, but a couple of men's communities, too — there is an openness to want to begin" this work, Chappell said. "The challenge and the difficulty is, how do you sustain the ongoing work that needs to be done?"
Some don't know where to start.
"There's a fear on part of many white sisters because they don't want to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing," Chappell said. "So there's a fear of where do they begin."
Where to begin, many say, is to examine yourself, either as an individual or an organization or, preferably, both.
From left: Dominican Sr. Shawn Copeland, Dominican Sr. Jamie Phelps, Dominican Fr. Reginald Whitt, Dominican Sr. Maria del Rey Plain, Dominican Fr. Jerome Robinson and Dominican Sr. Cheryll Delahoussaye on the day of Copeland's final profession in 1977 (Courtesy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters)
"If you really understand what happened in the past, you can identify your previous behaviors and try to correct them," said theologian M. Shawn Copeland, a former Adrian Dominican. "And I think that's what sisters are after at this time."
'We have all benefited in the most terrible way'
Some congregations have already done a deep dive into their pasts despite knowing they would find the worst behavior imaginable: owning enslaved people.
In the fall of 2016, just weeks after Williams' address to LCWR and four months after The New York Times publicized the fact the Jesuits had owned enslaved people, the Society of the Sacred Heart, known as the Religious of the Sacred Heart, convened a committee to examine the society's role in racism and enslavement. The fact that the sisters had once owned 150 enslaved people wasn't hidden, but it also had not been looked at in detail. Until 2016, the community had no desire to open those books.
The Sacred Heart committee's work, which resulted in a 2018 gathering of descendants but still continues, came nearly two decades after a similar effort begun by three congregations in Kentucky that had enslaved Black people: the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, the Sisters of Loretto, and the Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine. (In 2009, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine became one of the seven congregations that merged to form the Dominican Sisters of Peace.)
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One of the few headstones naming the enslaved people buried in the cemetery of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky. Though the people owned by the congregation were moved from a separate cemetery to the sisters' cemetery around 1912, most were placed in a common grave. (Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)
In 2000, the three congregations gathered at a church in Bardstown, Kentucky, which had been built by enslaved people, and asked the descendants of the people they had owned for forgiveness.
That wasn't the first time the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth had gathered with the descendants. In 1912, 47 years after 30 people were emancipated from forced labor for the congregation — nine had already run away to join the Union Army in the Civil War — more than 150 people went to Nazareth for the congregation's centennial celebration, where the formerly enslaved people and their families were feted with tours, a big dinner and a dance.
"They maintained a relationship with the families over the years," said Sr. Theresa Knabel, who did extensive research on the congregation's slaveholding for its bicentennial in 2012. "It was a whole daylong celebration. ... They're still considered very much a part of us."
Congregations who owned enslaved people face a dilemma: How do they recognize and commemorate the work enslaved people did — work that often meant the survival of the congregation — while acknowledging that work only happened because they were held in bondage and treated as property?
People formerly enslaved by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, returned with their families to celebrate the religious order's centennial in 1912. The sisters say the people the congregation owned were considered family but acknowledge that in no way erases the sin of slavery. (Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)
While Southern states did not recognize Black people owned as slaves as humans, meaning few official records exist, religious congregations, including the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the Society of the Sacred Heart, scrupulously kept sacramental records of baptisms and marriages.
The Nazareth sisters say there is no record their sisters bought or sold humans themselves: They were either given by the families of women entering the order or were born to people already enslaved there.
But "it doesn't undo the reality," said Sr. Adeline Fehribach, one of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth's vice presidents. "It's like it never goes away. It will always be there."
For the Nazareth bicentennial in 2012, a plaque and monument to their forced work was dedicated, and a headstone with the names of the 28 buried there was placed. Knabel is now working on a permanent exhibit on that part of the congregation's history for the Heritage Hall in the motherhouse.
A headstone placed in the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, cemetery in 2012 for the 28 enslaved people buried there (Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)
Similarly, the 2018 event held by the Society of the Sacred Heart was planned by the descendants of the enslaved people. The family tree the sisters were able to build from their records was put online for anyone wanting to study the genealogy. New gravestones were installed and a plaque listing the names of those enslaved by the sisters was put on the former slave quarters, which still stand at the convent in Grand Coteau, Louisiana.
Sacred Heart Sr. Maria Cimperman was at the meeting where the decision was made to research the congregation's ownership of slaves.
"It was one of the most solemn gatherings I have ever been in," she said. "We have all benefited in the most terrible way from enslaved people's efforts. We're all beholden to them."
"We Speak Your Names" | September 23, 2018
Before her congregation began its work, Cimperman was in Canada, working on that country's reconciliation efforts with the First Nations people over religious boarding schools, so she understood the research would only be the beginning of a long journey.
"These are sacred conversations we're being called to," she said. "This is going to take my lifetime. This is going to take generations. Right now, we can't talk across our divides. We need to recreate our structures."
That need to talk across divides took on more urgency after Floyd's murder, which led to "A Call to Transformative Love in Religious Life: Stories of Race, Place and Grace," an online event in three sessions in the fall that included Black religious telling the stories of what they went through when they joined white congregations, an examination of congregations that owned enslaved people, and how to transform congregations to be more welcoming. Cimperman is director of the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, which co-hosted the series with the National Black Sisters' Conference.
Floyd's death prompted Cimperman to ask herself what religious are called to do in the fight to dismantle racism. The answer, she said, was to begin by examining their own role in perpetuating it. Another set of online sessions in March included one titled "Owning Our History: Race and Racism in the History of the Catholic Church."
'If you really understand what happened in the past, you can identify your previous behaviors and try to correct them. And I think that's what sisters are after at this time.'
—M. Shawn Copeland
"We're still fighting over what's in our history books," Cimperman said. "Reconciliation is both a choice and a grace. It's different from forgiveness. I may forgive you but never again speak to you. But reconciliation is building a new relationship."
The need to see a new reality
Helmlinger used her presidential address at LCWR's August 2020 assembly to urge the organization's members to begin anti-racism work by looking within.
"This part of God's vision is infinitely clear to me: We have work to do, sisters, in our complicity in enabling the insidiousness of racism to flourish within and around us," she said in her remarks. "I cannot be, live or lead authentically if I'm not willing to do the inner work required in naming and eradicating the racism that dwells within."
She said she now knows this journey will take a lifetime.
"The unlearning is what's so surprising to me," she told Global Sisters Report. "It's not pointing a finger or shaming or anything else; it's understanding the true history of the United States. For most of us, [racism] wasn't out of malice; it was out of ignorance. I have to recognize that I look out of this white lens always."
'I cannot be, live or lead authentically if I'm not willing to do the inner work required in naming and eradicating the racism that dwells within.'
—St. Joseph Sr. Jayne Helmlinger
But Helmlinger, the other LCWR officers, staff, national board members and 15 regional chairwomen are learning to look through other lenses.
"It's painful work," she said, "but it's very gratifying work."
Margaret Susan Thompson, a historian at Syracuse University who studies Catholic sisters and race in the United States and is an associate with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, said history is controversial in the United States in ways it is not in other countries because of the ideals upon which the nation was built. Recognizing we have not always lived up to those ideals becomes an affront to the nation itself, she said.
"How do you have a document that says, 'All men are created equal,' written by a slave owner?" Thompson asked. "How is it a country built on these values wrote a Constitution that legitimized slavery?"
The same way the United States cannot address institutionalized racism if it will not recognize the history that created it, Catholic sisters will not be able to build relationships with Black communities if they will not acknowledge how they have hurt them, Thompson said.
Adrian Dominican Sr. Rosalie Esquerra teaches young adults in Life Directions, a peer-to-peer organization she helped found in 1973 to address violence, in the 1980s. Life Directions continues to serve at-risk youth in Detroit and Chicago. (Courtesy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters)
"They have to deal with their own histories to deal with the present," she said. "Often, they are histories of unconsciously racist attitudes. I think they were usually not actively discriminating. They were blind to things or oblivious to things, rather than acting with malice.
"But then, they have to ask: What would it take for us to really be different?" she continued. "I don't think there's a future for religious life unless it's a multicultural one. ... I think religious communities need to see a new reality, and that's a heck of a lot harder than just saying, 'We welcome Black applicants.' "
Colbert said Black sisters will only truly feel welcomed into a congregation if real change happens before they even apply. White communities need to embrace other cultures even when there isn't a representative to prod them, and they need to have Black speakers for topics other than racism.
'I don't think there's a future for religious life unless it's a multicultural one.'
—Margaret Susan Thompson
"They can't wait until a Black woman comes in and then put up a picture of Martin Luther King," she said. "It has to be part of who they are."
When a woman is called to join a congregation, Colbert said, that congregation — whatever its racial makeup — has an obligation to honor that, even if it means changing, because "it's God who calls us to religious life."
When the Adrian Dominicans' archive search was complete, the leadership team asked García to write the narrative of what they had found. She created a 55-page booklet, Reckoning With Racism: A Lenten Journey, in February that walked the entire congregation through the story of how they had built a community that welcomed so few Black sisters, sending those who read the booklet on their own personal journeys.
It's a journey in which the congregation cannot falter or slow down, Siemen said.
"This is part of our reckoning. We have to face the suffering we have caused others in order for there to be a commitment to change, in order to say, 'No more,' " she said. "Unless these stories get told, we will go on oblivious to the pain we are causing."
Dan Stockman is national correspondent for Global Sisters Report. His email address is dstockman@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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