During a ceremony held May 19 at the St. Christopher Catholic Newman Center at Kutztown University, the Allentown Diocese Catholic Scouting Committee recognized 28 youth and two adults for their achievements and contributions to Catholic Scouting.
Laurie Guastella, mother of 17-year-old Reno Guastella, describes her son as “a very spiritual kid.” Reno Guastella is a recipient of the Pope Pius XII Award for Christian Leadership. The Guastella family is parishioners of St. Ann Church in Emmaus.
“There was a lot of writing, discussions and interviews,” Lino Guastella said of the work he did for the award, which he received while working on his Eagle Scout project.
“Scouting has brought her out of her shell,” Jessica Tomaselli said of the impact Scouting has had on her daughter, Genevieve Tomaselli.
The Tomasellis are parishioners of St. Columbkille Church in Boyertown, and Genevieve received the Paruvri Day Award for Cub Scouts ages 8-10, which aims to help children discover God’s presence in their daily lives and develop a positive self-image.
Genevieve did a lot of work to win the award, including organising a family prayer meeting and being interviewed by her pastor, Father Richard Clement.
Father Eric Tolentino, Catholic Scout chaplain and pastor of Annunciation BVM in Catasauqua, said of the Scout award in his homily, “It’s not something someone gives you. It’s something you earn for yourself.”
“Just like being a disciple of Christ, you have to earn it through some sacrifice,” he said. “You’re learning to love Christ, serve your community and be a leader.”
The ceremony began with the Scouts entering, raising the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scout Law.
Father Tolentino led the Scouts and their families in Eucharistic Adoration and then heard confessions.
Music was provided by Bill Minford, co-chair of the Minsi Trails Council’s Catholic Committee, on guitar, and the father-son duo of Ben and John Heller on trumpet. Emcee was Randy Bjorken, co-chair of the Hawk Mountain Council’s Catholic Committee.
After the confession, Father Tolentino read from the Gospel of John (21:15-19) and gave a sermon in which he spoke of how Jesus appeared to the Apostles after his resurrection and gave the Apostle Peter the opportunity to confess his love for Jesus three times, thus overturning his previous three denials of Jesus.
“Being a Scout is easy compared to being a disciple of Jesus,” Father Tolentino said, as he urged families to “follow Jesus and be a holy family. Let us embrace this truth every day. Every day, by God’s grace, we should strive to be saints.”
After returning the Blessed Sacrament from the monstrance to the tabernacle, Father Tolentino blessed the medals and handed them out to each of the recipients in attendance.
All four awards that could be considered religious symbolism were presented: the “Light of Christ Award” for Tiger and Wolf Cub Scouts (ages 6-7), the “Paruvri Dei Award” for Senior Cub Scouts (ages 8-10), the “Ad Altare Dei Award” for Scouts (ages 10-18), and the “Pope Pius XII Award” for High School Scouts and Venture Scouts. The winners were:
The five counties in Allentown Parish (Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties) are served by two Scout councils: Minsi Trails Council in Allentown and Hawk Mountain Council in Reading.
Light of Christ Award
The award recognizes Cub Scouts ages 8-10 who have demonstrated an understanding of what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus as a real person and friend.
Hawk Mountain Council: St. Ignatius Loyola, Sinking Spring – Maxwell Brent, Robert Francis Oswald.
Minsi Trails Council: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall – Frank Schoepflin; St. Joseph of Coopersburg – Paul Arruda, Graham Burgess; St. Thomas More of Allentown – Anthony Gallucci, Timothy Heller, Rowan Hoxey.
Paruvri Day Award
The award recognizes Cub Scouts who understand what it means to discover God’s presence in their daily lives and who have developed a positive self-image through contributions to their communities.
Hawk Mountain Council: Sacred Heart, West Reading – James Goubernot, St. Columbkill, Boyertown – Genevieve Tomaselli.
Minsi Trails Council: Holy Spirit of Bethlehem – Camaron James Gal.
Ad Altare Dei Award
The award recognizes Scouts who have demonstrated an understanding of what it means to be followers and disciples of Christ by incorporating the sacraments into their lives.
Hawk Mountain Council: Holy Guardian Angels, Redding – Carlos Flood, Elijah Fowkes, Ethan Noll, Frank Sabatucci, Giancarlo Sabatucci, Cody Toprak, Nick Wentzel.
Minsi Trails Council: St. Thomas More, Allentown – Julian Borkowski, Kevin Damitz, Mansell Kazba, Martin Keane, Declan McGee.
Pope Pius XII Award
The award recognizes young people who have demonstrated leadership in church and community activities.
Minsi Trails Council: St. Thomas More, Allentown – Kevin Carbone, Jacob Piccini. St. Ann, Emmaus – Lino Guastella, Anthony Romero, Aidan Winas.
Bishop’s Award
The award, which recognizes the contributions of adult leaders in the spiritual aspects of Scouting in the Catholic Diocese of Allentown, was presented to Jason Picchini.
Piccinni serves as Cubmaster for St. Thomas More-sponsored Pack 439 in Allentown and Scoutmaster for Troop 439. Under his leadership, St. Thomas More units have undertaken numerous community service projects.
St. George Award
The award recognizes laity and clergy who have made significant contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youth through Scouting.
The Catholic Scout Committee of the Diocese of Allentown presented Anthony J. Wiencek with the St. George Award.
An active participant in Scouting since 1991, Mr. Wiensek has encouraged every Cub Scout and Scout he has led to achieve all four Roman Catholic religious awards awarded by the National Catholic Scouting Board. He has served in many roles within Scouting and has hosted Scout Sunday at Holy Guardian Angels in Reading for over 20 years.
For more information about the Allentown Parish Catholic Scout Committee, visit www.adccos.org.
