Lawmakers to take up Education Freedom Act; special session called
By Bill Brewer
Education savings accounts, which already are in place in Hamilton, Davidson, and Shelby counties, are again at the top of Gov. Bill Lee’s legislative agenda, this time for the 2025 General Assembly.
And the bishops of Tennessee have come out in support of Gov. Lee’s new legislation as similar versions have been drafted in the state House and Senate, creating a new education savings program for elementary and high school students that covers the entire state. The House bill is HB1 and the Senate bill is SB1. The new versions incorporate many aspects of the existing ESA program but also include modifications.
In Gov. Lee’s Education Freedom Act, Education Freedom Scholarships would be available to all families with school-age
children. Parents would have the opportunity to choose the school for their children, regardless of income or ZIP code.
The legislation provides 20,000
scholarships for Tennessee students beginning with the 2025-26 school year, with 10,000 seats reserved for families with household incomes that do not exceed
300 percent of the amount required to receive free or reduced lunch in public schools, who have a disability, or are eligible for the existing ESA program.
The Education Freedom Act will grow with demand as 5,000 scholarships with universal eligibility will be added each year after 75 percent of total scholarships are taken in the prior year.
Each student will receive a scholarship equal to the per-pupil base funds allocated to public school students each year—$7,075 as of the most recent school year—which will be deposited into an account for parents to use on tuition and fees first, followed by other qualified education expenses.
More than 350 private schools, including the 10 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Knoxville, would be eligible to receive Education Freedom Scholarships as
School choice continued on page A20
‘ We begin a great pilgrimage’
Diocese of Knoxville opens participation in Jubilee Year 2025
By Gabrielle Nolan
On Christmas Eve, Pope Fran cis ushered in the Jubilee Year 2025 by opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome prior to Mass.
With the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” the Jubilee is the first ordinary Jubilee since Pope John Paul II declared the Great Jubilee of 2000. Catholics around the world are called to participate in the Jubilee and increase their hope in the Lord. In particular, bishops were invited to place a special cross in their cathedrals to commemorate the Jubilee and invite the pilgrims of hope to prayer.
On Jan. 4, the vigil of the feast of the Epiphany, the Diocese of Knoxville opened its participation of the Jubilee Year with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Mark Beckman at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The cross chosen to commemorate the Jubilee for the cathedral was a San Damiano cross, a replica of a Romanesque cross that St. Francis of Assisi prayed before when he received direction from God to rebuild His Church.
The San Damiano cross was placed at the front of the sanctuary near the Marian side, where it will remain for the rest of the Jubilee Year.
After processing into the cathedral, Bishop Beckman blessed and incensed the cross.
“Brothers and sisters, tonight we gather to celebrate the vigil of the great feast of the Epiphany,” Bishop
Beckman said. “And tonight, as we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, we all begin our participation in Pope Francis’ opening of the Holy Doors for a Year of Jubilee, which began on Christmas Eve when he opened the door of the Basilica of St. Peter, and he has continued to open holy doors. This year, the Jubilee is called a Pilgrimage of Hope, and we’re all invited to join in that great journey of hope to Christ the Lord.
The Magi themselves were the beginning of that great journey, which we commemorate tonight.” Bishop Beckman focused on the magi in his homily, sharing that these “mysterious travelers” have always fascinated him.
“St. Matthew doesn’t tell us how many magi there were,” he said. “We know the gifts are threefold: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. So, later tradition
identified the number as three and eventually were given names and countries of origin. … Biblical commentators believe they may have come indeed from the area of the Middle East, what we would call Iran today, ancient Persia. A long tradition of astrologers who studied the heavens, the stars, looking for signs.”
The bishop highlighted that these Magi were not a part of God’s people, not “faithful Jews.”
“They were Gentiles, outsiders, people from way over yonder,” Bishop Beckman said.
He compared them with the original pilgrim, a man who traveled from the area of what is known today as Iraq: Abraham.
“Our father, Abraham, who was called by God to make a great journey with Sarah, his wife. And that first great journey, a great pilgrimage of its own, had something of trust and God in it. Someone once said Abraham had to be following God; we know that because he didn’t know where he was going. A pilgrim of hope, that God would be faithful to his call. That’s what Abraham was, and mysteriously these magi also become pilgrims of hope,” the bishop said. He pondered the question: what would inspire people to leave behind their own backgrounds, religions, families, and lives in order to follow a star?
“If there was not something in their heart that was restless and empty, a longing for something that they had not yet experienced in life;
Legislative action Gov. Bill Lee delivers his 2023 state address to a joint session of Tennessee’s legislature. Gov. Lee and state legislators are set to take up the Education Freedom Act during the 2025 General Assembly.
Archdiocese of Washington leadership change
Cardinal
McElroy
By Gina Christian OSV News
Cchosen to succeed Cardinal Gregory as shepherd of Church in D.C.
ardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego has been appointed the next archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., following Pope Francis’ acceptance of the resignation of Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the fi rst U.S. African-American cardinal, the Vatican announced on Jan. 6.
The see city is home to the White House, Congress, Supreme Court, and a multitude of embassies, nonprofi ts, think tanks, and lobbying groups seeking to sway the levers of American power.
Canon law required Cardinal Gregory, 77, to submit his resignation to the pope when the cardinal turned 75 on Dec. 7, 2022. The Vatican announced the news of Cardinal Gregory’s retirement and Cardinal McElroy’s appointment two weeks before the second inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington.
Cardinals in transition Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, left, and Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego leave a Jan. 6 news conference at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.
On Jan. 6, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Gregory, Washington's archbishop since 2019, and named Cardinal McElroy as his successor. As required by canon law, Cardinal Gregory submitted his resignation to the pope two years ago after he turned 75 on Dec. 7, 2022.
Cardinal McElroy will be installed as Washington’s eighth
A January prayer intention
for the right to an education
“Let us pray for migrants, refugees, and those affected by war, that their right to an education, which is necessary to build a better world, might always be respected.”
Pope Francis
archbishop on March 11 at 2 p.m. at the Basilica of the Na-
tional Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
The 70-year-old Cardinal McElroy a San Francisco native who pursued degrees at Harvard and Stanford before his 1980 priestly ordination was appointed as bishop of the San Diego Diocese in 2015. Pope Francis named him a cardinal in 2022. He also is a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
The cardinal has championed Pope Francis’ call to embrace synodality in the Catholic Church. During his time in San Diego, the cardinal convened three synods the most recent began a process to implement synodal decisionmaking in the local Church.
Cardinal McElroy also was a participant in the global Synod on Synodality, which produced a fi nal document on synodality in October that Pope Francis promulgated
How to sign up and qualify for Diocese of Knoxville’s safe-environment program
The Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former Safe Environment Program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”).
CMG Connect is a web-based platform that will assist in ensuring that all employees and volunteers who are in a position of trust with children and vulnerable adults within Diocese of Knoxville schools and parishes are trained to recognize behavior patterns of potential abusers and provide pro-active measures for preventing abuse in any context.
“Safe Haven-It’s Up to You” is a three-part video that provides vignettes of real-life situations to educate the viewer about methods of grooming, desensitization, bullying, and neglect, all of which can lead to abuse.
Each part of the video is immediately followed by a brief questionnaire to further develop understanding.
Education is a key
element of the Safe Environment Program
All clergy, employees, contracted school personnel, volunteers, members of groups and organizations over the age of 18 who work, volunteer, or participate in any capacity are required to complete the diocesan Safe Environment training and a criminal-background check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Knoxville.
In addition, the mandatory renewal training must be completed every five years and a new background check submitted before the five-year expiration of prior training.
The Diocese of Knoxville Safe Environment compliance training and renewal training is a condition of employment and for volunteer ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville.
The CMG Connect
platform contains all three elements of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program: n Annual review of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Policy and Procedures Relating to Sexual Misconduct; n CMG Connect Safe Haven training program to be completed every five years; n Criminal background check to be completed every five years.
In compliance with the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program, all affiliates require that volunteers and employees complete the requirements prior to working and/or volunteering in a parish, school, or through Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and/ or St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic
Go to https:// dioknox.org/safeenvironment on the Diocese of Knoxville website for more information ■
TA new year of hope
Jubilee marks 2025 as extraordinary in the life of the Church
he beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future.
This new year of 2025 is an extraordinary one in the life of the Church, a Year of Jubilee when Pope Francis has invited us to look forward to the great hope that sustains us as people of faith.
Pope Francis has opened the traditional holy doors at the major basilicas in Rome. But this year, for the first time in the history of the Church, a jubilee door has been opened in a prison.
The imagery of a door of hope being opened in a place of bondage is very profound. All of us in some measure or another know the experience of being in the bondage of sin. We know personally the experience of being “imprisoned” by various forms of affliction and bondage
At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, He made it clear that at the heart of His mission from the Father was to “bring liberty to captives.” Perhaps a first spiritual step this year might be for us to take some quiet moments of prayer in these days of winter to reflect on all the places in our own lives where we still experience a lack of the true freedom of being a beloved daughter or son of God.
What has robbed us or is robbing
us of our hope? Where do we most need the grace of Christ?
The experience of the sacrament of reconciliation is one of those profound ways to experience the deeper healing our souls are seeking. Naming our woundedness and seeking a healing encounter with Christ is most essential in a Year of Jubilee.
A second dimension of the great jubilees going back to the Old Testament has been about healing relationships and setting others free from debt and bondage. This year
is most important in the life of all of us as a people of faith in bringing a new hope to all those who are suffering.
This is a privileged time to allow the compassion of God to flow through us to our neighbors the hurting, the strangers and newcomers, the migrants and refugees, the troubled and afflicted who are present in our time and place. Our world is so filled these days with brothers and sisters who are wounded and in bondage in many ways.
Perhaps each one of us is called to be a “doorway” through which people will be able to experience the tender love of the heart of Jesus that helps them to be set free and find new hope … to open doors in the prisons of their hearts.
The cross is the extraordinary time and place where the wounds of humanity are healed by the selfoffering of Christ for us. It is the great moment when the door of hope is opened for all humanity. May we stand together as a community of faith in this Jubilee Year, clinging to the One who opens His heart for all humanity.
I close with a quote from the special Mass for the Holy Year sent from Rome in the preface:
“Lord, Holy Father… in this time of grace, You gather Your children into one family, so that, enlightened by the Word of Life, they may joyfully celebrate the mystery of Your Son crucified and risen. He is salvation, ever invoked and awaited, who calls us to His table, heals the wounds of body and spirit, and to the afflicted gives joy. Through all of these signs of Your favor, we are reborn with living faith to a more certain hope, and we offer ourselves to our brothers and sisters in loving service, as we await the return of the Lord.”
May new hope fill each of your hearts in this Year of Jubilee. ■
A Catholic Schools Week column of gratitude
Reflections on the idyllic years spent getting a parochial education
By Lucia A. Silecchia
Children rarely complain when they cannot go to school. But as COVID taught us, when so many went without the comforting familiarity of school for so long, it was clear that learning, playing, and navigating childhood together are cherished goods.
Like so many goods, they are most missed when they are absent. In my early years, I loved school. At summer’s end, I anticipated the quest for perfect school supplies and the promise of new shoes, new books, and the smell of fresh paint in classrooms with uncommon enthusiasm.
After school, I would often come home and play school with my siblings who, to their credit, humored me and played along. Fortunately for them, I no longer corral them into this since I have been blessed with the opportunity to channel this enthusiasm more productively by spending my life as a teacher.
I remember my Catholic school years as a happy blur of school plays, field trips (Radio City! The Bronx Zoo!), student council elections, student newspapers, class Masses for special occasions, glitter and felt art projects (it was the ’70s and ’80s), a May crowning, Christmas parties, poetry contests, the smell of mimeograph machine ink, birthday parties, prayers over the public address system, volleyball (much volleyball) in gym class, candy sales, library hour, spelling bees, science fairs—and lots of plaid. Certainly, there were also misadventures, dramas, cliques, and competition. School is, in all ways good and bad, the prelude to adult life. As I look back on those days, I appreciate them more. While my memories swirl around the events of those years, it is the people my heart most cherishes with gratitude. Thanks … to the Sisters in the religious communities who served my school and so many others. When I was in school, I could already see that your ranks were shrinking in number. Yet, the
what they teach
legacy that you and your elder Sisters built was a cherished bequest to Church and country. At a time when women in the United States could not vote, or hold most jobs, or, often, not even own property, you began to build and run a network of schools that, at its peak, educated well over 5 million students in 13,000 schools.
As a group, you built something far beyond what many of the most sophisticated entrepreneurs could ever imagine.
As individuals, you gave your lives to serve God by serving us.
I know now, looking back, that teaching was the vocation within your vocation.
As the beneficiary of that, I am so grateful that my school was possible, and affordable to my parents, because teaching was your labor of love.
Almost 40 years after I sat in my first-grade class, the Sister who taught me to read remembered the details of my first science fair project—a sundial made of cardboard, a pencil, and a spool of thread.
That is the memory of someone for whom a lifetime teaching firstgraders is not a mere job. To her, it lay at the heart of life itself.
Thanks … to the lay teachers who joined in this labor. I know that your salaries were often lower than those of your peers. Without
this sacrifice from both you and your families, so many schools could not have thrived as they did.
You brought your enthusiasm, dedication, faithful witness, and love. My heart has ached for you in recent years when too many of your schools have closed and you have had to move on—sometimes more than once—from the places where you had served for decades or where you were just beginning to thrive.
Thanks … to pastors who supported their parish schools for so long, and who continue to support Catholic education in the new models of our time. I see the many ways in which a school enlivens and enriches the life of a parish and its mission of evangelization.
Yet I know that a school also brings with it the woes of bulging budgets and broken boilers, expenses and exasperations, complaints and costs. So, many thanks for the hard work of passing on the legacy of faith and reason to your youngest parishioners in whatever ways you could, then and now.
Thanks… to parents like mine, and so many others, who saved what they could to pay for Catholic school when it was possible. For so many, this took funds that they could have used for good things they chose to forgo.
I remember each month in
elementary school, the family tuition check was brought to school by the oldest sibling. As a middle child, I only had this responsibility for two years. But, even then, I knew that this—along with the hours volunteering in the classroom, tracking down obscure ingredients for science projects, and buying the candy I could not sell— was a gift from my hard-working parents.
Thanks … to donors and benefactors who today quietly pass along that same gift to the children in their families or, with special generosity, to the children of strangers they will never meet.
When challenges to Church, country, and world seem so great, the gift of an education in faith, wisdom, and hope is truly one that keeps on giving.
The world of Catholic education has changed so much, so quickly. Parish schools have grown scarcer than they were when I was a child, and new models are springing up to pass along an ancient faith in ways ever new.
I pray that generations who come after me will have their own happy memories of years in which the wonders of both faith and knowledge unfold for them. As for me, I am grateful for all who gave me my school days in ordinary times. During Catholic Schools Week, which will be celebrated Jan. 26-Feb. 1, may God bless all who share in this great enterprise of faith, hope, and love! ■
Lucia A. Silecchia is a professor of law at the Catholic University of America and a columnist who writes "On Ordinary Times," which reflects on the ways to find the sacred in the simple and appears regularly in publications. She can be reached at silecchia@cua.edu
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
A door of hope Pope Francis crosses the threshold of the Holy Door of the Church of Our Father at Rome's Rebibbia prison on Dec. 26 before presiding over a Mass with inmates, prison staff, and Italian government officials. The Holy Father opened the Holy Door to usher in the Jubilee Year.
GABRIELLE NOLAN
Practicing
Students at St. Joseph School in Knoxville kneel in prayer during Mass. Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
Lucia A. Silecchia
The dawn of a new day
By Bill Brewer
Bishop Mark Beckman marked the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, where he celebrated Mass and also recognized the Serra Club of Chattanooga for its work in promoting vocations in the Diocese of Knoxville.
In his homily, Bishop Beckman praised Mary as “the dawn of a new day” when she said yes to God, becoming the Blessed Mother of Jesus.
The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception recognizing the Blessed Mother is always celebrated on Dec. 8 except when Dec. 8 falls on a Sunday during Advent, which takes liturgical precedence over the feast day. The 2024 solemnity Mass was held on Monday, Dec. 9, which also is the feast of St. Juan Diego.
Bishop Beckman began his homily with the assertion that the first question God asks humanity is “Where are you, Adam?”
The bishop said Adam’s response to God was “I heard you in the garden and I hid myself.” The bishop noted that the response was a defense of sin that caused a person to hide from God in the darkness.
“And all of us who are honest know that experience, that we’ve turned from how God created us to be to knowing the ripple effects of our shame that causes us to want to hide from God,” he said. “It’s the feeling that envelops the human heart in those moments that is like a veil that covers the heart.”
The bishop shared that one of his favorite things to do in the summertime during warm weather is to begin his day with morning prayer outside on a porch, pointing out that when he begins prayer it is usually still dark.
“One of the things that happens
during my morning prayer is the first ray of sun begins to touch the eastern sky,” he said, adding that often accompanying the first light of sun is a surge of joy at the dawn of a new day.
“This day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is the break of a new day for all of humanity dating through all of creation,” Bishop Beckman said. “Prepara -
tion for God’s grace in Mary and her selection in the very womb of her mother, free from the tyranny of jealous men, is like the ray of a new day. The work of God is beginning. It’s the restoration of creation to our original purpose.”
The bishop cited the Gospel for Dec. 9, Luke 1:26-38, which told of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary. “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is
Schedule a tour today — newly renovated apartments
with you.” Gabriel then answered Mary’s questions about becoming the mother of Jesus.
Bishop Beckman then continued, saying that as the dawn began to send away the darkness, the Word became flesh because Mary said “yes.”
“It is the dawn of a new day. Jesus Christ took human flesh through the love of Mary,” he concluded, asking the faithful to be vigilant in recognizing the new day God has provided.
Following Mass, Bishop Beckman was the guest of honor at a Serra Club luncheon in Varallo Hall at the basilica.
“It’s great to be with the Serra Club of Chattanooga. I believe it’s the only active Serra Club in the diocese right now. So, we have to spread your good work throughout the rest of the diocese, in the Tri-Cities and Knoxville,” the bishop said as he began his remarks for the luncheon.
He shared with the group that his first experience with the Serra Club was as a seminarian in the 1980s, when the Serra Club of Nashville invited him to tell the story of his call to the priesthood. At the time, he was preparing to study at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
“The gift of the Serrans, in my experience, has been that you are a great support to our priests and also especially to our seminarians. My hope is that this great work will continue and it will spread,” the bishop said.
The bishop fielded questions from Serra Club members following lunch in Varallo Hall.
When asked how he is doing as bishop since his July 26 ordination and installation, Bishop Beckman answered, “I’m enjoying it a great deal. The welcome has been overwhelming and beautiful.”
“We have a beautiful diversity in this diocese. I’ve been to the Serra continued on page A16
A new day Above: Bishop Mark Beckman gives a homily at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul on Dec. 9 to mark the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Below: Bishop Beckman is joined at the altar by, from left, Deacon Hicks Armor, Father Charlie Burton, Father Alex Waraksa, Father Michael Hendershott, and Father Alex Hernandez. Bishop Beckman recognized the Serra Club during Mass and attended a Serra Club luncheon afterward.
A special disposition of grace
S EEK25 conference was inspirational regardless of the season of
By Claire Collins
It had been five years since I last attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ SEEK conference. After spending three years as a missionary with FOCUS, my husband and I went back to SEEK in Indianapolis in 2019 with a few folks from our parish in Kentucky. We were fired up to show them the great gift we had been given in experiencing this beautiful event, and the talks still proved they can speak right to our hearts despite being in a new season of life.
So, when it was announced that one of my best friends was receiving the St. Francis Xavier Honor at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City, we decided to return, making a pilgrimage across the nation to once again encounter the beauty and grace present at this conference.
I’ve heard it said before that events like SEEK, retreats, and pilgrimages carry with them a special disposition of grace to the souls encountering these life-changing events. The sheer numbers of priests, religious, and lay faithful together in one space, the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance and the Mass, the mercy of confession after confession in every hallway, nook, and cranny of the conference center, and the Holy Spirit alive in the minds and hearts of the souls attending talks and trainings. The grace is so palpable, you can almost taste it.
Hundreds of priests walk down the aisle as holy Mass begins, 17,000 faces attending in row after row after row of folding chairs. The diversity of the Church is shown in the variety of habits worn, languages spoken, and ages present. Talks about culture, relationships, masculinity and femininity, apologetics, and missionary evangelism fill large rooms with eager expectation. The energy builds as more and more hearts prepare to encounter Jesus in the sacraments and in adoration, where hearts are transformed, and sins are forgiven for hours on end.
While the conference is geared toward college students, adults and families gather to hear talks about what it means to live missionary discipleship; seminarians are encouraged in their journey toward the priesthood; campus ministers are refreshed and inspired; religious Sisters and Brothers are reminded of their calling; and priests experience fellowship and fraternity in their ministry.
band, Andrew, live in Chattanooga with their sons, Joe and Frank, and daughter, Eloise.
FOCUS has made way for every person present to have a true and lasting encounter with the living God, for the first time or for the hundredth.
Some noteworthy themes carried throughout SEEK25. We live in a post-Christian culture where some old ways of living the faith in the world just no longer cut it. God has particularly chosen each soul that exists to be where they are, when they are, and what they are for a purpose. The Church is alive and ready to win the world back for Christ, and will never be overcome, no matter what she faces. Jesus deeply desires to heal the most broken parts of us. Every Catholic Christian is called to be a missionary disciple. And so, so much more.
I was particularly struck by a few points from several talks, which God so mercifully and intentionally weaved together to write a story just for me. Speaker Bill Donaghy, when speaking on technology and phones, called these devices that so often disrupt our relationships “digital contraception.” He described how they disrupt the natural order of human interaction, and how their consequences are far more devastating than we realize. And I thought about how much this digital contraception has interrupted my own life.
Then, Father John Burns spoke poetically about those first lies the evil one spoke to God’s children in the Garden of Eden, and how we still allow ourselves to be in conversation with the serpent in our own lives today. The devil loves to twist God’s goodness into something we should doubt,
reject, run away from, and lose trust in. And my heart saw so many of the ways in which I do this in my motherhood, marriage, and missionary inspirations.
Monsignor James Shea gave a Tolkien-esque recount of the great saga of Jesus’s redemption of the world. Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, reminded us that God wants all of us, and gently invites us to deeper and deeper intimacy with Him no matter how long we have walked on the journey of faith.
And between these talks there were my own great reunions, joys, and encounters with Jesus in the sacraments. I left the conference renewed and changed.
If you are reading this, I would first encourage you to consider making SEEK26, or any future FOCUS conference, a part of your plans. The conference will be in three locations, the closest to our diocese being Columbus, Ohio. You can find everything you need to know about the conference at www.seek.focus.org. The “Making Missionary Disciples” track is an amazing opportunity for parishes and lay faithful, and this year featured prominent Catholic speakers including Dr. Scott Hahn, Curtis Martin, Dr. Edward Sri, and Hilary Draftz. I also would encourage you to visit www. seekreplay.com, where you can access many of the talks given at SEEK25 free of charge.
If you can’t make SEEK a part of your plans, I would gently encourage you to find another way to have a new and unique experience of God’s grace. Maybe it’s through a retreat (like at the Casa Maria Retreat Center in Irondale, Ala., or the Bethany Retreat House in Dickson, Tenn.). Maybe it’s through a series on FORMED.org or listening to the Bible, Catechism, or Rosary in a Year podcasts. Even making an appointment for confession or spiritual conversation with your local priest would probably bring many of God’s graces in your life to the forefront. And lastly, I invite you to believe deep, deep in your heart that Jesus is after you, that He hasn’t given up on you, and that He’s not done pursuing you. He wants more. He wants all of you. If there’s anything in your life that you haven’t given to Him, I guarantee He’s trying to get your attention. So, make a simple prayer with me now: “Jesus, I invite you to open my eyes to your grace.” And I pray that you respond joyously when He calls. ■
U.S., Germany SEEK sites energize Catholics Conferences spread hope in Jesus,
By Linda Petersen and Lauretta Brown OSV News
The excitement in the air was palpable as more than 17,000 Catholics descended on the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City Jan. 1-5 for SEEK25.
This year’s SEEK conference, organized annually by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), also had a satellite conference attended by more than 3,000 people in Washington, D.C., Jan. 2-5, and another in Cologne, Germany, attended by nearly 500 people from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2. This was the first year SEEK was held in three separate locations and the first in Europe.
“The adventure of seeking is no stranger to Utah,” said Bishop Oscar A. Solis of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He presided at the conference’s opening Mass, where he was joined by 489 concelebrating priests from across the United States.
In his homily for SEEK25’s opening Mass, Bishop Solis highlighted the historical significance of seekers in Utah, from Indigenous people to early Catholic explorers and pioneers as he welcomed participants to the conference.
Over the course of SEEK, participants had the opportunity to join daily liturgies, engage in eucharistic adoration, and receive the sacrament of reconciliation. They also heard profound messages from inspiring keynote speakers, such as those shared by Father Mike Schmitz of The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year podcasts, Dr. Scott Hahn, Bill Donaghy, Father John Burns, Monsignor James Shea, and Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT.
God’s children need Him no matter how often they, in their words and actions, ask Him to leave them alone, Father Schmitz said. The
create excitement for the faith and Church
Really present A priest holds the Blessed Sacrament in a golden monstrance in procession at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3. Each year the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, known as FOCUS, holds the annual SEEK conference to bring together thousands of its campus missionaries and college students from across the nation. For 2025, SEEK was held Dec. 31-Jan. 2 in Cologne, Germany, Jan. 1-5 in Salt Lake City, and Jan. 2-5 in Washington, D.C.
podcasting priest was the keynote speaker on Jan. 2 for the Salt Lake City SEEK25 conference. Through original sin, he said, all mankind inherits a brokenness that can only be overcome by Jesus Christ.
“Sin is when I say, ‘Listen God, I know what You want. I don't care, I want what I want,’” Father Schmitz said.
When people sin, he explained, they attempt to find happiness without God. But true happiness can only be found in Him.
Conference participants also were instructed and inspired in their faith. The Making Missionary Disciples track had presenters ranging from Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., to Trent Horn. Bishop Cozzens is board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., while Mr. Horn is a convert to the faith and works for Catholic Answers as a staff apologist.
Collectively, the presenters explored SEEK25’s theme “Follow Me” in 42 impact sessions. Among the topics addressed in the sessions were gender identity, sexual brokenness and social narcissism, drug use, and the rise of artificial intelligence. Other sessions focused on relationships: healing them when they are broken, accompaniment, and the sanctity of life and of marriage. Still other sessions provided tools lay leaders could utilize in their home parishes with sessions on presenting the Gospel, teaching individuals to pray, building missionary disciples, leadership, and the priesthood. Presenters also outlined what the Church has to offer today, how the Savior heals, loving your neighbor, the pure love of Jesus Christ, along with what the examples of the saints, the Virgin Mary, and the life of Christ can teach the faithful.
Campus ministry and seminarian tracks also were offered.
In the conference’s Mission Way, hundreds of vendors connected students to religious orders, educational and service opportunities, and other Catholic organizations.
Mallory Griffin, a freshman from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., attended SEEK for the first time. Ms. Griffin said she has seen the Church ministries on her campus flourish and wanted to be part of the greater SEEK experience.
“With having things like SEEK and having different campus ministries on college campuses, I think that's definitely bringing a lot more young people” to the Catholic Church, she said.
For Utah Catholics, being among so many faithful was awe-inspiring.
“Our Church it’s much bigger than we could imagine,” Rigo Tellez, a Weber State University student from Logan, Utah, said. “I think a lot of us fall into this trap (of thinking) it’s just like the small little thing we do on Sundays, and that’s just all we do but there’s just so much more richness to it.”
Throughout the conference, along with the formal programming, participants met on an ad hoc basis, prayed, and studied Scripture together. For some, these were lifechanging experiences.
Father Steve Mateja, a priest of the Detroit Archdiocese, brought a group of about 40 Oakland University students and campus ministry staff to SEEK25. Among his group were non-Catholics: four Protestants and two self-proclaimed atheists, he said.
“One kid just turns to me yesterday in small group and he says to me, ‘I want to become Catholic. Can I be baptized?’” Father Mateja said. “That’s the reason why we’re doing SEEK continued on page A12
Claire Collins is a freelance writer whose columns appear in Radiant Magazine. Claire and her hus-
ALLISON LUZE
Audit report reflects strong financial position for Diocese of Knoxville Strength in numbers
The East Tennessee Catholic
The numbers are in, and the Diocese of Knoxville is reporting healthy financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
Each year, the diocese undergoes a comprehensive, independent audit of its finances, according to requirements of the Catholic Church and the diocese’s bylaws.
The diocese’s auditors, a Knoxville certified public accounting firm, issued the audit on Dec. 4, and it was approved by the Diocese of Knoxville Finance Council on Dec. 13.
The diocese is now making the audit report public for the faithful of East Tennessee to review.
“The Diocese of Knoxville has
View the entire audited financial statement
The complete audited financial statement for the Diocese of Knoxville’s fiscal year 2024-23, as well as other years, can be seen on the diocese’s website, www.dioknox.org/finance ■
completed its annual audit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and
we are pleased to report a continued strong financial position. The audit, conducted by our independent firm, Brown, Jake & McDaniel, PC, focused on assessing the diocese’s financial operations, internal controls, and compliance with accounting standards,” said Shannon Hepp, chief financial officer for the diocese.
“This positive audit report is a
testament to the hard work and dedication of our financial team, pastors, and parish staffs. It also reflects the commitment of our community to support the mission of the Church with integrity and accountability,” Mrs. Hepp added.
Among the key highlights of the audit report: n Financial stability—the diocese continues to maintain a solid financial foundation with balanced budgets and responsible stewardship of
resources.
n Strong cash and liquidity—cash reserves and liquidity remain strong, providing the diocese with the flexibility to meet ongoing operational needs and respond to unforeseen challenges.
n Internal controls—the audit found that internal controls are effective in safeguarding assets and ensuring transparency in financial reporting. n Compliance and reporting—the diocese is in full compliance with all necessary regulatory requirements, and no significant issues were identified during the audit process.
“We thank everyone who plays a role in ensuring our financial health, and we remain committed to transparent, responsible stewardship as we continue to grow and serve,” Mrs. Hepp said. ■
Diocese of Knoxville Annual Financial Report
Years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
January 15, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As I write my first annual financial report letter since becoming your bishop this past July, I am filled with gratitude for the warm welcome I have received and for the vibrant faith I witness throughout our diocese.
In these past six months, I have been deeply moved by how our parish communities embody the mission of Jesus Christ through a commitment to service, care, and responsible stewardship.
This financial report for the 2023-24 fiscal year reflects not just numbers on a page but the living testimony of your faithfulness and generosity. I am particularly impressed by the impact of the year’s Bishop’s Appeal, which raised more than $3 million funds that directly support our seminarians, faith formation, social service programs, and parish ministries throughout the diocese.
Through prudent financial stewardship, we have maintained a strong fiscal foundation while expanding our outreach. The detailed financial statement that is included (and can be viewed in its entirety on the diocese’s website via the accompanying QR code below) demonstrates our commitment to transparency and accountability in managing the resources entrusted to us.
As we look to the future, we face both challenges and opportunities. The changing landscape of parish life, rising operational costs, and evolving pastoral needs require thoughtful planning and sustained commitment. Yet I am confident that, with God’s grace and your continued support, we will meet these challenges while advancing our shared mission of proclaiming the Gospel.
I thank you for your generous support of our diocesan family and ask for your continued prayers as we work together in building God’s kingdom. Please be assured of my prayers for you and your loved ones.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Mark Beckman Bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville
Bishops issue statement on immigration
Province ordinaries express solidarity, support for immigrant sisters, brothers
The East Tennessee Catholic and OSV News
The Catholic bishops of Kentucky and Tennessee, together as the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, on Dec. 28 released a joint statement expressing solidarity with migrants and restating the Church’s longstanding call for comprehensive immigration reform supporting the country’s duty to control borders and immigration policies in a humane manner.
The statement, released in anticipation of the feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 29, was addressed to the Catholic faithful in the seven dioceses of Tennessee and Kentucky.
The statement was released through the Tennessee Catholic Conference and the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, which represent the dioceses of those states.
Those are the Dioceses of Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis in Tennessee, and Owensboro, Lexington, Covington, and the Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky.
The bishops’ letter reads as follows:
To our brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we reflect upon the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and recall during this time their flight into a foreign land as migrants, the ongoing heightened discussion surrounding our migrant community has engendered fear and uncertainty.
It is also a challenging time for the whole Catholic Church in the United States, which has long included migrants from various parts of the world. The Catholic Bishops of Kentucky and Tennessee, together as the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, wish to first and foremost express our prayerful support and solidarity to our immigrant sisters and brothers.
Please be assured that you are not forgotten and know that the Church
stands with you. You and your families are a cherished gift to the world.
We pledge that the Catholic Church in Kentucky and Tennessee will continue to accompany and serve migrants with every possible resource. We will continue to advocate for your just treatment and dignity as our Catholic Social Teaching instructs in every way that we are able to do so.
The Church recognizes the right of individuals to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their family members. The Church also recognizes the responsibility of nations to control their borders and create migration policies. However, the Church teaches that this right is not unlimited and must be exercised with respect for the human dignity of each person and the common good.
The Church in the United States has long advocated for comprehensive immigration reform that includes pathways to citizenship, family reunification, and protections for those fleeing
persecution. It emphasizes the need for just and humane treatment of all migrants, including access to legal protections and due process. The Church recognizes that basic human rights are based on the dignity of being created in the image and likeness of God.
We invite the whole Catholic community in our states and throughout the nation to learn more about the plight of immigrants, to understand the values that form our Catholic teaching on the matter, and to join us in advocating for just and comprehensive laws and policies that respond to the requirements of human rights and dignity and reflect the desire for the common good in our nation. We stand ready to be a part of bringing this about.
Let us all continue to pray for our nation that we might come together to seek answers and constructive action in regard to these concerns.
Most Rev. Shelton J. Fabre Archbishop of Louisville
Most Rev. William F. Medley
Bishop of Owensboro
Most Rev. John Stowe, OFM Conv.
Bishop of Lexington
Most Rev. John C. Iffert
Bishop of Covington
Most Rev. J. Mark Spalding
Bishop of Nashville
Most Rev. David P. Talley
Bishop of Memphis
Most Rev. Mark Beckman
Bishop of Knoxville
As with other dioceses in the Louisville Province, the Diocese of Knoxville has seen the Hispanic Catholic population grow dramatically in recent years, and a number of East Tennessee parishes have large, thriving Hispanic congregations.
The bishops of Tennessee and Kentucky weren’t alone in their joint statement on immigration. The bishops of Washington state, among a number of other bishops in other states, also affirmed their solidarity with immigrants and refugees in a statement released on Dec. 29.
It also was the same day dioceses around the world inaugurated the Jubilee Year, meant to be a time of hope amid a world of uncertainty.
The bishops of Washington stated that “refugees and migrants and their families documented and undocumented” are experiencing great fears due to threats of mass deportations and forced separation of families.
President-elect Donald Trump and his team have discussed openly their incoming administration’s plan to enact “the largest deportation” in U.S. history. There have been reports of a possible policy change that would remove protections against arrest at sensitive locations such as churches and schools. Amid all this, the Washington bishops urged believers to
Exaggerations and eucharistic miracles
It would be tragic for Catholics to
try convincing the
world of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with unsubstantiated claims
By Dr. Stacy Trasancos Crisis Magazine
Two new forensic science papers raise concerns about eucharistic miracle investigations.
The main author, Dr. Kelly Kearse, is a faithful Catholic, eucharistic minister for over 20 years, and science teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School in Tennessee.
Dr. Kearse also is an immunologist who trained at Johns Hopkins, worked as a principal investigator at the National Institutes of Health’s cancer and immunology branch, and served as editor for a Methods in Molecular Biology textbook.
Before summarizing his concerns, I want to make it clear that his purpose is not to disprove miracles and not to question the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Quite the opposite! The present concerns address exaggerations and how to correct them.
Dr. Kearse points out important natural explanations that were never addressed. Until those are ruled out as causes, it is premature to claim a miracle. Dr. Kearse also provides analytical protocols that would decisively show whether the blood and cardiac tissue samples all originate from a single source, a key point in the validation of eucharistic miracles that has never been addressed.
The first paper, “The relics of Jesus and eucharistic miracles: scientific analysis of shared AB blood type,” was published in the Journal of Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
Five samples test positive for type AB blood, the rarest of blood types at about 5 percent of the
global human population. Two are eucharistic miracle cases, one from Lanciano, Italy, (c. 750) and the other from Tixtla, Mexico (2016). According to tradition, in Lanciano the bread turned into flesh and the wine turned into blood. Both species underwent scientific analysis in the 1970s by Professor Odoardo Linoli, who reported the blood as AB type. In Tixtla, a nun noticed a reddish substance on a host while distributing Communion; it, too, tested as type AB. The other AB results are from cloths believed to have touched Jesus at the
Pope appoints 3 U.S. experts to dicasteries
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
Pope Francis has named three U.S. experts—two women and an abbot—to be members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position once reserved for cardinals and bishops.
The three, whose appointments were announced by the Vatican on Jan. 11, are: Mary Healy, a biblical scholar and professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit; Donna Orsuto, a theologian and co-founder and former director of the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas in Rome; and Benedictine Abbot Jeremy Driscoll of Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon.
All three had been serving as consultors of the dicastery and become the first non-bishops to join the more than 40 cardinal- and bishop-members.
Their appointments come less than a week after the pope appointed the first female prefect of a dicastery, a possibility opened by Praedicate Evangelium, the pope’s 2022 constitution reforming the Roman Curia.
Ms. Healy, who grew up on Long Island, N.Y., is one of the first three women ever appointed to the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which she joined in 2014.
She also has served as a member of the Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue, which is coordinated by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
Ms. Orsuto, who is from Ashtabula, Ohio, has lived in Rome for nearly five decades. She is director of the Department of Moral Theology and Spiritual Theology at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian Uni-
versity, where she has been teaching since 1990.
She served as director of the Lay Centre from 1986 to 2024 and now serves as senior adviser and a member of its board of directors.
Abbot Driscoll, an expert on Church fathers and the new evangelization, was elected the 12th abbot of Mount Angel Abbey in 2016. He taught theology at Mount Angel Seminary and the Pontifical Atheneum of Sant’Anselmo in Rome. He also serves on various Vatican commissions and leads retreats in the United States and elsewhere.
The appointments came as Pope Francis also appointed several new cardinals, who were welcomed into the College of Cardinals on Dec. 7, to be members of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
Some of the appointments include the following:
n Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: Cardinals Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, Philippines; Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil; Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and Roberto Repole of Turin, Italy.
n Dicastery for Bishops: Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.
n Dicastery for Clergy: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar for the Diocese of Rome.
n Dicastery for the Causes of Saints: Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran and Isfahan,
crucifixion (the relics): the Shroud of Turin (a burial garment), the Tunic of Argenteuil (a seamless robe), and the Sudarium of Oviedo (a face cloth).
It seems remarkable that all five test for the same, rare blood type. But there is a problem: the A and B antigens are not unique to humans. Since the 1960s, biologists have known that bacteria cells also have A and B antigens on their surfaces. Hence, if a sample is contaminated with bacteria, even if it contains no blood at all, it could still show a type AB blood result in this test.
Yet, without anyone ever checking for bacteria as the explanation, the claim about the blood type is often repeated as miraculous. In his 2021 book, A Cardiologist Examines Jesus, Dr. Franco Serafini calculates the probability that all five samples would produce an AB result, given their rarity, to be one in 3.2 million.
A 2023 article at Catholic Answers Magazine goes so far as to claim that this “statistical impossibility” is mathematical proof for the Real Presence, proof that God is real, and proof that “our Lord has AB blood.” A 2024 article at EWTN calls type AB “the Divine Blood Type as revealed by eucharistic miracles.”
The investigators knew the samples were dirty, handled by multiple people, and contaminated with microorganisms.
Dr. Linoli reported residuals of small dead insects and larvae on the Lanciano samples 50 years ago. The Shroud blood fibers were found to be contaminated with bacteria and fungi. The Tixtla sample was handled by multiple people over the seven years it took to investigate.
Dr. Kearse maintains that “it is reasonable to propose that shared AB antigens from bacteria could readily explain the observed shared blood type.”
Dr. Kearse describes both genetic and protein tests that can detect other antigens and the genes responsible for them, providing not only information about the source of the AB antigens (human or otherwise) but also whether the sam-
Questions and answers Dr. Kelly Kearse, a chemist specializing in blood
Abbot Driscoll
SMLC growing in staff, outreach
St. Mary ’s Legacy Clinic hints at new headquarters, mobile van in next year
By Dan McWilliams
The St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic has expanded its staff in recent months as it seeks to fulfill its mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to rural East Tennessee.
SMLC’s 40foot mobile medical clinic van provides health care to the medically underserved as it makes stops each month throughout the diocese in Crab Orchard, Crossville, Washburn, Decatur, Rutledge, Athens, Helenwood, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. The clinic also provides services once a month at its headquarters at Divine Mercy Church in Knoxville.
On the horizon for the clinic are a new 45-foot medical van and a new office building at Divine Mercy.
Executive director Martin Vargas
said the clinic staff has added two Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., Sister Marie de Paul Stokes as patient navigator and Sister Maliya Grace Suen as special projects manager, as well as LaShay Connor as an administrative assistant and Jackie Benton as a philanthropy specialist.
“Four new people have joined us in the last six months. Since July, we’ve had two Sisters join us, Sister Marie de Paul and Sister Maliya Grace,” Mr. Vargas said. “It’s amazing how God works in our ministry. In addition to those two Sisters who joined us, He sent us exactly what we needed: a new philanthropy specialist to help us with fundraising, Jackie Benton, and in September He sent us an assistant to help the entire clinic, including myself, as we go
Giving new hope
forward, LaShay Connor.”
Sister Marie de Paul has been a boon in multiple areas, Mr. Vargas said.
istered and receive that medicine for free or at a steep discount, but many times it’s free. That’s one example of things that she would do,” he added.
“Again, back to God’s blessing. Sister Marie de Paul is our patient navigator, and she helps fill and make sure none of our patients fall through the gaps in the system and helps people move from our care, if that’s what they need and desire, to graduation from uninsured to insured,” he said.
“She helps them, just like her namesake, St. Vincent de Paul, to navigate the system. So, if you think we have patient assistance programs from the manufacturers, think if you’re needing Ozempic, that’s $1,200 a month. She works with the manufacturers, in this case Novo Nordisk, to help the patient get reg-
“With the state of Tennessee, she helps people get registered on TennCare if they’re eligible. One of the neatest programs that she helps with, if you think that transportation is one of the key barriers for our patients, she helped solve that to a certain extent. She came up with the idea that some of the partners in the community that provide transportation could pick up our patients, bring them to our appointments, and that the clinic would cover that cost. She worked diligently to make that happen.”
The Tennessee Charitable Care Network has also helped SMLC with Clinic continued on page A22
Jubilee Year is opportunity for healing from, ending abortion, bishop says
By Gina Christian OSV News
As the nation’s Catholics prepare to commemorate unborn children in prayer, a U.S. bishop is pointing to the Jubilee Year as a time of hope for healing from the wounds of abortion.
On Jan. 22, the Catholic Church in the United States marked the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Since 2013, U.S. Catholic bishops have also invited the faithful to join in the Nine Days for Life novena ahead of the day of prayer, with the goal of ending abortion. The novena began on Jan. 16.
The date of the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children’s annual observance recalls the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which legalized abortion nationwide. Those rulings were overturned by the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned the issue of abortion from the federal to the state level.
In the wake of Dobbs, overall U.S. abortion rates appear to have increased slightly, with medicationinduced abortions representing the majority (63 percent), according to the Guttmacher Institute. The same organization also noted that as of 2022, the annual global total of abortions was approximately 73 million.
Day of penance
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal describes the Jan. 22 day of prayer as a time to pray “for the
Iran.
continued from page A9
n Dicastery for Culture and Education: Cardinal Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul, which is located in Melbourne, Australia. n Dicastery for Legislative Texts: Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto. n Dicastery for Communication: Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo.
Pope Francis has appointed Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla to be the first woman to
" As we prayerfully continue the essential work of restoring full legal protection of all preborn children and supporting parents facing difficult pregnancies, we also recognize our need for asking forgiveness and healing from the Lord for when we have given in to the culture of death."
Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio
full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life” and to undertake “penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.”
That aim takes on an even deeper meaning as the universal Catholic Church celebrates the 2025 Jubilee Year, the theme of which is “Pilgrims of Hope,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
“As we prayerfully continue the essential work of restoring full legal protection of all preborn children and supporting parents facing difficult pregnancies, we also recognize our need for asking forgiveness and healing from the Lord for when we have given in to the culture of death,” Bishop Thomas said in a statement released by the USCCB on Jan. 13.
The Catholic Church teaches that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” and that abortion “willed as either an end or means is gravely contrary to the moral law.”
‘Deep and lasting wounds’
Bishop Thomas said those who have been involved in abortion—
lead a Vatican dicastery, naming her prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The 59-year-old Italian Sister had served as secretary of the dicastery since October 2023.
The announcement of her appointment on Jan. 6 also said Pope Francis named as pro-prefect of the dicastery Spanish Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, 64, the former rector general of the Salesians. ■
which “inflicts deep and lasting wounds on society” and “more directly on individuals and fami-
lies”—should recall that “no sin is beyond” the Lord’s “unfathomable mercy.”
“Jesus greatly desires our repentant hearts and invites us into an encounter with Him,” Bishop Thomas said in his statement. “For Catholics, the sacrament of reconciliation is always available for those seeking God’s forgiveness, hope, and peace.”
He noted that many who have
On this pilgrimage to the Shrines of Italy, it encompasses some of the holiest Catholic sites that Italy has to offer! In Rome, step into the four Major Basilicas, see the Square from St. Peter’s Basilica, and attend a Papal Audience with his successor, Pope Francis. In San Giovanni Rotondo, visit sites from the life of St. Padre Pio. Enjoy touring the beautiful hometown of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. Close out your pilgrimage visiting Pompeii and Naples. Hope continued on page A14
Dicasteries
Ms. Orsuto
Ms. Healy
Sr. Marie de Paul
Sr. Maliya Grace
Ms. Benton
Ms. Connor
Living their mission, welcoming foreigners
Missionary Sisters host closing celebration of 75th anniversary in Mexico
By Blanca Primm
In early December, seven members of the Diocese of Knoxville traveled to the city of Huamantla in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, to celebrate the closing of the Jubilee Year for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” (MAG).
The MAG Sisters have been doing missionary work with the Hispanic community in East Tennessee since 1993. Currently, Sisters Esther Ordoñez and Maria Luisa Morales carry out their apostolic work in the Five Rivers Deanery, particularly in the areas of Johnson City, Kingsport, Morristown, Greeneville, and Mountain City, while Sisters Eloisa Torralba Aquino and Maria del Pilar Hinojosa work in the Chattanooga Deanery areas of Dunlap and Dayton.
This servant herself was part of the group, and I traveled as a delegate of Bishop Mark Beckman. For this special occasion, Bishop Beckman gave me a gift to take to the Sisters for their celebration. It was a beautiful olive wood sculpture of Jesus washing the feet of one of His Apostles.
This gesture of service and love for one’s neighbor that Jesus teaches us, captured in the sculpture and mirroring the Sisters’ charism of service in their apostolic ministry, highlights the spirituality and dedication of the Missionary Sisters. Upon receiving the gift, Mother Elvira Romano Carmona, superior general of the congregation, showing joyfulness and gratitude, said, “I will keep it in a place of honor.”
In thanksgiving Above: A Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus "Ad Gentes" (MAG) in closing their 75th Jubilee Year in Mexico. Among those taking part in the Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, Mexico, were MAG Sisters who have worked in the Diocese of Knoxville through the years since 1993 Joining the Sisters are members of the Diocese of Knoxville delegation. Below: Bishop Mark Beckman’s gift from his art collection to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus "Ad Gentes" for their 75th Jubilee celebration
The other visitors from the Diocese of Knoxville were Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga; Corinne Henderson, a basilica parishioner;
parishioner
Medical Treatment and End of Life Decisions
Tnessee’s Immigrant Services Office and a parishioner of Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville; and Carmen and Jimmy Hill, also of Notre Dame Parish.
On Dec. 6, five members of the group who were still in Mexico City visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and were accompanied by Sister Eloisa Torralba, an excellent hostess and guide. The visit to the Shrine of the Virgin was undoubtedly a great blessing for us, who, except for Sister Eloisa and Ms. Vasquez, were visiting it for the first time.
We were going to see the miracle of the image of Our Lady printed on the tilma of St. Juan Diego, which is exposed for the millions of pilgrims who visit throughout the year, especially in the month of December. Although not from Mexico, I was personally very excited because I was finally going to see the image of a loving Mother who was calling me to be close to her, as well as to experience her welcome, her love, and her closeness to her Son whom she carries in her womb and for whom she asked to build a sacred house in the new continent.
To prepare my mind and heart for this moment I watched videos of Monsignor Eduardo Chavez, postulator of the Cause of St. Juan Diego and expert in the meaning of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the historical context of that time. I highly recommend the book that Monsignor Chavez wrote together with Carl Anderson, former Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, titled Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Civilization of Love, an English publication and excellent for those who wish to know more about the
Sisters continued on page A20
he Diocese of Knoxville, along with Tennessee Right to Life, invite you to join us on Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Diocese of Knoxville Chancery for a two-part, 90-minute presentation by Paul Simoneau on the “Mystery of Human Suffering” and “Care for the Seriously Ill and End of Life Decisions.” Mr. Simoneau is vice chancellor for the Diocese of Knoxville who has a master ’s degree in theology and a certification in Catholic bioethics through the National Catholic Bioethics Center. The presentation will include Jet’s Pizza and sodas. Participants will receive a packet of very informative materials, including a Catholicapproved “Living Will” (Advance Care Plan), “Assignment of a Health Care Agent,” and a “General Power of Attorney” (these documents only need the signature of 2 witnesses to be a legal document and accepted at all hospitals). Also included are a Catholic Guide to End of Life Decisions, Palliative Care, and a guide to understanding a Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment. The Chancery is located on the south side of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus at 805 S. Northshore Drive. There is no charge for this evening of information, but reservations are required. Please reserve your space by e-mailing trlknox@prolifeknox.com
Part 1: Mystery of Human Suffering and Its Salvific Meaning . The Second Vatican Council beautifully stated, “Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful—apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us.” Suffering in life is inescapable. But Christ alone provides the only answer that truly satisfies the “why” of our sufferings—His own sufferings! He is God’s answer to the mystery of suffering, and as members of His Mystical Body, our own sufferings have salvific meaning and purpose (cf. Colossians 1:24). During this presentation, we’ll explore what the Church teaches about “salvific suffering” as a beautiful part of our baptismal life in Christ. As St. John Paul II stated, “For our redemption is in an amazing way rooted in suffering, and this suffering in turn finds in the mystery of redemption its supreme and surest point of reference.”
Part 2: Principles for Care of the Seriously Ill and End of Life Decisions . This presentation examines the Church’s teachings regarding the care for the seriously ill, and end of life decisions. Important distinctions will be made between what the Church considers ordinary care (e.g., nutrition, hydration, basic care and comfort) from that which constitutes medical treatment, and the principles that help us to discern between what is obligatory treatment and optional based upon the expected benefits and burdens of treatments. The Church’s acclaimed “Ethical Religious Directives” will be examined, which provide the principles to help guide our medical decisions and palliative care (treating pain). ■
The annual Bishop’s Appeal for Ministries helps to provide essential ministries for those in need and helps to build up the Church in East Tennessee. Your support of the annual appeal has the power to make a meaningful difference and help sustain our essential ministries that bring hope, healing, and faith to so many. Make your gift and learn more today at dioknox.org/appeal.
Liza Heath, a
of St. Stephen in Chat-
tanooga; Alma Vasquez, a member of Catholic Charities of East Ten-
Mr. Simoneau
‘ The church is the people, not the building ’
Los Angeles fire victims grieve lost homes, church: ‘ It ’s too much’
By Pablo Kay OSV News
Pacific Palisades is the only place Sam Laganà has ever called home.
The man known today as the official stadium voice of the Los Angeles Rams grew up playing in the closely knit California community’s streets. He was educated in its public schools and received his faith at Corpus Christi Church, where he went to catechism class as a child.
On the night of Jan. 7, he watched all of it—the streets, the homes, the schools, and his beloved church—burn to ashes.
“It’s too much,” Mr. Laganà said. “Overwhelming.”
While the last residents were evacuating the picturesque enclave in Los Angeles’ west side that night, Mr. Laganà was using water from garden hoses and his backyard jacuzzi to put out the flames encircling his home of 28 years.
“Next door everything was all burned already, all of the sides,” Mr. Laganà recalled. “The nextdoor neighbor’s house was blowing all of its embers straight at me.”
Thanks to friends who soon arrived to help fight the fire, Mr. Laganà’s house was saved. Corpus Christi’s church building, located directly downhill from his house, was not. Mr. Laganà saw the church in flames as he finally drove out of the neighborhood around 11 p.m. Tuesday.
“As I was leaving, I was trying to defend my home and hoping to keep the [Corpus Christi] school from catching on fire by watering down the hillsides,” Mr. Laganà said.
Mr. Laganà’s efforts may be one reason the parish school was
Praying for Southern California Above: Destroyed structures are seen in Malibu, Calif., on Jan. 8 as the Palisades Fire burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles. Firefighters battled to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed more than 20 people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes. Below: A man folds a flag after lowering it from the flagpole outside his cousin's house that is burning as powerful winds fueled devastating wildfires from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 8.
mostly spared, apart from its gym. And so, on Jan. 9, Mr. Laganà and his wife were among the dozens of Corpus
parishioners at a special Mass celebrated by Arch-
this. It’s to bring kids to Jesus Christ, to help them know the encounter that will be life-giving for not just a day, not just at a conference, but to take with them beyond this, in that relationship with Christ.”
FOCUS was founded in 1998 to promote encounters like these, founder Curtis Martin said at a SEEK25 press conference.
“My experience is that the vast majority of Catholics never get a chance to share their faith, are never able to talk about why Christ is important,” Mr. Martin said.
Mr. Martin referenced his experience with SEEK in Cologne.
“There were people from many Western European countries, and it’s a dark and challenging place there,” he said. “And I will tell you: When you’re in a dark cave, and you just light one candle, it is a game changer.”
Mr. Martin noted the evangelizing impact that millions of college-age young people can have today, especially on the handful of people close enough to them to notice and follow their choices.
“That’s called discipleship: I’m following you as you follow Christ,” Mr. Martin said.
As SEEK25 concluded its Jan. 2-5 conference in Washington, D.C., Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia spoke at the closing Mass about how
for
the feast of the Epiphany observed on Jan. 5 in the United States this year shows “the source of our hope” in Christ at the start of the Church’s Jubilee Year of hope.
“What does hope look like?” the archbishop asked the several thousand attendees gathered.
He recalled that during his time serving as bishop of the Cleveland Diocese he spoke to a group of Cleveland Clinic doctors. One asked him, “With everything going on in the world and, frankly, in the Church do you have reason to hope?”
“I said to him, ‘Doctor, I gave my life to a faith that believes that a dead man came back to life,’” he said. “That would be a yes.”
He emphasized to the young people gathered that “at the heart of what it means to be a Christian disciple” is believing that Jesus died and rose from the dead. And “because he did, we also will, too, and there lies our hope.”
Archbishop Perez added that despite the beautiful Christmas manger scenes so often depicted on holy cards and living nativities, Mary and Joseph in reality experienced a lot of trouble and turmoil as they carried out God’s will amid dangers like King Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.
“In the midst of that is the Emmanuel, ‘God is with us,' reminding us to not let our hearts be troubled; to have faith in Him,” he said.
Many, if not most, of them, had become both physically and spiritually homeless in the last 36 hours.
Longtime parishioner Rick McGeagh serves on Corpus Christi’s pastoral advisory council. His worst fears came true Wednesday morning, when his son hiked up through Will Rogers State Park and confirmed that their home was gone.
But looking through pictures of the rubble sent by his son, Mr. McGeagh was amazed when he saw the sole part of his home left standing: a statue of the Virgin Mary installed outside in 1998 when they moved in.
“That statue belonged to my grandmother, who died in 1997,” Mr. McGeagh explained. “The fact that she survived, when everything, even our Viking stove, burned down, I think is miraculous. There’s no way to explain that.”
Mr. McGeagh describes Corpus Christi as “a strong family” that’s grown thanks to ties fostered by the parish school and the steady leadership of Monsignor Liam Kidney, who has been the parish’s pastor since 1999.
“It’s actually an easy choice to be here,” Mr. McGeagh told Angelus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ media outlet, after the cathedral Mass, held the day after he learned his home was lost.
“I need God’s strength, as we all do,” he said. “We’re all going to have a tough road ahead to rebuild our homes, and Monsignor’s got to rebuild the church, and he’s not alone. We’ll be there to help.”
In his homily at the Mass, Archbishop Gomez acknowledged “we can be tempted to question God’s love for us, to wonder where He is
The archbishop noted that in the Gospel account of the visit of the Magi, it says that they “went back by another way” after their encounter with the Christ Child.
“We might go back to the place we came from, but I know that grace has touched you; and you and I will also go back by another way,” he said, with “a changed heart.”
Archbishop Perez offered a parting thought to the young adults returning to their colleges following the conference.
“Never, never, never underestimate the power of the Spirit of God working in you, through you, and despite you,” he said.
The Mass concluded FOCUS’ first-ever satellite event in Washington, D.C., which sold out and took place with some virtual connection to the main SEEK conference in Salt Lake City.
FOCUS also announced that SEEK26 will take place at three U.S. venues Columbus, Ohio; Denver, and Fort Worth, Texas Jan. 1-5, 2026.
Bishop Earl K. Fernandes from the Diocese of Columbus said at a press conference on Jan. 3 that he was excited his diocese would host SEEK next year.
“As a diocese, I don’t think we can be reactive; we have to be proactive,” he said. “And I see SEEK bringing a lot of energy, spiritual energy to
cese,
our whole diocese.” ■
Christi
bishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to pray
those affected by the fires raging through parts of Los Angeles County.
Fire continued on page A19
our dio-
elevating
Blessed adoration A young woman prays before the Blessed Sacrament at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 4. Salt Lake City was one of three sites of the 2025 edition of the annual SEEK conference
SEEK continued from page A5
OSV NEWS PHOTO/COURTESY OF FOCUS (3)
Blessed reconciliation A priest offering the sacrament of reconciliation listens to a young woman at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3. The SEEK conference attracted faithful from all over the country.
Blessed Word Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, speaks during the SEEK25 conference in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3. Conferences were held in Salt Lake City and Cologne, Germany, too
OSV NEWS
PHOTO/DAVID SWANSON, REUTERS
Catholic Catholic Schools Schools 2025 Week!
January 26-February 1
Celebrating Our Students Daily
Practicing Academic Excellence
A Community of Volunteers with Service to Others
Diverse Community
Supportive School Leaders and Staff
A profession of faith
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman blends God, family, football
Catholic News Register
As University of Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman prepared for the biggest day of his young professional career, not far in the rearview mirror was his decision to convert to Catholicism and join his family in practicing their faith in the Church.
Coach Freeman’s ascent to the pinnacle of college football follows his 2021 hiring as head coach of Notre Dame and his 2022 conversion to Catholicism.
The 39-year-old coach led his team in the national championship game on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against Ohio State, where he played in college (2004-08) and later coached as an assistant (2010). His Fighting Irish team entered the championship game with a 14-1 record in the 2024 season.
Notre Dame and its tradition steeped in faith not only helped steer Coach Freeman on his journey to Catholicism, he also believes the school’s combination of quality football with top-notch academics makes it a complete package.
“I believe I have a monopoly on college football,” Coach Freeman told the National Catholic Register in a 2022 interview. He added that the university’s Catholic character is an “added bonus” for recruits coming from faith backgrounds.
Hope continued from page A10
Coach Freeman began his faith conversion once he arrived in South Bend, Ind. He prepared for Catholicism with Father Nate Wills, CSC, the Notre Dame football team’s chaplain.
The Catholic Church near Notre Dame was excited about its thennewest member. “Welcome to our newest Catholic, Marcus Freeman,” read an announcement in the Sept. 11, 2022, church bulletin published by St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Ind.
“Marcus made a profession of faith, was confirmed, and received his first Holy Communion. Please pray for Marcus and his family as they celebrate and continue this
been involved in abortion—some of whom have been “pressured or coerced” into ending the lives of their unborn children—experience an “often-silent grief” and “despair of being worthy of the love and forgiveness of God and others.”
“To the parents of children who have died by abortion, I am deeply sorry for your loss,” Bishop Thomas said in his statement. “Know that our Lord loves you as His daughters and sons no matter your actions.”
‘He will forgive and make them whole’
The Jubilee Year offers a fresh opportunity to trust in God’s mercy and to be healed in hope, the bishop said.
“As we celebrate this Jubilee Year as Pilgrims of Hope, Pope Francis invites us to experience God’s love ‘that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ’,” he said, quoting Spes Non Confundit (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), the
journey in faith!” the announcement said. Coach Freeman reportedly entered the Church at the end of August that year, before the start of the football season.
Faith in his team
Since then, he has continued to restore the Notre Dame football program to championship status. In his first full season with the Fighting Irish, his team went 9-4. Then in 2023, his team won 10 games and only lost three. His overall record at Notre Dame ahead of the national championship game is 339, including one game he coached and lost to conclude the 2021 season.
papal bull issued by Pope Francis in May 2024 announcing the 2025 Jubilee Year.
“Hope allows those who have been involved in abortion to turn to God and repent, confident that He will forgive and make them whole,” Bishop Thomas said.
“Jan. 22 and beyond, we need to be reassured that Jesus Himself, who is the source of our hope, was first wounded for our offenses, and suffered for every sin of ours, including abortion,” he said. “Please join me in praying that God will fill the hearts of mothers and fathers suffering the emotional and psychological wounds from abortion with the hope of forgiveness that only He can give.”
Bishop Thomas also invited those suffering from the wounds of abortion to “seek support from the Church’s compassionate and confidential ministries,” including the national Project Rachel Ministry, diocesan healing ministries, and parish-support efforts. ■
" Jan. 22 and beyond, we need to be reassured that Jesus Himself, who is the source of our hope, was first wounded for our offenses, and suffered for every sin of ours, including abortion. Please join me in praying that God will fill the hearts of mothers and fathers suffering from the emotional and psychological wounds from abortion with the hope of forgiveness that only He can give."
Bishop Daniel E. Thomas
Sr. Clare Crockett
cause for sainthood opens in Madrid
Her zeal for souls, especially youth, was immense
By Paulina Guzik OSV News
Her wide smile and eyes beaming with joy are a signature of Sister Clare Crockett, a 33-year-old Northern Irish nun, who tragically died in the 2016 Ecuador earthquake. Now she has officially begun her journey to sainthood as the diocesan phase of her beatification process kicked off at Madrid’s Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares on Jan. 12.
Bishop Antonio Prieto Lucena of Alcalá de Henares opened the cause and appointed a tribunal to investigate Sister Clare’s sainthood prior to a Mass in a cathedral packed with family, friends, and faithful. The cause’s postulator, Sister Kristen Gardner, is a member of Sister Clare’s congregation: the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother. Accompanied by the Sisters present in the cathedral, Sister Kristen said during the ceremony that “the cause is not moved by human reason” but
“a desire to give glory to God.”
Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry, Northern Ireland, was present in Alcalá de Henares for the ceremony.
Reading a moving account of Sister Clare’s life, the postulator said that her “ultimate aspiration was to become a famous actress,” but that “she set aside all her dreams one Good Friday after an encounter with Christ crucified.” Sister Kristen herself is the author of a biography of Sister Clare—Sister Clare Crockett: Alone With Christ Alone
Derry-born Sister Clare was a promising actress with little interest in religion when she went on a Holy Week retreat in Spain in 2000 that changed her life.
The almost 18-year-old self-confessed “wild child” felt a profound call to religious life, and entered the Spanish convent of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.
“The Lord transformed her soul, and she no longer longed for anything other than to have Christ as
Coach Freeman’s success, in addition to his dedication to faith and family, also is likely attributed to his relatability to the young men he recruits and coaches. As a former college and professional player, and still only 39 years old, he has earned the reputation as a “player’s coach.” He told the Register the key is to set clear expectations with his players, but also to be himself around them.
He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He went on to play for the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans, but he never appeared in a regular-season game. He retired from pro football in May 2010.
It’s likely that collegiate experience, combined with his time in the NFL, that helps him relate to today’s players ... along with his personality and temperament.
“You’ve got to challenge them, and you’ve got to push them. But I don’t need them walking on eggshells. I don’t need them to fear me,” he shared.
Coach Freeman’s recruiting success certainly has Irish eyes smiling, but so have some of his moves more related to the Xs and Os of life. For one, he has restored the long-standing, game-day tradition of players going to Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, exiting out the famed “God, Country, Notre Dame” door, before walking across campus to Notre Dame
Notre Dame continued on page A17
Sharing hope Pope Francis greets Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, during a meeting with U.S. bishops from Ohio and Michigan making their ad limina visits to the Vatican on Dec. 10, 2019. Bishop Thomas, chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said the Jubilee Year is a time of hope for healing from the wounds of abortion as Jan. 22 marked the anniversary of Rœ v. Wade
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Women of Faith CCW Brings Grammy-nominated songwriter/composer & speaker
Sarah Hart
Saturday March 22, 2025
8:30 am - 2:00 pm (EST)
Opening Mass celebrated by Bishop Mark Beckman accompanied by Sarah Hart and the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Choirs
“RE:Creation.” A retreat focused on finding and sharing your God-given gifts during all stages of life. An experience woven with fun, humor, songs, prayer, scripture and Sarah’s personal stories.
Cost $20 per person
Players' coach Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman shows a player support prior to a game. The coach led his team to a 14-1 record in 2024 and a spot in the college national championship game.
Christians essential for Mideast peace
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin meets with pontifical leaders in Jordan
By Kristina Millare Catholic News Agency
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with 14 Middle East pontifical representatives in Jordan on Jan. 13 to discuss challenges in the region including ongoing hostilities there.
Cardinal Parolin met with the papal representatives of Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen.
According to a Jan. 13 statement from the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin met with the religious leaders to discuss the current crises affecting the region, including the need for Christians to address the serious political and humanitarian situations affecting the countries’ populations.
“Hope was expressed that there would soon be a cessation of hostilities on all fronts and that the Middle East could be a land of peace,” the statement read.
“Christians remain an essential element of fraternal coexistence among the various religions and of the progress of the respective nations,” the statement continued.
Cardinal Parolin’s meeting with the Middle East representatives comes days after his participation in the Jan. 10 consecration of the Church of the Baptism of Jesus at Al-Maghtas—the historic baptis-
mal site of Our Lord also known as “Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”
During the Jan. 10 Mass celebration, Cardinal Parolin reiterated Pope Francis’ desire for the whole Church to be closely united with Christian communities of the Middle East.
Vatican News reported the pope’s secretary of state also had a phone call with Lebanon’s new Presidentelect Joseph Aoun.
“His Eminence [Parolin] congratulated him on his election to
her only love,” Sister Kristen said. She gave to her vocation “absolute generosity,” she added. “Her overflowing joy led many souls, especially those of the youth to discover that true happiness is found only in God.”
The 2016 earthquake that collapsed the school in Playa Prieta, Ecuador, where she was teaching music led her to “the long-awaited final encounter with the Lord,” Sister Kristen said.
Following her sudden death, the sisters wanted her to be buried in Derry as they believed she had “a special mission to evangelize her native country,” Sister Kristen said Jan. 12, but as she noted the “surprise after her death” was that the mission “extended to the whole world.”
Sister Clare’s parish church in which the funeral took place May 2, 2016, was “simply overflowing,” Sister Kristen said, “by the people who were impressed by the witness of her life.”
Stories soon began to spread of her holiness of life and devoted pastoral service. Her grave became a place of pilgrimage, and devotion to her intercession has grown.
Shauna Gill, Sister Clare’s sister, told the BBC that as her cause begins, the whole family is “beaming with pride.” Never in a million years did we think she was going to be a nun, never mind make her way to sainthood,” she told Northern Ireland’s BBC News NI before the ceremony that officially opened her cause.
the presidency of the republic and extended his best wishes, assuring him of his prayers,” Vatican News reported, quoting a Holy See Press Office statement.
President-elect Aoun, a Maronite Catholic, is the only Christian national leader in the Middle East region. Prior to his Jan. 9 election, Lebanon had been without a president since October 2022.
In 2024, Pope Francis used his Dec. 1 Angelus address to invite Catholics to pray especially for
Eight years after her death, Sister Clare’s community received “messages from over 50 countries,” giving testimony to exceptionally holy life and also graces through her intercession, “and they are still arriving years later,” Sister Kristen said.
The testimonies, the postulator said, included saving young people from suicide, helping students fight vice, lukewarm Catholics receiving a desire to be saints, but also bringing vocations both to priesthood and religious life and saving
Kidnapped Nigerian nuns released unconditionally
Congregation says Sisters freed on Jan. 13
By Ngala Killian Chimtom OSV News
Two Nigerian women religious who were kidnapped Jan. 7 as they returned home from a meeting in Ogboji, a town in Anambra state in Nigeria, were freed on Jan. 13 with no conditions, their congregation said.
Sister Vincentia Maria Nwankwo and Sister Grace Mariette Okoli, who were returning from a vocational associations meeting and were taken along Ufuma Road, are members of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ of Onitsha, in southern Nigeria.
“We are happy to announce that our dear Sisters … have been released without any conditions and are in good health,” the congregation said in a statement, expressing gratitude “to God and all of you for your prayers and support during these difficult
and uncertain days.”
The two nuns head Catholic schools: Sister Vincentia Maria is the principal of Archbishop Charles Heerey Memorial Model Secondary School in Ufuma, and Sister Grace Mariette is the principal of Immaculate Girls Model Secondary School in Nnewi.
In a Jan. 7 statement shared with OSV News, Sister Maria Sobenna Ikeotuonye, the congregation’s secretary general, had said she was saddened at the news of the kidnapping and called for “fervent prayers and supplications to God that they may be released as soon as possible and come back to us safe and sound.”
The earlier prayer of the congregation that they “be released unconditionally” was heard.
The secretary general commended the two nuns to “the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary for their speedy release from the hands of their kidnappers.”
peace for people in Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Palestine, and Syria, which have been impacted by political turmoil, violence, displacement, and inadequate access to humanitarian assistance.
During the Dec. 1 address, the pontiff also included an urgent plea for Lebanese authorities to elect a president “immediately” and promote the country’s role in the region to be an “example of peaceful coexistence between different religions” in the region.
The Holy See in the past has said if peace is to be achieved in the Middle East, it will be a joint effort, requiring the cooperation of political authorities, religious leaders, and civilians.
With its rich cultural, religious, and intellectual history, the Middle East has the resources to be a fertile ground for civil society and diplomacy, the Holy See has said.
In August, Pope Francis met with Latin-rite Catholic leaders of Middle Eastern and Arabic-speaking countries amid fears of an escalation of unrest between Israel and Hamas.
The meeting took place as part of the plenary assembly of the Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions, which covers Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Djibouti, Somalia, and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. ■
priesthood “just when (the priests) were thinking they had no choice but to turn their backs on God,” Sister Kristen said.
Many called Sister Clare “their friend” in their testimonies, the postulator underlined.
Sister Clare’s first assignment was in the community at Belmonte, in Cuenca, Spain, in a residence for girls who come from families in difficulty. “Her zeal for souls, especially those of the youth, was immense,” the Sisters wrote in her biography.
Soon after she was sent to the new community that was about to be opened in Jacksonville, Fla., in October 2006. The Sisters began pastoral work at Assumption Parish and School.
Sister Kristen said the young nun’s apostolate is bigger than “she could ever have done on Earth.”
Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, a congregation started in the mid-1980s by Spanish Father Rafael Alonso Reymundo and officially approved by the Church in 1994, started with the commitment of three young women and has since grown to more than 200 Sisters from 11 different countries, including the United States, Spain, Ecuador, Ireland, and Italy and serving in 20 communities across Europe, in the United States and in Ecuador.
Sister Clare died with five candidates for her order: Jazmina, Maria Augusta, Mayra, Valeria, and Catalina. The Lord called her when “she was prepared” as “she kept nothing for herself,” her postulator said. ■
Holy land Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Jan. 10 consecrates the altar during the inauguration of a church on the very spot where Christ was baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
Sainthood continued from page A14
Smiling eyes An undated painting of Sister Clare Crockett is seen as the diocesan phase of her sainthood cause was opened on Jan. 12
OSV NEWS PHOTO/FACEBOOK SISTER CLARE CROCKETT
Bringing faith to ‘no priest land ’
Glenmary’s mission is to bring Catholic presence to rural areas of U.S.
By Charlie Camosy OSV News
While the word “mission” often calls to mind service in foreign countries, one group has focused for nearly a century on rural areas of the United States to bring a Catholic presence to those parts of the country previously without one.
Father R. Aaron Wessman, the first vicar general and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners, spoke with OSV News’ Charlie Camosy about the history and mission of the religious organization as well as its recent work in assisting victims of Hurricane Helene last fall.
Mr. Camosy: Until recently, I didn’t know all that much about Glenmary. Can you tell us something about your history?
Father Wessman: Glenmary was founded 85 years ago, in 1939, by Father William Howard Bishop, a Harvard- then St.
Spanish houses of prayer here in Chattanooga. I’ve been with the Vietnamese Catholic community here in Chattanooga. I also have been with the Vietnamese Catholic community in Knoxville. Our Hispanic community, as you probably know, is from many different cultures … Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, a lot of different countries. I love the fact that we have such a diverse community,” he continued.
To many laughs, the bishop was asked what has been his favorite place that he has visited.
Bishop Beckman, also laughing, said, “That’s like asking parents who their favorite child is. You can’t answer a question like that. … All of them.”
The bishop was asked what resources are available for youth catechesis as well as for equipping young married couples for marital success.
“When the U.S. bishops met in Baltimore a few weeks ago, one of the presentations was on Pope Francis calling for the need for a catechumenal model for marriage preparation. Just as parishes are so intentional with people who are becoming Catholic, we accompany them and help answer their questions to form them well, to be ready for the Easter sacraments. Perhaps parishes could envision a catechumenal model welcoming engaged couples and helping them to walk the journey to marriage. That could be one helpful approach,” the bishop answered.
Bishop Beckman said at the parish he came from, St. Henry in Nashville, a deacon who assisted with marriage preparation offered to start a mentor-couple program in the parish, which the deacon formed. In that program, married couples walked with those preparing for marriage and discussed various topics with them and attended their wedding, and the fruit of the program is that newlywed couples would remain engaged with the parish after their wedding.
“That was a gift. And there are many good resources out there. It’s definitely worth exploring,” he said.
Bishop Beckman said he is very much enjoying working with the priests of the Diocese of Knoxville.
“We have great priests in this diocese, and I enjoy being with them. I enjoy my time with the priests. It’s a gift,” he said.
Several people at the luncheon told Bishop Beckman they were grateful to him for saying “yes” to God and Pope Francis in becoming the Diocese of Knoxville’s fourth shepherd.
The bishop, in turn, said he is grateful for them and for all the faithful in East Tennessee.
When asked what his greatest
Mary’s- (Seminary in Baltimore) trained Washingtonian whose parents were both North Caro -
linians. Part of the American agrarian movement, and one of the founders of the National
challenges are, he responded that when a priest or someone else is struggling with an issue, he holds that close to his heart.
“That’s something I carry very heavily. When someone is carrying something, I also carry it,” he said.
He shared with the group that the Sisters of Mercy inspired him
“a great deal” when he was a child, as did a favorite pastor when he was young who was close to God and very prayerful.
“That was really the seed of my vocation.
I thought, ‘You know, if I could be as close, God, to you as Father seems to be to you and his people, I would consider a vocation to the priesthood.’ That was very significant,” the bishop said.
Bishop Beckman also was asked what options are available to the St. Faustina Public Association of the Faithful, which is the Vietnamese Catholic community in Chattanooga, for locating a church building and elevating their status in the diocese.
“When a parish is looking to buy a place for a church home, there are important steps in a process to prepare to do that. We always communicate that to the pastors and the leadership so they know what they have to do to be ready to do that. We have done that with the St. Faustina community, and we will continue to work with them,” he told the group.
Bishop Beckman also convened with the Serra Club members on Jan. 20 during a Chattanooga Deanery vocation appreciation dinner for priests, religious, and deacons.
Raleigh Cooper, president of the Serra Club of Chattanooga, said
Catholic Rural Life Association, he saw what the Church was doing in the foreign missions and wanted the same for the areas of the United States where the Catholic Church was not present. By the time he set out to found a religious order, he had been a diocesan priest in a rural area of Maryland for 20 years.
He developed the concept of “No Priest Land USA” and drew on his experience as a summerjob map salesman to develop a map of mission need in the United States. During Father Bishop’s time, there were over 1,000 counties in the United States without a resident priest. Then he peddled the idea to bishops across the United States and found a sponsor in Cincinnati Archbishop John T. McNicholas. He came to Cincinnati, began recruiting members, built a semi -
continued on page A22
Intersociety, a well-known Catholic-inspired organization for civil liberties and a fervent advocate of human and religious rights in Nigeria, joined its voice in calls for the immediate release of the nuns after the Jan. 7 abduction.
In talking with OSV News, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the society’s executive director, lamented that attacks on the clergy as well as kidnapping for ransom have become currency in several parts of Nigeria.
“Just about three weeks ago, a reverend father was killed. Now we are talking about the abduction of two reverend Sisters in the same Anambra state. Barely one month ago, a retired Anglican archbishop was abducted, and it took more than three weeks for an undisclosed amount of money running into millions of nairas (Nigeria’s currency) to be paid for him to be released,” Mr. Umeagbalasi said.
He regretted that in the midst of all these abductions and killings, the security agencies seemed helpless. Mr. Umeagbalasi’s frustration with the lack of action is also personal.
“On Dec. 5, my family members: my wife, my son, the house (maid), and my driver were nearly abducted by the same persons of the underworld,” he said.
He said although his family survived, their vehicle was taken by the attackers, who got away with many valuable items.
maintaining and growing vocations in the Diocese of Knoxville is critical to the life of the diocese, and the need for vocations is ongoing.
The Serrans’ efforts start early.
“We support the seminarians. We send them monetary gifts. We send them greetings on their birthday. And we write to them to let them know how important they are to us. And we pray,” Mr. Cooper said.
He said the Serrans also pray daily for the vocation leaders in the diocese Father Mark Schuster, pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville, who is the diocesan vocations director; Father Arthur Torres, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga, who is assistant vocations director; and Beth Parsons, who is the dioc
esan vocations office manager.
The vision for Mr. Cooper and the Serrans is not only to see the diocese’s vocations program remain healthy and get even stronger, but also to see each parish in the diocese take an active role in growing vocations. That is Mr. Cooper s goal for 2025. ■
In Nigeria, armed gangs locally known as “bandits”—which target Christians—were making 2024 the worst year for security in the region’s recent history. In November, the bandits had kidnapped— and released—three Catholic priests.
While comprehensive data has not been given for 2024 yet, between September 2022 and August 2023 alone, 21 Catholic priests were kidnapped in Nigeria, the bishops’ conference said.
The Fulani herders—militia dubbed the fourth deadliest terror group in the world—also kidnapped civilians and abducted schoolchildren for ransom while seizing farms and displacing thousands of Christian farmers.
A Dec. 22 report by Intersociety said criminal groups killed more than 14,500 citizens between August 2015 and December 2024. During this period, around 65,000 civilians were forced to pay over $320 million in ransoms, according to Intersociety.
Tragically, about 6,500 kidnapped individuals who couldn’t pay the ransom were killed, while those who did pay were still tortured before being released. ■
-
Interested and engaged Above: Members of the Serra Club in Chattanooga follow with interest Bishop Mark Beckman's remarks. Below: Father Michael Hendershott, associate pastor of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, is recognized by Serra Club president Raleigh Cooper in Varallo Hall.
Serra continued from page A4
Kidnap continued from page A15
Rural evangelization Father R. Aaron Wessman, vicar general and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners, is pictured in an undated photo.
Father Wessman has also served in the Diocese of Knoxville for the Glenmary Home Missioners.
OSV NEWS PHOTO/COURTESY FATHER R. AARON WESSMAN
Glenmary
Pope accepts invitation to visit Ukraine
Ukrainian
major archbishop is hopeful but cautions that nothing is ‘ guaranteed’
OSV News
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych set Ukrainian hopes high for the Jubilee Year by saying that Pope Francis accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine in 2025.
In a Christmas interview for Radio Free Europe, Major Archbishop Shevchuk said that “there is no set time (for the visit) yet, but Pope Francis sometimes likes to make surprises.”
“He may announce his visit literally a month before deciding to go to Ukraine,” added the prelate, who is the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The Vatican press office, asked for comment on the possible papal trip to the war-torn country by Catholic News Service on Dec. 27, did not respond.
In his urbi et orbi message to the city of Rome and the world on Christmas Day, Pope Francis said: “May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine! May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.
2022, he started talking more negatively about the idea. He told the Argentine newspaper La Nación on April 21 that “I cannot do anything that puts higher objectives at risk, which are the end of the war, a truce or, at least, a humanitarian corridor.”
“What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war were to continue the next day?” Pope Francis said.
A year later, on March 11, 2023, the pontiff told La Nacion that he was willing to travel to Ukraine but only on the condition that he can also travel to Moscow. “I will go to both places or to neither,” he said in an interview.
The pope named Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the archbishop of Bologna, Italy, and president of the Italian bishops’ conference, as his special envoy in June 2023.
“So, we enter this new year with hope,” Major Archbishop Shevchuk told Radio Free Europe. “With the hope that a just peace will eventually prevail in Ukraine.”
Stadium.
Coach Freeman told the National Catholic Register that he was motivated to bring back game-day Mass after reflecting on his own playing days and recalling how receptive a young man is in the hours leading up to a big game.
“So, to me, what better time is there to go have Mass? What better time to be able to really be on the edge of your seat to get every word that comes out of the priest’s mouth and to be as close to God as you can?” he asked.
Coach Freeman, who was raised Christian, spent Sundays in his youth alternating between the church communities of his dad, an African American, and his mom, who is Korean. He said prior to his conversion that he was grateful for the Christian context at Notre Dame, which provided an opportunity for the young men he coaches to ask big questions about life and faith.
“That’s important for me. I want our guys to wonder about what it means to embrace Jesus Christ,” he said.
The importance of family
Coach Freeman’s wife, Joanna, was already Catholic when he converted, and so were their six children: Vinny, Siena, Gino, Nico, Capri, and Rocco.
In another move popular among Catholics, Coach Freeman has his wife and kids come to practices and team facilities and encourages his coaches to invite their families as well. He told the Register that part of the reason is so that he can maximize the time he can spend with his family amid his busy schedule.
But there’s also an important lesson he’s hoping to impart to his players, some of whom he has previously said may not have a positive male role model in their life.
“I want them to see us as fathers and as husbands, because those lessons that they learn from watching us will last forever.”
Coach Freeman shared that being the head coach of a storied football program like Notre Dame prompts him to think about the situation he is in.
“It’s a great reminder of the privilege and the opportunity you have to lead this football program. And we all need reminders. It’s the same thing when you talk about being the first Asian American or [second] African American coach [at Notre Dame]. They’re great reminders,” he said. “For me, my daily inspiration, why I come to
Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, told OSV News in a message on Dec. 27 that “His Beatitude didn’t say that Pope Francis guaranteed that he will come to Ukraine.”
However, he said, “Of course I
would be happy if Pope Francis will decide this way. We will see!”
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started Feb. 24, 2022, Pope Francis has prayed for Ukraine regularly and expressed the will to visit the country.
On April 2, 2022, he said he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital. But in late April
work every day, is the players. It’s to help these young people reach their goals, and that’s their current goals [and] that’s their future goals that they don’t even know about. But that’s why I come to work every day: to help them reach their goals.”
But he acknowledges that if he primarily approaches each day by juggling all the tremendous responsibilities and different expectations people may have, that could become overwhelming.
“My focus is very seamless: the players. Serving our players, helping them reach their goals. And a result of that, hopefully, is they come here to be a national champion. That’s one of their goals, and that’s my job: to do everything in my power to help them do that; to become NFL draft picks, become successful husbands, successful fathers. And so that’s my daily approach, for sure,” he said.
Coach Freeman noted that he didn’t know much about Catholicism before he started coaching at Notre Dame. His only exposure was what he had heard, “this thing called Mass, and you have all these different routines that you go to and you participate in.”
“But Catholics are Christians, and that’s the best thing about it. You go to Mass, and our entire team goes to Mass, Catholic or not Catholic. And you realize that we are all embracing and believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior. That’s important for me. I want our guys to wonder about what it means to embrace Jesus Christ,” he said.
He acknowledged that restoring the game-day tradition of attending Mass before games raised questions at first. The practice left an impression on him as a highschool recruit from Huber Heights, Ohio, and he assumed it was
tradition.
“When I became head coach, it was something I wanted to go back to. And my reason is because I think back to being a player; you’re so vulnerable those three, four hours before a game. When you have a team meeting and your coach gives you a pre-game speech hours before the game, you’re on the edge of your seat, just hanging on to every word that he says,” Coach Freeman said.
“And if you’re any type of competitor, when the foot hits the ball, you’re going to be ready to roll. I don’t want [my players] to be ready three hours before the game; I want them to be ready at game time. And that’s going to be part of the message: Let’s be calm today before the storm. When the foot hits the ball, we’re surrounded by competitors. If you can’t flip the switch and you can’t get ready, then this probably isn’t the place or the game for you. And so, whenever someone puts the ball down and says, ‘Let’s compete,’ our guys are going to compete. That’s a big reason why I decided to do that,” he added.
For Coach Freeman, everything is centered on his family, even if his job consumes a significant amount of time away from home. He tries not to take it for granted.
“Sometimes you take it for granted. It’s when you look back at those pictures, just scrolling on my iPad. Those memories come up of your kids, and you realize how fast time goes. And you have to remind yourself to try to have an impact on your kids as much as you can because they’re going to be gone before [you know it]. We have a ninth-grader now who was just a baby yesterday.
“Hopefully my greatest impact on my kids is that they know that their
Cardinal Zuppi began his peace mission with a visit to Ukraine in June 2023, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other high-level officials. A visit to Moscow followed at the end of the same month, with a meeting with Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, as well as government officials. In October, Cardinal Zuppi visited Moscow again. ■
dad sacrificed and did everything he could to make sure they have a really successful future and that they could achieve anything they want to achieve. I don’t pick and choose to be away from my family just because I want to. It’s part of the sacrifice that I’ve decided I want to do to help my family at home have success and also to help these kids [on the team] that I’m involved with have success. So that’s important to me.
“And how does it affect you being a leader of 120 kids? It’s the same thing again: What are you doing on a daily basis to make sure that you’re trying to help the people around you have success? That’s what it’s about. It’s about helping these people figure out ways to achieve goals that maybe they couldn’t even imagine. That’s as a father; that’s as a football coach; that’s as a leader of the football program—every day,” he said.
Finding his passion on the football field
And while faith and family are his devotions, coaching is his passion.
“I got into coaching because I loved football, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep playing football. And I said, ‘OK, I want to stay around the game of football and be on the sidelines.’ And then I remembered a kid I was coaching at Ohio State. All of a sudden you give them a tip sheet, and they go, and they have a sack or make a big play, and it just gave you such a feeling of satisfaction because you helped that kid achieve his goal,” Coach Freeman said.
“That’s when I learned that, OK, this thing is about helping others. This is about making sure other people reach their goals. This isn’t about me and me being on top of a pedestal saying, ‘I’m the best at what I do.’ No. This is about helping others reach those goals,” he added.
“And those texts you get from former players: ‘Thanks, coach; I appreciate you.’ ‘Thanks for pushing me.’ ‘Thanks for the lessons that you taught me.’ That’s why you do it. It’s not ‘Thanks coach, you helped me win every game we played.’ If that’s the result, great man, that’s awesome, and I’m happy for Notre Dame; I’m happy for our players. But again, then what? OK, you win a national championship, then what? It’s on to the next one; or it’s about continuously helping your players and the people you’re involved with have as much success as you can,” he concluded. ■
Notre Dame continued from page A14
Front and center Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman leads a press conference on the campus of the South Bend, Ind., university. Coach Freeman is the talk of college football because of his faith-based success
Highly anticipated RSVP Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, sprinkles worshipers with water during the blessing of water on the Dnipro River after he celebrated a Divine Liturgy on Jan. 6 at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
OSV
Texas attempts to shut down Church migrant ministry
AG takes case against Annunciation House to state Supreme Court
By Kate Scanlon OSV News
The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 13 heard oral arguments in a case concerning Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down El Paso’s Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants.
In court filings and press statements since February 2024, Mr. Paxton’s office has alleged Annunciation House runs “stash houses,” facilitates illegal border crossings, conceals “illegally present aliens from law enforcement,” and did not turn over documents the office sought in its investigation.
But Annunciation House and its attorneys denied wrongdoing or illegal conduct and said Mr. Paxton’s office did not adhere to appropriate legal processes for requesting documents from the organization.
In July, a state judge denied Mr. Paxton’s effort to shut down the nonprofit, finding that his office “failed to establish probable grounds for the proceedings” and that the effort violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, among other issues. Shortly after, Mr. Paxton appealed directly to the state’s highest court to revive his effort.
During arguments, assistant attorney general Ryan Baasch said Annunciation House “is not immunized because of its religion.” Amy Warr, an attorney representing Annunciation House, said the attorney general’s office used “rhetoric” rather than evidence in its claims, and there is no evidence of illegal
Immigration continued from page A8
embrace “the Gospel teaching and Pope Francis’ call to recognize the dignity of others as we welcome the stranger,” in a Dec. 29 joint statement from the Washington State Catholic Conference.
The Tennessee, Kentucky, and Washington bishops noted that the Holy Family, too, were migrants fleeing to a foreign land.
“The threats of mass deportations and forced separation of families have caused great fear for refugees and migrants and their families documented and undocumented,” said Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, and Auxiliary Bishops Eusebio Elizondo and Frank Schuster of Seattle. “These threats are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the dignity of every human person that is central to the teachings of our Catholic faith.”
Citing Pope Francis’ third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (on fraternity and social friendship), the bishops spoke about being brothers and sisters and that the inalienable dignity of every human is more important than nationalities.
“We cannot separate our love for God from our love for others,” said the bishops, echoing Pope Francis’ call to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate immigrants.
“As Christians, we know our love for God is measured by our love of neighbor, particularly the most vulnerable,” the Washington bishops wrote.
“While we uphold that we are a nation of laws, as we’ve stated in the past, we also know that the U.S. immigration system is severely flawed and in need of a comprehensive overhaul,” the bishops said in their statement. They added that “migration is part of the fabric of our nation.”
According to data from the Pew Research Center, immigrants currently account for 14.3 percent of the U.S. population the highest level since 1910, but still less than the 14.8 percent marked in 1890.
Data for 2022 showed that the majority of immigrants (77 percent) are in the United States legally, with close to half (49 percent) being naturalized citizens, just under a quarter (24 percent) lawful permanent resi-
conduct on the ministry’s part.
“There has been no violation of the harboring statute because Annunciation House, an established ministry of the Catholic Church, does not hide undocumented people from law enforcement. Hiding them is an element of the harboring statute,” Ms. Warr said.
Referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ms. Warr added, “Most of the people who we house are brought to us by ICE after they have processed them and they need a place to stay.”
America First Legal, a group founded by Stephen Miller, a top aide to President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, backed Mr. Paxton’s effort to shutter the Catholic ministry.
In a brief filed in the case, the
group wrote, “NGOs like Annunciation House, whether motivated by politics, religion, or otherwise, should not be permitted to undermine American law and sovereignty, exacerbate the border crisis, endanger American national security, and violate Texas laws with impunity.”
But First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom organization that is often associated with conservative clients, argued on behalf of the Catholic ministry. Elizabeth Kiernan, representing that group, said Annunciation House’s work is motivated by its Catholic faith.
“The Catholic Church has claimed Annunciation House as one of its own,” Ms. Kiernan said, adding that if the Texas Religious Freedom and Restoration Act “protects anything, it protects this religious charity against outright closure.”
" The Catholic Bishops of Kentucky and Tennessee, together as the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, wish to first and foremost express our prayerful support and solidarity to our immigrant sisters and brothers. Please be assured that you are not forgotten and know that the Church stands with you. You and your families are a cherished gift to the world."
The bishops of Tennessee and Kentucky in a joint statement expressing solidarity with migrants and restating the Church’s longstanding call for comprehensive immigration reform supporting the country’s duty to control borders and immigration policies in a humane manner
dents, and 4 percent legal temporary residents. Slightly less than one quarter (23 percent) are unauthorized.
President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plans are targeting an estimated 11 million people living in the United States without authorization. However, there are fears that immigrants who have temporary status and are registered with the federal government through different programs could also be vulnerable to deportation.
The Trump administration’s new “border czar,” Tom Homan, who was named to the role in November and will not require Senate confirmation, has addressed the question of mass deportation’s effects on families. Mr. Homan was President-elect Trump’s acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the 2017-18 “zero tolerance” era, which saw children taken from their parents in the midst of illegal border crossings.
On Dec. 26, Mr. Homan told multiple media outlets that the incoming Trump administration is considering open-air family detention centers for holding and deporting families. Mr. Homan has also proposed the deputization of local and military forces to apprehend these migrants, as well as the use of military bases to detain
Catholic leaders, including Diocese of El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz, have spoken out against Mr. Paxton’s effort. Bishop Seitz is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.
In a brief filed on behalf of Annunciation House, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops said that Catholics are called to carry out the corporal works of mercy, which center on acting charitably toward the poor.
“The Catholic Church emphasizes that Catholics have a ‘moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself,’” the brief said, quoting from the USCCB’s summary of Catholic social teaching on immigration.
The brief further argued about Annunciation House that “there is nothing hidden, nor criminal, about its very public and decadeslong ministry.”
“Rather, it is an openly, joyously proclaimed example of a Catholic ministry seeking to carry out the corporal works of mercy," it said.
"As such, it should be free from interference from state agencies."
The case even caught the attention of Pope Francis, who criticized Mr. Paxton’s attempt to shut down Annunciation House, calling it “madness” during an interview with CBS News in 2024.
Annunciation House operates several shelters in the El Paso area, helping migrants and refugees with food, housing, and other assistance, as well as providing information about how to complete the required legal documents to seek asylum in the United States. ■
and they are a negation of the honor due to the Creator.”
The Tennessee, Kentucky, and Washington bishops’ statements are similar in their solidarity to calls from other bishops, including an open letter by the bishops of New Mexico, a statement in five languages written by the bishops of California on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as an op-ed column by 10 Arizona faith leaders, including the Catholic bishops, denouncing the specter of immigration raids on churches, schools, and other sensitive locations.
A 2018 immigration raid on a Grainger County slaughterhouse in East Tennessee resulted in the deportation of nearly 100 Hispanic residents, many of them members of Diocese of Knoxville parishes.
them and military planes to transport them out of the country.
In their Dec. 29 statement, the Ten nessee, Kentucky, and Washington state bishops talked about how “the Catholic Church has a long tradition of standing with those forced to migrate.” This is rooted in Scripture, they pointed out.
Catholic social teaching on immigration balances three interrelated principles the right of people to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.
At the same time, the Church also makes clear human laws are also subject to divine limits knowable to human reason. St. John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor (Splendor of Truth) and 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) both quote the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, which names “deportation” among various specific acts “offensive to human dignity” that “are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilization they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice,
The workplace raid was initiated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Internal Revenue Service, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. As a result, some half of those migrant laborers who were detained were sent to ICE detention facilities in Louisiana and Alabama.
Soon after the November 2024 election, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops posted a statement of pastoral concern pledging support for immigrants. It said the U.S. “should have an immigration system that protects vulnerable migrants and their families, many of whom have already been victimized by criminal actors.”
According to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign, bishops in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Nebraska, as well as the Diocese of Portland, Maine, have also addressed migration in statements before and after the elections.
The Washington bishops concluded their statement with assurance of the closeness of the Church, saying, “May all our brothers and sisters on the margins, especially migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, know that our parishes are open for prayer, comfort, and solace.”
“During this time of uncertainty and fear, we stand with our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters,” the Washington bishops said, echoing what was said by the bishops in Tennessee and Kentucky and elsewhere across the country. ■
A path to citizenship A family of migrants is dropped off by a transport contractor for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a shelter run by Annunciation House in downtown El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 13, 2022.
OSV NEWS PHOTO/IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE, REUTERS
Finding God in the ashes
Fire captain searches Palisades church ruins, discovers tabernacle intact
By Ann Rogers OSV News
Four days after Corpus Christi Church was incinerated in the Palisades Fire, Capt. Bryan Nassour of the Los Angeles Fire Department picked his way over a 6-foot layer of rubble in the ashen bones of the sanctuary and recovered the tabernacle Jan. 11.
“I did it because the whole community has been decimated—it looks like a nuclear bomb has gone off and nothing is standing,” Capt. Nassour told Angelus, the news outlet of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Capt.
when good people are suffering.”
While there are no “easy answers” after such a tragedy, the archbishop said that God calls each person “to be instruments that show His compassion and care to those who are suffering.”
“Love is what is asked from us in this challenging moment,” said the archbishop, who celebrated another Mass for fire victims later that day at Mission San Gabriel and was scheduled for another one later Friday at Incarnation Church in Glendale.
As the Mass ended with the popular Catholic hymn “Be Not Afraid,” its lyrics left a row of Corpus Christi parishioners in tears. Among them were Ed and Chris Amos, who, after evacuating on Tuesday, watched aghast as an orange glow in the distance grew closer in the live feed from their home security camera.
“You could see the flames approaching the house, and then (the feed) went dead,” said Ed Amos, who, with his wife, was staying at the West LA home of a fellow doctor at Providence St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica.
After losing the home they built 20 years ago, the couple said hearing encouraging words from
Research continued from page A9
ples are genetically identical. If the samples truly contain blood from a single source—that is, Jesus—then the DNA would match for all samples. These tests are routine now. To even begin to make the claim that the AB results are a “Divine Blood Type” or a “statistical impossibility,” these tests would need to be done.
The second paper, “Scientific Analysis of Eucharistic Miracles: Importance of a Standardization in Evaluation,” was published in the Journal of Forensic Science and Research
In multiple eucharistic miracle cases, parishioners found consecrated hosts in improper locations, too dirty to consume. According to norms, the procedure in such situations is to place the host in water, store it in the Tabernacle until it dissolves, and then discard it in the sacrarium, a sink that goes straight to the ground and bypasses the sewer.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 1990s, a host was found in a candleholder near the back of a church. After 11 days in water, a reddish substance appeared on it. In Sokółka, Poland, in 2008, a host was found on the steps of the altar. A week later, it was undissolved and covered by a red substance. In Legnica, Poland, in 2013, a consecrated host fell to the ground and after storage in water displayed a crescent-shaped portion turning red.
Dr. Kearse devised, for the first time ever, a set of control experiments. He obtained unconsecrated Communion wafers and processed them according to the same conditions described above. He left them in a dusty, dark corner for several days and then stored them in water at ambient temperature and humidity for seven to 10 days. Approximately 15 percent of the control
Nassour is a member of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Sherman Oaks, and his brother belongs to Corpus Christi.
“My brother lost his home. I have close friends who lost everything but the shirts on their backs, and they belong to that church, too. So, if I could save just one thing, let it be this, so they have something to believe in,” he said.
That Saturday morning, Capt. Nassour, whose station in Pacific Palisades is across the street from Corpus Christi, had been up all night battling other fires. As he sipped coffee at his desk and gazed at the ruined church,
he decided to check for valuables. He wanted to protect them from looters and perhaps return something meaningful to the parish.
Scorched bricks, tiles, and hunks of debris filled the nave so high that he had to crawl under the top of door frames that no longer had doors. The roof had collapsed, a burned steel frame teetered above the twisted remains of a chandelier. The pews had been consumed. Only the granite altar remained, with the solid brass tabernacle atop it and a cross above.
The Blessed Sacrament was intact.
Capt. Nassour was astounded to find that the tabernacle weighed
Archbishop Gomez and Monsignor Kidney at the Mass while seeing parishioners’ faces again was a necessary “part of the healing process.”
“I think that what comes out of something like this is it teaches you the value of life; it makes you appreciate each day more,” said Ed Amos.
Likewise, Mr. McGeagh predicted the calamity would give his family and parish community “a
greater appreciation for the smaller things in our relationships, and not stuff.”
“I think we’re all humbler today than we were before,” said Mr. McGeagh, visibly close to tears after the Mass.
After greeting each of his parishioners, Monsignor Kidney admitted it will take time to grieve and absorb the scope of the catastrophe.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,”
"It would be tragic indeed, worse than bighaired charlatans faking miracle cures on television, for Catholics to try and convince the world of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with unsubstantiated scientific claims about bleeding hosts and divine DNA. Thanks to Dr. Kearse, there is a way to obtain better information. Starting those tests yesterday would not be soon enough."
Dr. Stacy Trasancos
more than 300 pounds. His crew helped him get it into the station house.
“It was one of the most uplifting things,” he said. “Not everyone is religious, but they saw that and they’re like, ‘This is awesome.’ We’re doing something—at least one thing—that we can salvage for the community.” He made many calls before he was able to reach Monsignor Liam Kidney of Corpus Christi Parish to tell him that the tabernacle was safe and undamaged.
“He was in utter disbelief,” Capt. Nassour said. Tabernacle continued on page A22
said Monsignor Kidney, who reluctantly evacuated the parish rectory Tuesday afternoon with only his passport and a few legal papers, never to see his home of 25 years again.
The priest believes the destruction will bring about a necessary “rebuilding of a community” that hasn’t been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic kept some parishioners away from church for months, and others for years.
“COVID kind of ripped us apart,” he said. “This is going to bring us together.”
Monsignor Kidney already has received calls from parishioners promising support, even offering to provide temporary classrooms offsite for the parish school.
“I had somebody immediately contact me and say, ‘if you’re going to rebuild (the church), you let us know, we’re right there with you.”
At 80 years old, Monsignor Kidney understands that kind of rebuilding is only secondary.
“I’ve always preached that the Church is the people, not the building,” he said in remarks at the end of the Mass, unable to hide the pain in his Irish brogue. “So, now we’re going to get a chance to prove that.” ■
parishes and at more than 100 universities globally. The book and posters repeat all the exaggerations mentioned here.
Hopefully, a new team will be formed to coordinate genetic tests on all available eucharistic miracle samples and implement Dr. Kearse’s recommendations for a standard protocol. I asked him how he thought Catholics would take this news.
wafers formed a gelatinous red substance on the surface, like the photos from the eucharistic miracle reports.
Microscopy, fluorescence, and molecular biology techniques showed the reddish substance to be fungus and bacteria. Again, this is a natural explanation that was not checked but easily could be. Dr. Kearse presents a variety of tests showing that blood can easily be distinguished from microorganisms. As before, genetic testing would ultimately confirm what the red substances are and whether they have a single origin.
In another concern regarding the claim of divine DNA, only the Buenos Aires and the Tixtla samples underwent a forensic DNA test, known as an amplified PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. The Buenos Aires study indicated that “a very low concentration of human DNA was recovered” and that the sample contained a good amount of DNA from a “non-human origin.” For the Tixtla sample, no human DNA could be detected at all.
A “very low concentration of human DNA” is indicative of handling contamination. In forensic DNA tests, trace amounts of DNA from humans who touch a sample can be unintentionally amplified, and reports say the hosts were touched by several people. As for DNA of “non-human ori-
gin,” the forensic lab reports simply show an “N.R.” (no result). Yet, instead of reporting the straightforward result that no human DNA was detected, the investigators went the other way. They said that human DNA was present but defies detection because it is of divine origin, explaining that Jesus’ DNA would only have maternal DNA and no paternal DNA from a biological father. If this is the standard for testing miracles, then anyone can conclude anything.
Dr. Kearse ran the same DNA tests on his controls and found that non-human DNA does, in fact, show up in the form of plant DNA from wheat in the wafer. He found that bacterial and fungal DNA were abundant as well, which would show up as non-human DNA. These natural explanations must be checked before claims of divine DNA can be taken seriously.
Recently, Edward Pentin reported on the worldwide Vatican International Exhibition begun by Blessed Carlo Acutis, the teenager who traveled the world to catalog 160 eucharistic miracle investigations and died at the age of 15 from leukemia. These stories are published by the Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association in its book and exhibit The Eucharistic Miracles of the World
Mr. Pentin notes that the exhibit has been shown in thousands of
“Transformation of Communion bread into literal human tissue and blood is an extraordinary and historic event. True faith should welcome evaluation at the scientific level, in as detailed and transparent of a manner as possible, to establish the validity of such findings so that they may be shared unequivocally with the world,” he said.
The results may show that all the samples are from the same human body, which we could reasonably assume to be that of Jesus Christ! Or they may show that none of these cases are miraculous after all. As disappointing as that would be, Catholics are truth-seekers who believe in the testimony of Christ. It would be tragic indeed, worse than big-haired charlatans faking miracle cures on television, for Catholics to try to convince the world of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with unsubstantiated scientific claims about bleeding hosts and divine DNA.
Thanks to Dr. Kearse, there is a way to obtain better information. Starting those tests yesterday would not be soon enough. ■
Stacy A. Trasancos, Ph.D., is the author of “Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science” and co-author of Behold It Is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence.” She is an adjunct professor for Seton Hall University’s Catholic Studies Program and at Holy Apostles College & Seminary.
Grieving together Monsignor Liam Kidney, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades, greets people following a Mass on Jan. 9 celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to pray for those affected by the fires raging through parts of Los Angeles County. Corpus Christi Church was destroyed in the fire.
OSV NEWS PHOTO/ISABEL CACHO, ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES
Fire continued from page A12
meaning of the apparitions of Our Mother to St. Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac.
After having walked for about 20 minutes from the Sisters’ convent in Mexico City, then arriving at the Alameda del Peregrino, which is a central boulevard leading to the basilica and which was adorned with countless red poinsettias, we arrived at the Basilica of Guadalupe, located in a village of buildings and churches, each with a great history and significance. To the right was the hill of Tepeyac, which we went up after Mass. Sister Eloisa arranged for Father Carter to concelebrate the 11 a.m. Mass in the basilica. The concelebrating priests’ chairs behind the altar in the basilica are level with the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
It was so exciting for us to participate in this Mass. At the same time it was very special for Father Carter, who shared, “I have always heard the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but as with most things, it doesn't really come to full life until you set foot in the place where it actually happened. Walking up the little hill where the apparitions happened was a very wonderful spiritual experience. Concelebrating Mass so close to the actual image was an experience I will never forget. There was a real sense that Our Lady was surrounding us and embracing us with her love.”
schools in either Category I (stateapproved or accredited), Category II (approved by a private-school accrediting agency), or Category III (approved through accreditation by a state-authorized accrediting agency).
Among requirements for Education Freedom Scholarships, students would take standardized national or state tests, with results shared with parents and anonymously reported to the state legislature for annual review. Homeschool students would not be eligible to participate in the scholarship program.
The Education Freedom Act would “ensure that schools maintain their independence and educational freedom, preventing unnecessary government overreach while expanding choices for Tennessee families,” Gov. Lee’s office said in a statement.
“Education freedom means investing in the best public schools in the country and the teachers who make it possible. With this next session, the Lee administration will have invested at least $2.5 billion in additional state funding for public education during the governor’s time in office,” according to Gov. Lee’s office.
Also, according to Gov. Lee’s office, the act would ensure that state funding to school districts will never decrease due to disenrollment. It also would provide a $2,000 bonus to every public school teacher in Tennessee “to recognize their hard work and dedication, and for leading the nation in student achievement and growth.”
The act calls for investing in infrastructure, with 80 percent of sports-wagering revenue dedicated to building and maintaining kindergarten-through-12th-grade school facilities, “prioritizing emergency needs as well as at-risk and distressed counties … Gov. Lee and the General Assembly will maintain their commitment to public schools by investing hundreds of millions of state dollars in TISA (Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement) next year as well as raising starting teacher pay to $47,000 in fiscal year 2025-26—an increase from $35,000 in 2019,” the governor’s office stated.
The bishops of Tennessee’s dioceses—Bishop Mark Beckman in the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop J. Mark Spalding in the Diocese of Nashville, and Bishop David P. Talley in the Diocese of Memphis— have issued statements in support of the Education Freedom Act as Catholic schools across the state
The USA delegation Those making the trip to Mexico from the United States included, standing, Father Carmelo Jimenez and Deacon Christopher Gutierrez from the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., Blanca Primm, Sister Elvira Romano Carmona, Father David Carter, Father Mark Watson from the Diocese of Shreveport, La.; and Father Paul Habing, from the Diocese of Springfield, Ill.; seated, Corinne Henderson, Bishop William F. Medley from Owensboro, Alma Vasquez, Liza Heath, and Rosalba Quiroz of the Diocese of Shreveport. Not pictured are Carmen and Jimmy Hill.
Sharing this experience as a group was very important for each of us. “Going to the Basilica of Guadalupe was a highlight that I don’t think I would have ever been able to do on my own, and that meant so much to me to be with Sister Eloise, Father David, Corinne,
express optimism that they will be able to participate in the scholarship program.
The Education Freedom Act is set for deliberation and votes in the House and Senate when the General Assembly convenes this month.
Gov. Lee is calling a special legislative session on Jan. 27 to address the act.
Bishop Mark Beckman has written state legislators expressing the Diocese of Knoxville’s support for the act.
“On behalf of over 70,000 registered Catholics who live throughout the Diocese of Knoxville in East Tennessee, I write to you as their bishop, and as a fellow steward of our community, a former Catholic educator and administrator, and Tennessee native. I also write with deep gratitude for the state of Tennessee’s commitment to educational excellence and with confidence that together we can successfully address the critical issues facing our children’s future educational opportunity.
“The Education Freedom Act of 2025 HB1/SB1, set to be considered in the next legislative session, would offer Tennessee’s families the freedom to choose the best educational setting for their children, regardless of where they live.
“Recent data reveal that barely one-third of public school thirdgrade students can read at grade level. At area Catholic schools, more than 70 percent of thirdgraders are performing at or above the state’s reading standards. By creating a scholarship program, Tennessee is taking a balanced, compassionate approach to addressing these educational inequities—allowing more families the financial ability to seek alternatives where the public schools are not meeting the expectations.
“For decades, East Tennessee Catholic schools have provided
Blanca, and Alma. I now have new friends and new experiences that will forever define my life and my devotion to the Catholic Church,” Ms. Heath said.
The main celebration and reason for the Sisters’ invitation was on Dec. 7, when the Eucharist of Thanksgiving for the 75th anni-
quality pre-K-12 education for children—Catholic and non-Catholic alike—rooted in a fundamental belief that every child deserves the opportunity to develop their God-given potential. The Education Freedom Act is a long-standing commitment to serving the common good for families statewide.
“As a shepherd in the mission to prepare scholars, leaders, and saints, I humbly request your thoughtful support of the Education Freedom Act HB1/SB1. With your backing, we will indeed witness more children developing their talents, pursuing their dreams, and actively contributing to their communities,” Bishop Beckman wrote.
He urged the legislators to contact Diocese of Knoxville schools interim superintendent George Valadie for information or with questions about the diocese’s educational programs.
Mr. Valadie also has written to lawmakers in support of the Education Freedom Act. In his letter, Mr. Valadie thanked the legislators for their willingness to serve and asked them for their serious consideration and approval of the act.
He has nearly 50 years of experience in education, 15 of them in the classroom and 31 as a principal. Nearly 40 years of his experience have been in Catholic schools in Chattanooga and Memphis.
“Because of my background in schools, I am aware of the ‘school choice’ debates that have been a part of our state’s legislative landscape for well over a decade. But I can’t imagine all that has transpired behind the scenes. It’s that same background, however, that has provided me an ‘up close and personal’ perspective of how such a bill has the potential to enhance so many children’s lives—those enrolled in our schools and those who dream of being there,” Mr. Valadie wrote “We are proud of the students’
versary of the Foundation of the Institute of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” was celebrated in the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in Huamantla. Presiding at the Mass was Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, apostolic nuncio to Mexico, who said, “Today we want to thank God for these 75 years of life, certainly in the midst of many trials and difficulties but always trusting in God’s mercy.”
Referring to the psalm and the Gospel of St. Matthew 9:35-10 and 1:6-8, he continued, “We are called to renew our efforts to communicate God’s love to the whole world. This is your charism, dear missionary Sisters. God of infinite wisdom, who takes care of the stars but does not forget even the least of us and wants to be at the side of the humblest. It is clearly an invitation for all of us to imitate, to persevere in His love thanks to our actions. We are called to help our neighbor; this is your charism; you want to make the Lord known, accepted, and loved through your educational works, the works of charity and formation that you carry out here in Mexico, (Africa), the United States, and Italy.”
The Missionary Sisters’ charism is to bring the Gospel to people where Christ is not known and to preserve the faith in people who are already Christians. Their motto is Charitas Christi Urget Nos (The Charity of
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academic success, their eventual leadership in their churches and communities, but we are especially proud that our schools have—for many, many years—served families of all faiths, races, and socio-economic levels,” he added.
He described how students from all walks of life attend Catholic schools, and there are generous efforts to assist families with financial needs.
“We have been and are a home for so very many. When some of those families have had financial need, we have asked our churches, our alumni, and our parents to help us help the kids. They have responded generously, as they know financial stress knows neither color nor creed. And though helping families who wish to attend is an ever-growing part of our mission, we acknowledge our limitations.
“The Catholic Church has long believed and taught that ‘parents are the principal and first educators of their children.’ I don’t think the Church is alone in that belief. And regardless of who holds that to be true, the responsibility of educating our children is immense.
“But as some parents have exercised that duty resulting in nonpublic school decisions, I have seen moms and dads (sometimes grandmothers and grandfathers) take on multiple jobs because they believe Catholic schools best suit the needs of their children and grandchildren. It’s a choice they made for sure, but they didn’t just choose a school— they chose to sacrifice time away from family; they chose to step into their future without retirement savings; they chose to let other kids in other families benefit from their education tax dollars; they chose to trade the niceties of life for an educational setting they believe best benefits their chil dren. Choices are just that—and some School choice continued on page A21
School choice continued from page A1
Bishop Mark Beckman
Bishop J. Mark Spalding
Bishop David P. Talley
COURTESY OF BLANCA PRIMM
Christ Urges Us, 1 Corinthians 5:14).
In addition to the Knoxville delegation, attending the celebration was Bishop William F. Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., along with two members of the clergy there; two representatives from the Diocese of Shreveport; one priest from the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., one priest from the Diocese of Orange, Calif.; Bishop Stefano Russo of the Diocese of Velletri Lazio, Italy, who traveled with a priest and a married couple who were friends of the Sisters; and two bishops from Mexico, Bishop Julio Cesar Salcedo of the Diocese of Tlaxcala and Bishop Roberto Madrigal of the Diocese of Tuxpan Veracruz. There were nine priests present.
After the Mass we returned to the convent for a special banquet with cake, live music, and a beautiful musical program. “Musicians and dancers from various parts of Mexico performed. My favorites were the performances of the children who are students of schools where the Sisters serve,” Ms. Henderson said.
The Missionary Sisters’ convent was peaceful and joyful at the same time. An inviting dining room space was used to celebrate as a community.
“For about two decades, I have been blessed to work on various projects with the Missionary Mothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ‘Ad Gentes.’ Together we have shared many moments of joy, as well as sad and tragic situations in our community. The Mothers' convent in Huamantla, Mexico, is a beautiful place, full of nature, prayer, and community work. You feel the embrace of spirituality, you experience a deep and comforting peace,” said Ms. Vasquez, who is with the Office of Immigrant Services at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
Mrs. Hill, who serves as secretary at Notre
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are hard. I’m inspired by the many who have made such through the years. Not to mention the families that cannot make it happen, no matter how much they give up.
“But it is this legislation that would provide both choice and access to many who seek something different, something perhaps more aligned with their values, something that just seems to ‘fit’ better. It’s not an unreasonable desire for any mom or dad,” Mr. Valadie concluded in his letter.
According to the state, more than 6,500 families have applied for Tennessee’s current school-choice programs in Hamilton, Davidson, and Shelby counties. And more than 3,500 students are currently enrolled in a participating school.
The Lee administration also said 33 states offer school-choice programs, including 12 states that have adopted universal school choice, and that “studies show rising test scores and better educational attainment and life outcomes with education freedom for public and private school students alike.”
“Eighty-three percent of parents nationwide favor school choice policies, and parents are more satisfied when they choose their child’s school. Ninety-nine percent of Tennessee ESA parents are satisfied with the program,” according to the state.
Mr. Valadie explained that under the existing Education Savings Account program, both schools and families had to apply to take part and were accepted as long as they met certain criteria. With an ESA, the state provides $9,000 per student per year for educational expenses. Participants are restricted to public-school students, and there is an income-level qualifying factor involved. If approved, students can attend any participating school as long as they meet entrance requirements.
Students now receiving ESA funding are required to take exams for the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) each year. Diocese of Knoxville schools participate in the Iowa exams as well as ACT and SAT exams for high-school students.
Davidson and Shelby counties are in their third year in the ESA program, and Hamilton County is in its second year.
“Gov. Lee wants a statewide program that would be slightly different than the ESA legislation,” Mr. Valadie said. “Last year the House had its own version, and the Senate had its own version. The governor’s staff, the House, and the Senate have worked together on uniform
Reaching the summit Members of the Diocese of Knoxville delegation, including Sister Eloisa Torralba Aquino, MAG, Father David Carter, Blanca Primm, Liza Heath, Corinne Henderson, and Alma Vasquez made a pilgrimage to the site where the apparitions of the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico.
Dame Church, and her husband, Jimmy, were impressed with the MAG Sisters’ hospitality, which was a touch of their love to all their guests.
“All the Mothers and Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus treated us in a heavenly way that we felt at home from the moment we got to Mexico. They took care of us with care and
kindness. Getting up at 6 a.m. to experience hours of prayers, celebrating Mass by Bishop Russo, we felt privileged for all the moments that God gave us,” Mrs. Hill said.
“The little town of Huamantla can be likened to any number of towns in East Tennessee, even like Chattanooga. It goes to show that great things can come from little places,” Father Carter shared.
The morning after the celebration, Father Carter also concelebrated Mass in the convent’s chapel for the Sisters and their visitors. It was the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
“A highlight of my visit was being able to preach to the Sisters gathered on Sunday at Mass. There is nothing quite as intimidating as trying to preach to a congregation of Sisters who are probably holier and smarter than I am. But I was able to speak to them about Our Lady in the middle of the season of Advent, and so Our Lady’s smile made it all happen wonderfully well,” Father Carter said.
After saying goodbye to the Sisters at the convent, Sisters Pilar, Eloisa, and Esther Ordoñez took us to Puebla and from there to Mexico City. We all fell in love with Puebla, whose cathedral has nothing to envy of the great cathedrals of Italy.
Ms. Henderson shared that “While traveling from Huamantla to Puebla with the Sisters, Sister Pilar told us that we were in her hometown, and she asked for prayers for her deceased parents. We all joined in prayer as we traveled.”
We were blessed with this opportunity, and we thank God for the presence of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” in the Diocese of Knoxville. ■
Blanca Primm is the director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Knoxville.
School of choice Notre Dame High School students and faculty, including then-principal and current diocesan schools interim superintendent George Valadie, give enthusiastic thumbs up, reflecting their appreciation for the Diocese of Knoxville school and its programs, in this file photo. Notre Dame is one of three Chattanooga Deanery schools currently taking part in Tennessee's school-choice program limited to Hamilton, Davidson, and Shelby counties.
legislation since the 2024 General Assembly ended last spring.”
The new bill they have drafted together is the Education Freedom Act
While half of the Education Freedom Scholarships are reserved for lower-income families currently enrolled in the ESA program, the remaining half are open to any family. Income is not a factor, and geography is not a factor.
According to Mr. Valadie, the ESA program will remain in effect, and students can continue to be enrolled in it instead of the Education Freedom Scholarship.
Under the Education Freedom Scholarship program, participating private or parochial schools must be state-accredited or state-approved, must be accredited by a state- or federally approved accreditation agency like AdvancEd or Cognia, and must be a licensed school.
Allowable uses for Education Freedom Scholarship money include tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and computers. Unused funds can be rolled over year to year.
“A significant difference is students with Education Freedom Scholarships will not have to take the TCAP. But they will have to take a standardized national or state test, such as the Iowas,” Mr. Valadie said.
He emphasized how accountability is part of the Education Freedom Act, where test results must be given to each student’s parents and to the state, which Diocese of Knoxville schools already do.
“Another big difference is ESA
money is limited to public-school students or students who are home-schooled who want to attend a private school. You couldn’t already be in a private school. With the Education Freedom Act, now you can be in a private school.”
In addressing the concerns of opponents to school-choice legislation, the Education Freedom Act requires that state funding for local education agencies like East Tennessee’s public-school districts will not be affected from one year to the next by students disenrolling and opting for an Education Freedom Scholarship. Public school districts would not lose funding.
As an incentive to public school teachers, each teacher would receive the one-time bonus of $2,000 from the Tennessee Department of Education if the act passes the General Assembly and is signed into law by Gov. Lee.
The Tennessee bishops are working with the Tennessee Catholic Conference in getting their messages and the messages of Catholic faithful to the governor and lawmakers. The Tennessee Catholic Conference represents the three dioceses on matters of public policy.
“The Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 is definitely a top priority for Gov. Bill Lee and his administration, and key members of the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly are supporting his push to establish the program,” said Rick Musacchio, executive director of the conference. “The majority leaders in both the House and Senate are the
primary sponsors of the legislation and filed their bills as House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, showing their intent to focus on advancing parent choice in education across the state.”
Mr. Musacchio is closely monitoring the legislation as the state legislature enters the special session.
“To become law, identical bills must pass both chambers and be signed by the governor. Although bills may be changed through amendments as they travel through the committee process in each body, and potentially be reconciled before final passage, it is very important to note that the two bills are the same at the start of the session. Similar legislation moving forward in each chamber helps them reach the endpoint needed for success,” he noted
“The scholarships do not extend the regulatory authority of the state or local education authorities to create additional rules, regulations, or requirements other than the narrowly tailored rules to govern the administration of the scholarships. Schools across Tennessee that choose to accept the scholarships would control admission and student-retention decisions as well as the curriculum offered,” Mr. Musacchio added. “The bills allow for national norms-referenced tests like the Iowa Test of Basic Skills that are used in many Catholic schools or the TCAP test to be used to assess student achievement.”
Efforts to pass a statewide school-choice program have been unsuccessful in recent years, although the program limited to Hamilton, Davidson, and Shelby counties has illustrated how the measure is attracting more support.
“Even though the governor and leadership of the General Assembly are backing the effort to establish the Education Freedom Scholarships, the legislature is still divided on the issue. Members will be considering the legislation carefully through the process,” Mr. Musacchio said. “The governor and sponsors are working hard to pass the legislation this year, but it will likely come down to close votes in both chambers.”
Mr. Valadie believes it is important for the Catholic faithful of East Tennessee to support the Education Freedom Act and encourage their legislators to do the same.
“The bishop is all in, and I’m all in,” Mr. Valadie said. “I taught economics for years. What I taught was the beauty of capitalism and how competition makes us all better. And I believe that. Allowing families the freedom to choose schools makes us all better.” ■
A20
THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC ARCHIVE PHOTO
COURTESY OF BLANCA PRIMM
Pope awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
By Kate Scanlon OSV News
President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, the White House announced on Jan. 11.
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transportation.
“Then as God would provide, we found a TCCN partner that gave us a grant to pilot the program, and right now we’re beginning to expand that from the two original test sites in Athens and Decatur, Tenn., to Cumberland County clinics and another clinic she’s looking at adding providers of transportation to, that we would do that for our patients who are most in need,” Mr. Vargas said. “TCCN received a pilot funding from Sostento to help alleviate this top challenge for all charitable clinics in East Tennessee, and we’re one of the pilot partners in that program.”
Sister Maliya Grace is “awesome,” Mr. Vargas said.
“God sends you what you need. St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic is in the process and has been of building an office. It takes a lot of energy to build an office and design it, so God sent us her because she’s a civil engineer, and she’s our special projects manager who helps address that,” he said. “She’s doing a tremendous job leading that effort up, just absolutely amazing.”
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President Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, spoke with the pontiff to name him a recipient of the award, the White House said. It marked the only time in his presidency that President Biden has bestowed that award “with distinction,” the announcement added.
Ms. Connor assists both the clinic and Mr. Vargas.
“St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic is growing in patient count, and to meet that need and be sure we have enough people to service our patients, we also brought on an assistant for the clinic.
LaShay Connor is doing an excellent job, both as the assistant to the clinic and for myself as she is the assistant to the executive director,” Mr. Vargas said. “Just such a godsend. She helps us stay together, stay on time, and make sure the clinical staff have what they need and the volunteers have access to the clinical staff. LaShay’s doing an awesome job for us, and we gratefully appreciate her.”
Ms. Benton is newer to the staff.
“At Christmastime, we were able to onboard and hire a philanthropy specialist,” Mr. Vargas said. “With all this growth and to meet the needs of our patients, it’s very important that we fundraise. When you think about new offices, we got a grant from the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation, we have a new clinic [van] coming in 2026, hopefully February, maybe sooner. So, you can see the growth and activity reflect-
nary and, over these past 85 years, Glenmary has developed Catholic missions in Appalachia and the South, where there were large areas where there had never been a permanent Catholic church or resident priest.
Over these years, 164 parishes were developed in 14 states. The missioners, who are priests, brothers, and lay, invited by the local bishop, typically come into a county in an unassuming way.
They listen to local needs, develop partnerships with other Christians, evangelize the “unchurched,” and provide regular Catholic Masses in houses or storefronts until a community is formed.
Eventually these communities become selfsupporting parishes in their dioceses. This usually occurs over a decade or so, then Glenmary turns the parish over to the diocese and moves on to a new mission area.
A small but growing society, Glenmary is currently active in Middle and East Tennessee, in Eastern North Carolina, and in Southwest Georgia.
Mr. Camosy: Can you say something about Our Lady of the Fields?
Father Wessman: Devotion to Our Lady of the Fields, a patroness of France, was consecrated by St. Denis, a third-century French bishop and martyr. Some say the French Jesuits, who were some of the first American missionaries, (and
Capt. Nassour offered to search for other sacred objects, and the priest told him where to find the chalices and patens. Firefighters from Station 69 helped dig for the crushed cabinet. The chalices and patens had been severely damaged. But the firefighters recovered other sacred objects, including three unbroken containers of holy oil.
Brass withstands high heat, but Capt. Nassour suspects more was involved in the tabernacle’s survival.
“Talk to any firefighter. In any religious building what usually survives is the cross and certain specific items that are highly religious, unless they’ve been specifically set on fire,” he said.
Gabe Sanchez, a retired FBI special agent who does contract investigations for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, was sent to retrieve the tabernacle. Firefighters helped him wrestle it into his car.
Mr. Sanchez drove the tabernacle to St. Monica Church, where Monsignor Kidney celebrated Mass for survivors the next day.
At that Mass, the tabernacle stood on a table by the altar. Monsignor Kidney recounted Capt. Nassour calling him to ask, “I have found this big gold box. What would you like me to do with it?”
On Jan. 8, President Biden canceled a trip to Italy that had been scheduled for Jan. 9-12. It would have included an audience with Pope Francis and would have been his final foreign trip as president. The cancellation came in the wake of the devastating wildfires raging in California.
ed here, and we’re bringing in the staff necessary to support that growth, and she can help us build a rich tapestry of support to fund all the things that the clinic does.”
The new staffers come from far and wide.
“We have Michiganders, we have Australians,” Mr. Vargas said. “Sister Maliya Grace is from Australia and has lived in a wide variety of places. Sister Marie de Paul is from Utah originally and has been with the Religious Sisters of Mercy for two years now, so she’s in her novitiate year. She’s done some of her early postulant formation, and now she’s in her novitiate. It’s very exciting to have her as she’s embarking at the beginning of her religious life.
“LaShay is from Michigan. Jackie lived in Michigan, too, but she’s been a [Tennessee] resident for 20-plus years.”
Mr. Vargas is glad to have the new folks on staff.
“So happy. Many hands make light work,” he said. “The team, as we call it, includes our volunteers and our staff. In addition to that, we have
patrons of Glenmary) brought the devotion with them in the 16th century; others credit a later French Jesuit, in about 1840. Regardless, she appeared to farmers and is taken as a patroness of rural peoples and ministry. There was an alleged apparition at the site of modern-day Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Father Bishop, Glenmary’s founder, had a strong Marian devotion. He was pastor for many years at a parish about 60 miles from Emmitsburg. He chose Our Lady of the Fields as patroness for Glenmary. Glenmary has special prayers and chapels dedicated to her.
Mr. Camosy: How are things going today? Vocations seem to be up, is that right?
Father Wessman: Glenmary currently has 11 men in formation. Last spring, we had four final professions and two ordinations. We have a vibrant ministry, one rooted in community outreach.
Glenmary is starting new parishes even as urban centers are consolidating or closing theirs. So, we are attractive to young men following their call to ministry and evangelization.
We’re getting a few candidates from the United States, including Hispanics. Many of our parishioners are Hispanic. But most of our recruits at this time are from Kenya and Uganda, places where the Church is overflowing with potential priests and brothers.
We regularly travel there to conduct retreats and meet with candidates who have discovered
Pope Francis’ mission of serving the poor “has never ceased,” the White House said in its statement about the award.
Then-President George W. Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to St. John Paul II in 2004 ■
brought on many new volunteers over the last 12 to 24 months.”
One of those is pediatrician Dr. Lisa Padgett.
“Dr. Padgett has been wanting to volunteer with us as she was moving toward retirement,” Mr. Vargas said. “She retired and came to join us, and again as God always provides for our clinic, she’s a pediatrician. Over the last 12 to 18 months we’ve gone from having few pediatric patients to where 5.47 percent of our patients are now children. She’s awesome. We have a lot of different new volunteers.
“We also have several other new nurse practitioners, doctors, and providers who have come on, so God is so good to the clinic and takes care of its needs as we extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to East Tennessee.”
The SMLC now numbers 11 fulltime members, Mr. Vargas said.
“It’s exciting to be fully staffed, and it’s such a privilege to work with such great people,” he said. “We are adding a new community outreach coordinator. You can learn more at SMLCares.com/employment ” ■
us through Glenmary.org or recommendations from seminary professors.
Mr. Camosy: Where is some of your most important work being done? I understand Glenmary has had a significant role to play in helping serve those devastated by the recent hurricanes? Father Wessman: Our most important work is to bring the Gospel to people in rural areas and small towns in the counties we serve. That always involves serving the needs of the local community, and providing opportunities for people to worship in the Catholic tradition. Sometimes that involves jumping into crisis situations. Erwin, Tenn., one of our missions in Appalachian Unicoi County, experienced devastating flooding when Hurricane Helene came as far north as Tennessee. One of our parishioners there is a nurse who was rescued by helicopter from the roof of the local hospital; three of our parishioners tragically died when the plastics factory they worked in was overrun by floodwaters. Both of those stories have been in the national news. Our parish in Erwin and the local Glenmarians were part of a community-wide disasterrelief effort. As national attention wanes, the parish will be involved in flood relief for many months to come. ■
Charlie Camosy is professor of medical humanities at Creighton School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb., and also is a moral theology fellow at St. Joseph Seminary in New York.
The Corpus Christi parishioners burst into applause.
Capt. Nassour was unable to attend the Mass because he was fighting fires.
Survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires say their Catholic faith is bring-
ing them through the flames.
The blazes, which broke out on Jan. 7, have been fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds reaching more than 60 mph, as well as extremely dry conditions that have rendered vegetation quick to burn.
The fires continue to threaten large areas of Los Angeles and surrounding cities. As containment of the multiple blazes grows, so does wind speed, prompting more warnings.
As firefighters continue to make progress in containing the wildfires, officials are beginning to turn their attention to what started the devastating fires, which are among the worst in California history.
Government officials with Los Angeles and affected Southern California cities, the state of California, and federal agencies are preparing to discuss rebuilding the communities that have been decimated.
In the meantime, local churches are partnering with community leaders and non-governmental organizations like the Catholic Charities USA, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, community foundations, women’s centers, and groups that assist the homeless to help the residents who have been displaced. ■
Five active blazes have combined to so far kill at least 24 people and force some 200,000 people to evacuate their homes. The Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest blazes, together encompass more than 27,000 acres and remained mostly uncontained as of Jan. 15. Tens of thousands of structures in the path of the fires have been damaged or destroyed.
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Risen from the ashes Monsignor Liam Kidney, left, and Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson are pictured in St. Monica Church with the tabernacle recovered by Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Bryan Nassour on Jan. 11 from Corpus Christi Church, where Monsignor Kidney is pastor. Corpus Christi Church was incinerated by the Palisades fire
PHOTO/VICTOR ALEMÁN, ANGELUS
Holy Father reflects on his life Pope Francis is urging people to look toward the future with hope
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
While calling himself an “old man” and saying he never expected to be pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the future.
“We must not stumble upon tomorrow, we must build it, and we all have the responsibility to do so in a way that responds to the project of God, which is none other than the happiness of mankind, the centrality of mankind, without excluding anyone,” the 88-year-old pope wrote in his autobiography.
Hope: The Autobiography was written with Italian editor Carlo Musso beginning in 2019. The book was released on Jan. 14 in its original Italian and in 17 other languages in about 100 countries. Random House published the book in the United States, and Penguin Random House Canada released it in Canada.
The original plan, Mr. Musso said, was for the book to be released after Pope Francis’ death. But Mondadori, the Italian publisher coordinating the release, said the pope decided in August that it should be published at the beginning of the Holy Year 2025, which has hope as its central theme.
In several chapters of the book, Pope Francis directly addresses readers, including when he quotes St. John Paul II’s words during the Jubilee 2000: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!”
“If one day you are overcome by fears and worries,” he told readers, “think of that episode in the Gospel of John, at the marriage at Cana (John 2:1–12), and say to yourselves: The best wine has yet to be served.”
“Be sure of it: The deepest, happiest, most beautiful reality for us, for those we love, has yet to come,” he continued. “Even if some statistic tells you the opposite, even if tiredness weakens your powers, never lose this hope that cannot be beaten.”
Much of the book contains familiar stories of Pope Francis’ past, his childhood and relationship with his grandmother Rosa, his vocation and ministry as a Jesuit, his service as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and his election as pope in 2013.
Pope Francis acknowledged that
only when we’re unsatisfied or restless, and something about our current place is not enough, that we begin a great pilgrimage,” Bishop Beckman shared. “And so that restlessness of the human heart that they experienced opened them as they witnessed the rising star to begin that first great journey to the Christ Child.”
He remarked that when the Magi saw the infant with His mother, something transformed within them in that moment.
“It is for them a whole new beginning,” the bishop continued. “The longing of their heart must have been fulfilled when they recognized this vulnerable infant and knew that He was the answer that their hearts had been searching for their whole life long. A God who would become human, vulnerable like you and me… a God who evoked in them a transcendent awe.
“They fell down in homage and offered not only gold and frankincense and myrrh, but they offered themselves in love back to the one who had made a great pilgrimage to the Father to be with them, to offer unconditional human and divine love for each of them. They knew it. Their hearts were transformed. So open are they now to the impulse of God’s spirit, that the Lord will speak to them in a dream, and they will travel back to their home countries by a new route, another way.”
Bishop Beckman noted that on the opposite side of the spectrum were people like King Herod, who did not respond in hope.
“Think of Herod and the Scribes, the experts of the law gathered around him in Jerusalem, who are
he has made mistakes during his pontificate, usually because of his impatience, but he defends some of his most controversial decisions, including expanding the possibilities for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to return to the sacraments and, more recently, to authorize the blessing of same-sex or cohabiting couples.
He wrote about both of those decisions in the larger context of how the Church should reach out to and welcome everyone. “All are invited. Everyone,” he wrote. “And so: Everyone inside. Good and bad, young and old, healthy and sick. For this is the Lord’s plan.”
“It is our task as pastors to take others by the hand, to accompany them, to help them to discern, and
everyone and that it does not exclude anyone because of “one situation or one condition.”
“Everyone in the Church is invited, including people who are divorced, including people who are homosexual, including people who are transgender,” the pope wrote.
As for his decision in the 2016 exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) to open a possibility for some divorced and civilly remarried people to have access to the sacraments, Pope Francis said that decision “made some people throw their arms up in horror.”
Holy Father and editor Pope Francis reviews and initials each page of the manuscript of "Hope: The Autobiography" on Aug. 9 in his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The book about the Holy Father's life was released in multiple languages on Jan. 14.
not to exclude them,” the pope wrote. “And to pardon: to treat others with the same mercy that the Lord reserves for us.”
In late 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published, with the pope’s approval, Fiducia Supplicans (“Supplicating Trust”), on “the pastoral meaning of blessings.”
The declaration said that priests can give brief, spontaneous, non-sacramental, non-liturgical blessings to individuals who are in irregular situations or part of a same-sex couple “without officially validating their status” or blessing their union.
In Hope, Pope Francis again said: “It is the people who are blessed, not the relationships.”
The blessing, he wrote, is a sign that the Church wants to accompany
greatly disturbed by what they hear. No pilgrimage of hope for them, but only fear that they will lose what they have,” he said.
“So, instead of opening their hearts and beginning a journey of hope, they close in on themselves and try to hold on to what they’ve already received, which is never enough. If you know anything about the King Herod of history, you know that he was willing to kill his own children to prevent them from following after on his throne. He was a cruel tyrant, and the Gospel story shows what he will do after the fact. And slaughtering the innocents is in character for Herod. A heart closed in on itself, not open to the mystery of love, eventually destroys not only itself but those around it,” he added.
The bishop then spoke of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which looked at
the divine and human love of Jesus.
“[Pope Francis] talks about how the heart of Jesus is such a beautiful symbol because it opens to us as humans a way to understand the infinite love of God that’s poured out for each of us, that human-divine love that embraces us wherever we are on the journey of life. And that’s what inspires us to begin our own pilgrimage of hope,” Bishop Beckman remarked.
He said that the Jubilee is a time to “let the love of God free us from bondage” and commented on a merciful act of Pope Francis.
“Pope Francis opened a Holy Door for the first time in a prison in the city of Rome,” Bishop Beckman told the congregation. “I think about the prisoners who will walk through that door in faith and experience the unconditional love of God in their darkest moment of life.”
“Sexual sins tend to cause more of an outcry from some people,” he wrote. “But they are really not the most serious (sins). They are human sins, of the flesh. The most serious, on the contrary, are the sins that have more ‘angelicity,’ that dress themselves in another guise: pride, hatred, falsehood, fraud, abuse of power.”
Pope Francis also discusses his health and asserts again that he has never thought of resigning, although like his predecessors he had prepared a letter early in his pontificate offering his resignation “in the event of impediment for medical reasons.”
“At the beginning of my papacy I had the feeling that it would be brief: no more than three or four years,” he wrote. “I never imagined that I would write four encyclicals, and all those letters, documents, apostolic exhortations, nor that I would have made all those journeys to more than 60 countries.”
But, he said, “the reality is, quite simply, that I am old.”
Pope Francis wrote that he will be pope as “long as God wishes,” and repeated his plan to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major and not in St. Peter’s Basilica as most modern popes are.
“The Vatican is the home of my last service, not my eternal home,” he wrote.
“Though I know that He has already given me many blessings,” Pope Francis also wrote, “I ask the Lord for just one more: Look after me, let it happen whenever You wish, but, as You know, I’m not very brave when it comes to physical pain—so, please, don’t make me suffer too much.” ■
“That door is open for all of us this Jubilee Year. The door was open for us when the heart of Christ opened on the cross, and that’s why Pope Francis has invited cathedrals to have a special cross that would represent the open heart of God’s love in the heart of His Son during this Year of Jubilee. So, here in our cathedral church this year, we will be keeping our cross here, so when you enter the church you see that moment when the heart of Christ was fully open for you and for me,” he continued.
At the conclusion of his homily, the bishop invited the faithful to have a moment of reflection.
“The Lord is inviting us this year to let Him free us from whatever is holding us back from hope so that we can become channels of hope for our brothers and sisters who are still living in darkness and need to know the love of God. Let’s take a quiet moment now to ask the Lord to open our hearts anew during this great Jubilee Year, that we might be touched and transformed, as were the Magi,” he said.
Multiple Holy Doors have been opened around Rome. Besides the door at St. Peter’s Basilica, there are also doors at the Rebibbia Prison, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Several special events will take place during the Jubilee, such as the Jubilee of Teenagers, Jubilee of Young People, and Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly. The Jubilee Year will conclude during the Christmas season next December.
For more information, visit usccb. org/jubilee2025 ■
Jubilee Year continued from page A1
GABRIELLE NOLAN
A lasting legacy Pope Francis shakes hands with Indian Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil of Ernakulam-Angamaly during a meeting with bishops, priests and lay faithful from the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church at the Vatican on May 13.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Freed by the cross A San Damiano cross commemorating the Jubilee Year of Hope, standing behind Bishop Mark Beckman and near the altar at Sacred Heart Cathedral, will be in place during the Jubilee Year.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/COURTESY OF MONDADORI
as magisterial.
As a prelate, Cardinal McElroy has urged the healing of deep polarization in society and in the Church. Pastorally, he has called for greater inclusion of those who are marginalized, among them African American and Native Americans, people suffering poverty, migrants lacking legal status, refugees, clergy abuse victims, the incarcerated, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
The cardinal has emphasized that a synodal style is key to renewing the Church’s missionary spirit and overcoming its internal divisions.
“A culture of synodality is the most promising pathway available today to lead us out of this polarization in our Church,” Cardinal McElroy wrote in a Jan. 24, 2023, column for America magazine. “Such a culture can help to relativize these divisions and ideological prisms by emphasizing the call of God to seek first and foremost the pathway that we are being called to in unity and grace.”
During the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ most recent annual fall meeting in November, Cardinal McElroy proposed a task force to help implement synodality within the conference. The U.S. bishops approved his proposal in a voice vote.
Cardinal McElroy also has led the San Diego Diocese through a second bankruptcy, for which it filed in June to settle approximately 450 claims. In 2007, prior to his appointment, the diocese paid $198 million to settle claims.
In a June 13 letter announcing the Chapter 11 filing, Cardinal McElroy said, “It is essential that we all keep in mind that it was the moral failure of those who directly abused children and teenagers, and the equally great moral failure of those who reassigned them or were not vigilant, that led to the psychological and spiritual wounds that still crush the hearts and souls of so many men and women in our midst.”
He added, “May God never let this shame pass from our sight, and may God’s tenderness envelop the innocent children and teenagers who were victimized.”
During the 2023 ordination of two auxiliary bishops for his diocese, Cardinal McElroy shared his thoughts on what makes a good bishop. “To be a good bishop,” he said, “you must truly journey with God’s flock as Pope Francis has urged us: walking sometimes at the front to lead; walking sometimes in the middle of the flock to experience the realities of daily life; and walking sometimes at the rear to embrace and walk with those who are struggling to keep up.”
Cardinal McElroy also succeeds a prelate in Washington, D.C., who leaves an impressive legacy marked by a great many “firsts.”
Throughout his decades of service to the Catholic Church, Cardinal Gregory has been a pioneering prelate. He converted to the Catholic faith in sixth grade while attending St. Carthage School in his hometown of Chicago, and he was ordained a priest of that archdiocese in 1973. He became the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States at age 34 when he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Chicago in 1983. In 1994, he was ordained the bishop of Belleville, Ill. In 2005, he became the third African American to serve as archbishop of Atlanta, an archdiocese that during his tenure grew to some 1.2 million Catholics across 69 counties.
In 2019, he was appointed the first African American archbishop of Washington, D.C. Pope Francis elevated him to cardinal in 2020.
During his time in Washington, Cardinal Gregory navigated difficult situations, particularly where faith and politics intersected. The cardinal rejected calls to deny holy Communion to President Joe Biden, the second Catholic to hold the office, despite President Biden’s endorsement of abortion, a stance at odds with Church teaching.
The cardinal emphasized the importance of effective dialogue and seeking common ground.
But he also spoke clearly to the president’s shortcomings. In April on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Cardinal Gregory said that while he believed that President Biden was sincere about Catholicism, “like a number of Catholics, he picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts.” He added, “I would say there are things, especially in terms of the life issues, there are things that he chooses to ignore.”
At the same time, Cardinal Gregory who has consistently spoken out against capital punishment and euthanasia commended President Biden’s recent commutation of most federal death row sentences. In a Dec. 23 statement, the cardinal called the death penalty “one more link in the awful loss of public respect for human life itself.”
Cardinal Gregory was also the first African American elected as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, serving from 2001-04. Prior to that, he had been elected vice president of the conference (known from 1966 until 2001 as the National Conference of Catholic Bishops) in 1998.
His tenure as USCCB president coincided with the explosive clerical sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston. The crisis, while not the first known sex abuse scandal of the Catholic Church in the United States, provided the impetus, along with other emerging diocesan abuse
a Jan. 6 news conference
scandals at the time, for the U.S. bishops to develop and adopt their “Charter for the Protection for Children and Young People.”
The watershed document that then-Bishop Gregory helped shepherd the U.S. bishops to develop in Dallas June 13-15, 2002, commonly called the Dallas Charter, lays out a comprehensive set of procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of abuse.
As the charter neared its 20th anniversary, Cardinal Gregory told Catholic News Service in a June 2022 interview that the charter marked a “pivotal moment” in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. But he said the task of confronting sexual abuse in the Church “is not
complete.”
With the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year, Cardinal Gregory expressed the need for both contemplation and hope.
Celebrating a Jan. 1 Mass for the Haitian Catholic community with the liturgy celebrating the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, while also commemorating Haiti’s Independence Day the cardinal pointed to Mary as a model for the faithful in the journey ahead, especially since she meditated profoundly upon the mysteries of Christ.
“Pondering helps us all prepare to grasp the really important events in life and see their deepest meaning,” Cardinal Gregory said. “We should all reflect more deeply, more frequently during the new year.” ■
Meet the press Left: Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory speaks at
at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego is seated behind him. Right: Cardinal McElroy speaks at the same news conference. OSV News photo/ Geoffrey Ros, Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
Mary Batts
Mary Batts, beloved mother of five children and Mémé to eight grandchildren, passed from this life on Dec. 18 at Concord Memory Care in Knoxville. She will be missed dearly by her family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her.
Mrs. Batts was born on June 17, 1941, in Nashville and was the third of four children of Thomas and Winifred Burke. She attended Christ the King School and St. Bernard Academy, where she made lifelong friends with whom she reunited almost every year. While in Nashville, she met her dear husband, William, to whom she was married for 55 years until his passing.
Mrs. Batts moved to Chattanooga, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and where she would spend 40 years raising a family and 25 years teaching at St. Jude School.
During her time as a member of St. Jude Parish and as a teacher at St. Jude School, Mrs. Batts befriended and came to be loved by countless parishioners, students, and faculty. She was known as one of the kindest, gentlest, and happiest souls that anyone could ever meet, and she helped to better the educations and lives of an untold number of students, many of whom would later tell her that she was the reason they had gone on to succeed in their education and careers.
She retired from teaching in 2004 and spent most of the next 20 years traveling, seeing her grandchildren, and pursuing her second love, dancing
In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Batts was preceded in death by her sister, Barbara Flowers, and her brother, Thomas Burke Jr. She is survived by five children: Will Batts (Curtis), Pam Pike (Alan), Teresa Ward (Derek), Judy Hagerty (Patrick), and Daniel Batts (Chrissie). She also is survived by eight grandchildren who she loved dearly: James Goodman and Addison BattsPetty, Tanner and Haleigh Ward, Kylie and Dylan Hagerty, and Zane and Charlie Batts.
Following a rosary on Dec. 22, a funeral Mass for Mrs. Batts was held on Dec. 23 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, with Father Charlie Burton serving as the celebrant. Burial was in Hamilton Memorial Gardens in Chattanooga.
Donations in Mrs. Batts’ memory can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at give.michaeljfox.org
Capt. George Turley
Capt. George E. Turley, 58, of the Chattanooga Fire Department, died on Dec. 14 while on duty at Chattanooga Fire Station 16 on Lupton Drive.
Capt. Turley was a 31year veteran of the fire department. He was born in Manchester, Conn., and attended school in Brimfield, Ohio. Before moving to Chattanooga and joining the Chattanooga Fire Department, he lived and worked in Port St. Lucie, Fla. In 1993, he graduated from the Chattanooga Fire Academy. At his death, he was the most senior member of the department.
According to a fire department spokesman, “Capt. Turley’s passion for the fire service and compassion for others has left a mark on many in our department. He truly cared about the job, and he wanted it done right, making him a role model and strong leader in the CFD. He was a staple in the Hixson community who always went the extra mile to make school visits and station visits extra special for children. Capt. Turley was a good person and a solid firefighter who will be greatly missed. He enjoyed teaching, and he also worked as an instructional specialist in emergency response training for TVA.”
In addition, Capt. Turley also worked at Tennessee Fire Equipment. He loved his work, his squad, leading school visits, and teaching children about the fire department.
Capt. Turley and his family attended St. Jude Church, where he was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Deborah Turley; sons Spenser Turley of Tokyo, and Alex Turley (Kate Ford) of Chattanooga; his parents, Bill and Loretta Breault of Manchester, Conn.; brothers Gene (Barbie) Turley of Manchester, Conn.; Larry (Paula) Turley of Ledyard, Conn.; and a sister, Fran (Glenn) Uslan of Jacksonville, Fla. He is also survived by sister-in-law Mary Dinsmore (Steven Mederios) of Chattanooga; brothers-in-law Eric (Stephanie) Dinsmore of Orlando, Fla., and Andrew Dinsmore (Jennifer Allender) of Cleveland, Tenn.; and several nieces and nephews.
Capt. Turley also leaves behind a vast and beloved brotherhood of firefighters with whom he worked and who tended to him in his time of need. Special members of his squad were Ace Gardner, Terrance Watkins, Jesse Ridge, and the late Chad
Crisp. A funeral Mass for Capt. Turley was celebrated on Dec. 20 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga. Burial was at Lakewood Memory Gardens in Chattanooga. The family would like to thank Chief Phil Hyman, Seth Miller, Dusty Rose, Kristin Duke, members of the Chattanooga Fire Fighter’s Association, Local 820, and all of Capt. Turley’s brothers and sisters in the Chattanooga Fire Department and the Chattanooga Police Department who have supported him these last 31 years and taken care of him in recent days.
Anthony Papa
The family of Anthony Papa of Clinton is saddened to announce his passing on Dec. 8. Mr. Papa was born in Staten Island, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 1944. He served in the U.S. Navy as a boatswain’s mate, 3rd Class Petty Officer. Mr. Papa had an extensive career in law enforcement with the New York Police Department and in the private sector. He also had a passion for physical fitness, martial arts, landscaping, and hard work, all of which he would routinely use in the service of helping family, friends, and strangers alike. He was a role model to many and a teacher to all.
Mr. Papa was a martial arts master and earned the title kyoshi (professor) in 2019. His ability to teach the application of techniques was unparalleled and perhaps his greatest contribution to martial arts.
Mr. Papa was active with the Catholic Church, he was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, and he was a dedicated member of St. Therese Parish in Clinton, where he was a former member of the parish council and led many security initiatives, improving the grounds and the church building.
Together with his late wife, Trish, Mr. Papa led the Blessing Box project, which continues to be a successful and charitable endeavor to help those in need in the community.
Mr. Papa is preceded in death by his wife, Trish Papa; his father, Dominick Papa; and his mother, Carol Papa. He is survived by his siblings Marguerite (Tim) Grady, Carol (Ray) Montoro, and Catherine Papa and husband Scott; his children, Anthony Papa, Kristin Smith, and Michael (Elizabeth) Papa; and his grandchildren, Logan Papa, Angelina Papa, Rob Smith, Connor Smith, Vincent Papa, and Giovanni Papa.
Donations in Mr. Papa’s memory can be made to St. Therese Church, 701 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd, Clinton, TN 37716.
Mrs. Batts
Capt. Turley
Dora Dugan
Dora J. Dugan, age 93, of Knoxville, passed away on Dec. 29.
Mrs. Dugan was a longtime member of Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville and worked at Ladies of Charity as well as actively serving Second Harvest Food Bank.
Mrs. Dugan retired as a registered nurse from St. Mary’s and University of Tennessee hospitals. She enjoyed crocheting, shopping, and spending time with her family. She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Donald Dugan; parents, Bessie and Hank Johns; siblings, Norma Jean Johns, Ellis Johns, and Larry Johns; a daughter, Trish Woliver (Kim); and grandsons, Alex Woliver and Sam Williams.
Mrs. Dugan is survived by her daughter, Cathy Burress (Ed) of Andersonville; sons Don Dugan (Julie) of Tucson, Ariz., and Paul Dugan (Janet) of Georgia; daughter Claire Spain (David) of Lyles, Tenn.; son Michael Dugan (Allen Dykes) of Knoxville; 13 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; brother Ralph Johns (Nancy); and several nieces and nephews.
Following a rosary service on Jan. 3, a funeral Mass for Mrs. Dugan was celebrated on Jan. 4 at Holy Ghost Church. Burial was at Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery in Knoxville. Donations in Mrs. Dugan’s memory can be made to Ladies of Charity, www.ladiesof charityknox.org, or a favorite charity in Mrs. Dugan’s honor.
Lawrence L. Dietz
Lawrence Lester Dietz, age 88, passed away peacefully on Dec. 19 in Knoxville.
A proud graduate of St. Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1958, Mr. Dietz exemplified dedication academically and personally. His commitment to serving his country was evident during his time with the U.S. Army.
After returning home from military service, Mr. Dietz became the owner and operator of Ridge Valve & Fitting Co., a venture that showcased his entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering determination.
Throughout his life, Mr. Dietz held numerous leadership roles within various organizations. He served as president of Fox Den and Grey Wood Crossing, and he was a member of the President’s Council at John Carroll University. He also was a large contributor to the 1982 World’s Fair. His passion for aviation led him to become a private pilot and a dedicated member of AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association). He also enjoyed being on ski patrol and a member of the Knoxville Area Ski Club. He was an avid golfer, too.
Mr. Dietz loved traveling abroad, exploring new cultures alongside fine dining experiences, and he had an appreciation for gourmet cooking. One of his favorite vacation spots was Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Mr. Dietz’s heart extended beyond personal pursuits into meaningful contributions to society through mission trips with Stan Brock’s Remote Area Medical organization. Additionally, he was involved with the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Ga. The impacts he made resonated deeply within those communities.
Mr. Dietz is preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Ruth Dietz; and a sister, Joan Nelson. He is survived by daughter Lisa Dietz Heidmann (John); sister Lee Woldin; grandchildren Maddox Barbee and Camdon Barbee; numerous nieces and nephews; and special beloved friend Patty Westropp.
A funeral Mass for Mr. Dietz was celebrated at All Saints Church on Jan. 9 followed by a military graveside service at East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Knoxville.
Faithful Departed
nity of Crossville, where she spent many joyful years surrounded by her family and friends. She possessed a remarkable spirit and was deeply cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing her.
Mrs. Mitter’s legacy lives on through her loving family. She is survived by her devoted husband, Ralph Mitter; her daughter, Kathy Chapin, and sonin-law, Paul; and her son, Michael Mitter, and daughter-in-law, Paula. Her family was the light of her life, and she was immensely proud of her eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren, who brought her boundless joy and happiness.
Mrs. Mitter leaves behind her dear sisters Geri Adams and Joan Leduc, who will forever cherish the memories they shared. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mary Smith; sons, Jimmy Mitter and Brian Mitter; her brother, Tom Smith; and her sister, Diane Downey, whom she now joins in eternal peace.
Mrs. Mitter will be missed dearly, but the love and warmth she gave will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew her. Her enduring legacy will inspire generations to come, reminding us all of the power of love and kindness.
A memorial Mass was celebrated for Mrs. Mitter at St. Alphonsus Church in Crossville on Jan. 16. Donations in Mrs. Mitter’s memory may be made to St. Alphonsus Church, 151 Saint Alphonsus Way, Crossville, TN 38555, or stalonline.org/online-giving , for the new playground.
Robert M. Ernst
Robert “Bob” Marion Ernst passed away on Nov. 7 after courageously enduring a series of chronic illnesses.
Mr. Popovich was born in Mellen, Wis., on Oct. 11, 1941. He graduated from Mellen High School, enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was stationed in Lemoore, Calif.
He pursued a career with the Federal Aviation Administration, serving as an instructor in radar and computers and as project engineer for the western region, managed long-range radar, and served as system engineer at the Leesburg, Va., Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Popovich retired to Tellico Village in 2000. Mr. Popovich was an avid golfer and was named player of the year twice. He also was part of computer support for the Tellico Village Computer Club.
Mr. Popovich, a Green Bay Packers fan, was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City. He also was a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus and served as Grand Knight and district deputy.
A funeral Mass for Mr. Popovich was celebrated at St. Thomas the Apostle on Jan. 24. Burial with military honors was Jan. 27 at East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery. Donations in Mr. Popovich’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org
Ronald McElhaney
Ronald John McElhaney, age 81, of Knoxville, passed away on Dec. 28 after living with Alzheimer’s for eight years.
Mr. McElhaney was born on Dec. 23, 1943, in Oakland, Calif., and graduated from San Leandro High School, class of 1961. He attended the University of California-Berkeley and was in the class of 1966. He proudly served in the U.S. Navy prior to moving to Oak Ridge in 1968.
Donations in Mr. Dietz’s memory can be made to Catholic Foundation of East Tennessee, dioknox.org/cfet-giving-1, or to John Carroll University, www.jcu.edu/give
Mary Mitter
Mary Madonna Mitter, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend, peacefully passed away on Jan. 5 at the age of 87.
Mrs. Mitter, who was born in Detroit on May 30, 1937, lived a life filled with love, dedication, and service. She resided in the warm commu -
Mr. McElhaney worked for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Y-12 plant as a chemist for 31 years. He was athletic and enjoyed playing soccer, running, doing triathlons, and his first love: tennis. He was an avid reader with interests such as history, religion, astronomy, and travel. Additionally, he was a licensed pilot and a lover of music and dancing. He started the AYSO soccer program in the Cedar Bluff community and was a former officer of the Knoxville Track Club.
Born in New Orleans, Mr. Ernst lived there for much of his life before moving to Knoxville in 2001. He is survived by his devoted wife, Kathleen Jablonski Ernst; his children, Katie, Rob (Michelle), Mike (Sherri), Blaise (Monica), Rebecca (Todd Nicholson), Daniel, and Kristian (Korey); and stepchildren Rick (Sharon) Galpal, and Michelle (Danny) Meek;. His grandchildren, who lovingly called him “Opa,” include Maeve, Lily, and Roan Doody, Bailey (Jacob) Escobar, Peyton, Madison, Reilly, Michael Jr., Megan Powers (Chris), Morgan (Greta), Maggie, Madelyn, Kristian, Celia, Lydia, Victor, Vincent, London, Oaklyn, Shauna Bollinger, and Sierra Bollinger; and great-grandson Morgan Ernst Jr. Also, his brothers, Lawrence (Shelly) and Carl (Linda), and countless nieces and nephews
Mr. Ernst was preceded in death by his grandson Vader; his infant daughter, Maria Theresa; his parents, Amelda Manzella Ernst and Adolph H. Ernst; and his brothers Adolph and Weldon.
Mr. Ernst was a prolific storyteller and served his country with honor as a decorated Huey helicopter pilot in Vietnam.
A funeral Mass for Mr. Ernst was celebrated on Nov. 19 at All Saints Church in Knoxville. Burial with full military honors followed the Mass at East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.
Donations in Mr. Ernst’s memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project and All Saints Church, 620 N. Cedar Bluff Road, Knoxville, TN 37923, causes close to Mr. Ernst’s heart.
Steve A. Popovich
Steve A. Popovich, age 83 of the Tellico community in Loudon, passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 22.
Mr. Popovich was preceded in death by his wife, Sherry Popovich; his parents, Alec and Anna Popovich; his brothers, Chuck, Mike, John, and George Popovich; and his sisters, Helen Popovich, Ellen Popovich, Ann Dalsky, Mary Ree, and Polly Cegler.
Mr. Popovich’s survivors include his daughter, Gidget Wagner (Mike), and his granddaughter, Lauren; stepson, Heath Bernston; and numerous nephews and nieces.
Mr. McElhaney was a devoted Catholic who was a founding member of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut and longtime parishioner of All Saints in the Cedar Bluff community.
Mr. McElhaney is survived by his two sons, Brian (Sandy) and Brent (Jody); five grandchildren, Paige (Oldham) McPeak, Gabriel, Ashlyn, Isabelle, and Kai McElhaney; longtime friend, Donna Terzak; older brother, Leland Paul (Terry), with nieces and nephews, Bill, Tara, Paul-Thomas, Adam, and Ashley McElhaney.
He is preceded in death by his father, Paul John, and mother, Clara Caroline (Aruajo-Pacheco) McElhaney. A celebration of life remembrance service was held for family and friends at All Saints Church on Jan. 18
Caroline Bowers
Caroline Caldwell Bowers, age 81, of Knoxville, went home to be with the Lord on Oct. 12. Mrs. Bowers was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Aileen Caldwell; her brother, Joseph Caldwell; and her dear cousin, Phillip Sharp. She is survived by her loving husband of over 61 years, Evan; children, Christopher Bowers (Bonnie), Julie Gann (Lee), and Timothy Bowers; grandchildren, Sean Bowers and Bailey Bowers; cousin, Carmen Sharp; nephew Joseph Caldwell Jr (Victoria), and niece Maggie Caldwell
Mrs. Bowers worshipped Our Lord as a member of Immaculate Conception Parish. She particularly enjoyed her time serving others through the parish food pantry ministry. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed working in the many flower gardens she created around her home, planting new flowers or dividing plants to share with friends.
When not gardening, she enjoyed walking with friends around the loop trail at Adair Park. She enjoyed traveling, especially a trip to Ireland and Scotland that she and her mother took through the Friendship Force.
Mrs. Bowers was a graduate of the University of Tennessee and worked for several departments in more than two decades at UT, including the Center for International Education, the Oak Ridge Graduate Program, the Night School, and the Distance Education Department.
A funeral Mass for Mrs. Bowers was celebrated on Oct. 16 at Immaculate Conception, followed by a burial service at Greenwood Cemetery.
Donations in Mrs. Bowers’ memory may be made to the Ladies of Charity, www.ladiesof charityknox.org ■
Mrs. Dugan
Mr. Dietz
Mrs. Mitter
Mrs. Bowers
Mr. Ernst
Mr. Popovich