NOVEMBER 10, 2023
mississippicatholic.com
Synod synthesis shows agreement, divergences, including on 'synodality' BY CINDY WOODEN
posals that emerged from the dialogue" on issues discussed VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A under the headings of synodreport summarizing discussions ality, communion, mission and at the assembly of the Synod of participation. Bishops said the church may Every item in the report was need more welcoming pastoral approved by at least two-thirds approaches, especially to people of the members present and votwho feel excluded, but also acing, synod officials said. They knowledged fears of betraying published a complete list of the traditional church teachings votes. and practices. Within the synod topics, Among the topics addressed members looked at the role of in the report were clerical sexwomen in the church, including ual abuse, women's roles in the in decision making, and at the church, outreach to poor and the possibility of ordaining women concept of "synodality" itself. deacons. The report asked for The assembly, with 364 votmore "theological and pastoral ing members – 365 counting research on the access of womPope Francis – met in working en to the diaconate," including sessions six days a week Oct. a review of the conclusions of 4-28 after a three-day retreat outcommissions Pope Francis set side of Rome. They were schedup in 2016 and 2020. uled to join the pope Oct. 29 for The paragraph, one of sevthe assembly's closing Mass. eral on the theme of women After the voting on the syndeacons, was approved 279-67, thesis concluded, the pope said which was more than the needhe wanted to remind everyone ed two-thirds support but still that "the protagonist of the syngarnered among the highest od is the Holy Spirit." He briefly negative votes. thanked the synod officers and Among members of the asjoined members of the assembly Pope Francis gives his blessing at the conclusion of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops' sembly, the report said, some in giving thanks to God. The assembly's discussions last working session Oct. 28, 2023, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican thought the idea of women deacons would be a break with traset the stage for a year-long pe- Media) dition, while others insisted it riod of reflection that will culwould "restore the practice of minate in the second and final the Early Church," including at the time of the New Testament, which mentions synod assembly in late 2024 on the same topic. The 41-page synthesis report, voted on paragraph-by-paragraph Oct. 28, de– Continued on page 6 – scribed its purpose as presenting "convergences, matters for consideration and pro-
New Albany parish celebrates patron saint – St. Francis of Assisi BY GALEN HOLLEY
NEW ALBANY – Outdoors, on a perfect fall morning, was the ideal place and time to celebrate the life of perhaps the most popular saint in history. The parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Albany, as they do each October, gathered in the three-acre lot behind the church, in an open field, skirted by pine and oak, and sat facing the altar, shaded by a redbud tree. The faithful, some 350-plus, sat in folding chairs, and many stood in a wide semi-circle, as youngsters carried in the statue of St. Francis, led by the rhythmic thumping of drums, and the colorful blaze and synergetic movements of La Danza. The community of St. Francis of Assisi is 74 years old. The first gatherings were in the home of the Kelso family. Priests from the Glenmary Home Missioners were among the first to provide ministry to the faithful. St. Francis is now a parish in the diocese, with Father Jesuraj Xavier as the pastor. “St. Francis spoke the language of love,” said Father Raj, during his homily. “The saint asked God to make him a channel of peace.” That peace is much needed in a world torn by war, Father said. He mentioned the devastating conflicts raging in Israel and Ukraine.
“For us, St. Francis is not simply a name, but an identity,” said Father Raj. “St. Francis embraced poverty and humility, as well as joyful charity, and today we celebrate in nature, gathered around the Eucharist and united as one.” As Father Raj explained, the Italian mystic and itinerant preacher known to the world as St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226), was never ordained a priest. “He didn’t consider himself worthy to celebrate Mass and preside
at the Eucharist,” said Father Raj. “He remained a deacon and knew that his role was to exemplify poverty and simplicity.” St. Francis is also one of the very few saints to have borne the stigmata, or the wounds that Christ suffered during crucifixion. “St. Francis embraced nature and animals” said Father Raj, with a broad smile. “He would say ‘brother
– Continued on page 6 –
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Called by name 4 Father Nick Adam focuses his column on prayer
Advent 10 Local author pens Advent reflection book
Young Adult Ministry 14 New diocesan ministry reaches out to young adults
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS
CANTON – Sacred Heart, Altar Society “It’s Fall Y’all” Celebration, Thursday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the parish center. Enjoy friends, food, fun and faith! All women of the parish are invited. Dues for year are $25. Details: church office (601) 859-3749. CHATAWA – Our Lady of Hope and Camp Chatawa, Christmas in Chatawa, Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Enjoy a live Nativity, pancake breakfast, train rides, caroling hay ride, Santa and Mrs. Claus, reindeer games, crafts and hot chocolate bar. Cost: $20 per person. Details: RSVP at ourladyofhopems.com. COLUMBUS – Annunciation School, Open House, Monday, Nov. 13 with tours available at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. PreK-3 and PreK-4 and Kindergarten preview presentations at 6 p.m. Childcare available during presentations. Location: 223 North Browder Street. Details: school office (662) 328-4479. JACKSON – Christ the King, Mass and Feast of Christ the King potluck, Sunday, Nov. 26. Join Bishop Kopacz for the celebration and meal. Details: church office (601) 948-8867. St. Richard School, Krewe de Cardinal, Save the date: Friday, Feb. 2 from 7-11 p.m. at The South Warehouse. Details: school office (601) 366-1157. Catholic Charities, Born Free/New Beginnings program is seeking a sponsor(s) for Christmas 2023 gifts. Born Free offers substance abuse treatment for pregnant mothers and mothers with children ages 0-4 residing in Mississippi. Details: www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org or call (601) 326-3714. MADISON – St. Anthony School, Starry Night Gala, Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Sheraton Flowood. VIP preview party from 6-7 p.m. with general admission opening at 7 p.m. Cost: Event tickets $150 per couple. You do not need to be present to win the $5,000 raffle and tickets are only $10 per chance. Details: purchase tickets at https://bit.ly/StarryNight2023. St. Francis, Youth Advent Fair, Sunday, Nov. 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A sensational event for everyone with lunch, kid’s crafts and games, plus family take-home activities. Details: for more information or to volunteer contact mc.george@stfrancismadison.org. St. Francis, Ring in Your Faith 10k/5k, Monday, Jan. 1 at 8 a.m. You are guaranteed a delicious New Year’s Day meal and fellowship after the race. Cost is $30, with
FEATURED PHOTO
proceeds to assist Knights ongoing service projects. Register at https://bit.ly/ringinyourfaith2024. Details: Joe at leslieslee@hotmail.com. St. Joseph School, Thursday in Tuscany, Nov. 16 from 4-7 p.m. in the St. Joe Cafeteria. Cost is $10 per plate and includes spaghetti, salad, bread, cookie and water. Proceeds support the cheer program. Details: contact sjcheer@stjoebruins.com. St. Joseph School, Christmas Art Camp, Saturday Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the St. Joe Fine Arts Building. Grades K thorugh sixth welcome. Cost: $75 includes art supplies and snacks. Limited to 22 artists. Details: contact Vicki at vrunnels@stjoebruins.com. St. Joseph School, Jeans, Jazz and Bruin Blues $10,000 Draw Down, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at the Reunion Country Club. Sponsorships available. Details: www.stjoedrawdown.com. MAGNOLIA – St. James, Garage Sale, Saturday Dec. 2, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (125 E Bay Street) Details: call (985) 665-0868. MERIDIAN – St. Patrick/St. Joseph, Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Sunday, Nov. 19 after 11 a.m. Mass in the Family Life Center. Church will provide meat, dressing, gravy and drinks. Parishioners with last names A-H, bring a dessert; I-Z, bring a side dish or salad. Details: church office (601) 693-1321. St. Patrick, Candy Cane 5k Dash and Fun Run, Saturday, Dec. 2. Details: register at https://bit.ly/CandyCane2023. St. Patrick, Memorial brick campaign. Cost of each brick is $125, with a maximum of three lines with up to 18 letters per line. Brick size is 4x8 inches. Net proceeds for the recent parish repairs. Details: https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/ catholicmeridian. PAULDING – St. Michael, 180th Celebration with Bishop Kopacz, Saturday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. Details: caevans745@gmail.com. VICKSBURG – Knights of Columbus 898, Holiday smoked meat sale. Butts, turkey and loins $50; Half Chicken 2 for $8; Turkey breast $35; and Half ham $40. Order by Nov. 15 at https://kc898.square. site. Pick up Sunday, Nov. 19 from 12-4 p.m. at KC Hall, 310 Fisher Ferry Road. Details: Paul at (601) 529-1710. YAZOO CITY – St. Mary, Bake Sale, Tuesday,
Nov. 21 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Casseroles, cakes, pies, breads, desserts, cookies, candy and more. Details: church office (662) 746-1690.
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Advent Men’s Group, Meetings: Nov. 18 (prep meeting), Dec. 2, 9, 16 and 23. Spend the season preparing to give your heart to Jesus. The group will commit to spending 15 minutes a day meditating on daily mass readings, abstaining from social media and attending meetings. Details: church office (601) 445-5616. NATCHEZ – 2nd annual Believe Conference, April 19-21, 2024. Featured speakers are Anne Trufant, Catholic speaker and founder of The Mission on the Mountain; Barbara Heil, Catholic speaker and founder of From His Heart Ministries; and Joanne Moody, minister author, and founder of Agape Freedom Fighters. Cost: $100 for the weekend; $50 for students. Lunch included on Saturday. Details: visit https://www.themissiononthemountain.com. NEW ORLEANS – St. Augustine Church, Eucharistic Celebration of Servant of God, Venerable Henriette Delille, Saturday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. at the Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse (6901 Chef Menteur Hwy., New Orleans). Reception to follow. Details: https://www.sistersoftheholyfamily.com.
... All Saints Blessing ...
APPLIANCE AUDIO VIDEO BEDDING FURNITURE SUPERSTORE
TUPELO – Father Henry Shelton gave a beautiful blessing for the St. James Columbarium Cremains on All Saints Day – Wednesday, Nov. 1 following Mass. (Photo by Michelle Harkins)
Jackson Flowood R dgeland Pearl Cl nton V cksburg Tupelo Columbus Laurel Oxford Hatt esburg
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
let there be light
Black Catholics, a gift to our diocese and nation BY BISHOP JOSEPH R. KOPACZ, D.D.
We know that the church was insnared in the evils Catholic History month, I participated in a parade, of slavery and its aftermath, and for this we are called walkabout and program in Jonestown, Mississippi in to repentance and the light of a new day. This month honor of the late Sister Kay Burton, SNJM, a sister of we also want to celebrate the church as a loving moththe Names of Jesus and Mary. This religious commuer who nurtured the seeds of faith, hope and love nity was founded by Eulalie Durocher in 1843 in Quethrough loving service and education within many Afbec, Canada. Sister Kay had overseen the development rican American settings. of various Jonestown communiSt. Paul’s words to the ty services and programs during Thessalonians is the paraher thirty years of ministry. The “All of this is to say that along with the six digm for the church as the gift is that they continue through Black Catholic women and men on the path beating heart of Christ. local leadership among this genof canonization, there are countless other “Brothers and sisters: We eration of Christian collaboraBlack Catholics here in our diocese and were gentle among you, as tors. throughout our nation who are now wita nursing mother cares for On Sunday I participated in nessing, serving, teaching, and evangelizing her children. With such the Women’s Day Program sponbecause the gift they once received continues affection for you, we were sored by the Holy Ghost Ladies determined to share with Auxiliary. Our diocese was fully to flourish.” you not only the gospel of immersed in the quest for justice God, but our very selves as and peace in the late Jim Crow well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You reyears and Civil Rights era, a reality that was gratefully call, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Workacknowledged during the program. All of this is to say ing night and day in order not to burden any of you, we that along with the six Black Catholic women and men proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” (1Thessalonians on the path of canonization, there are countless other 2:7-9 and 13) Black Catholics here in our diocese and throughout This was Sister Thea’s experience when the reliour nation who are now witnessing, serving, teaching, gious brothers, sisters and priests shared their lives in and evangelizing because the gift they once received the manner that St. Paul describes. “I was drawn to ex- continues to flourish. amine and accept the Catholic faith because of the day The participants at the Synod that recently conto day lived witness of Catholic Christians who first cluded in Rome at the end of October had representaloved me, then shared with me their story, their val- tion from nearly every county in the world, or as we ues, their beliefs; who first loved me, then invited me proclaim, from every nation and tribe, people and lanto share with them in community, prayer and mission. guage. For them and for all of us may the Holy Spirit As a child I did not recognize evangelization at work deepen our commitment to unity, participation and in my life. I did recognize love, service, community, mission. With St. Paul and Sister Thea, may the beatprayer and faith.” ing heart of Christ direct our steps in this life and enLast weekend on Saturday at the outset of Black flame our vision for the promise of eternal life.
The Feast of All Saints is the portal at the beginning of November that invites all of the living members of the church to transcend time to see the Cloud of Witnesses that surround the throne of the Lamb in Heaven. The lives of the holy ones reveal God’s ultimate plan for us in eternity, and a well-defined pathway for this life to reach the goal. In the book of Revelation, the heavenly vision is comprised of a “vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” (7:9) What a great gift of hope the apostle John has given to the church for every generation until the Lord comes again. In manifold ways the Lord Jesus molded all of the saints in their uniqueness into his image and likeness. Among this number, too great to count, are the six African American causes for canonization. They are remarkable women and men whom God called out of the darkness of slavery and unforgiving segregation into the light of sanctity and dignity. They are Mother Mary Lange, Father Augustus Tolton, Mother Henriette DeLille, Pierre Toussaint, Julia Greeley, and, of course, our own Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman. They are outstanding witnesses of faithful discipleship for the universal church and even more so throughout November which is dedicated to Black Catholic History.
Happy Ordination Anniversary
Monday, Nov. 13-17 – USCCB General Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland
November 10
Deacon Mark White
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson
Deacon Emeritus, Queen of Peace Olive Branch
November 19
Father Jack Kurps, SCJ
Catholic Parishes of Northwest Mississippi & Sacred Heart Southern Missions
BISHOP’S SCHEDULE
November 27
Father Tim Murphy
St. James Tupelo & St. Christopher Pontotoc
Sunday, Nov. 26, 9 a.m. – Mass for Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King parish, Jackson Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m. – Mass and 180th Celebration, St. Michael, Paulding Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson
Thank you for answering the call! Volume 69 Number 20 (ISSN 1529-1693)
P.O. Box 2130 Jackson, MS 39225-2130 Phone: 601-969-3581 E-mail: editor@jacksondiocese.org Publisher ........................................................................................... Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz Communications Director ...................................................................... Joanna Puddister King Production Manager ...................................................................................................Tereza Ma Contributors ......................................................................................................... Berta Mexidor MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC is an official publication of the Diocese of Jackson, 601-969-1880, 237 E. Amite St., Jackson, MS 39201. Published digitally twice per month January – April and September – December; once per month June, July and August. Mississippi Catholic mails 14 editions per year – twice per month in December and January; and once per month February – November. For address changes, corrections or to join the email list for the digital edition, email: editor@jacksondiocese.org. Subscription rate: $20 a year in Mississippi, $21 out-of-state. Periodical postage at Jackson, MS 39201 and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Catholic, P.O. Box 2130, Jackson, MS 39225-2130. Website: www.mississippicatholic.com www.jacksondiocese.org
Thursday, Dec. 7, 6 p.m. – URM Emancipation Celebration, Catholic Charities, Ridgeland Saturday, Dec. 9, 6 p.m. – Starry Night Gala for St. Anthony School, The Sheraton Refuge, Flowood Sunday, Dec. 10, 9:30 a.m. – Mass and Renovation Blessing, St. Joseph, Greenville Sunday, Dec. 17, 8:30 a.m. – Mass, St. Joseph, Meridian Sunday, Dec. 17, 11 a.m. – Mass, St. Patrick, Meridian Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson Sunday, Jan. 7-11 – Region V Bishops Meeting, Metarie, Louisiana Tuesday, Jan. 23, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson Saturday, Jan. 27, 10:30 a.m. – 100th Anniversary Celebration, Our Mother of Mercy, Anguilla All events are subject to change. Check with parishes and schools for further details.
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
4 VOCATIONS CALLED BY NAME In early November , I spent a few hours speaking to some of the senior theology classes at St. Joseph School in Madison. I spoke with the students much more about prayer than I have in the past. Many people want to do God’s will, but they don’t know how to discover God’s will. We can only understand what our call from God is, in an affirmative way, if we come to the Lord in silent prayer and develop a relationship with him. Pope Benedict XVI said that ‘young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know Father Nick Adam what to do with God’s call.’ What a powerful statement! But it is true! Once we understand how to enter into a living dialogue with the Lord, then he can speak to us and we can speak back to Him. One of the first steps of entering into deeper prayer is understanding who we are in Christ. In other words, who we are as baptized Christians and members of the church. Through our baptism we are given an exalted position before the Lord. We are made sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. Like any good father, the Lord wants to help guide us along our way. He wants to see us reach our full potential, and he wants to support us as we strive to reach that potential. But many people struggle to experience a true, living relationship with God. This is why it is so important
that we are rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is only in Christ that we are sons and daughters of the Father, and so it is in Christ that we can form a relationship with the Holy Trinity. Our confirmation seals us in the grace of our baptism, and is another way that God generously pours forth grace into our hearts as the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit are made manifested in our acts of virtue. With the frequent reception of communion and regular visits to reconciliation, we are well on our way to deepening our relationship with the Lord. But personal prayer is a must if we are going to discover God’s will for us. When we enter into prayer we have to enter into silence. We live in a world full of distractions, and so to step away from those distractions is our first step in prioritizing God above all things. The Scriptures are a powerful well-spring of prayer. When we read the Word of God, we begin to realize that we are not alone. Faithful people throughout the ages have struggled with their relationship with God, and with others, and this is related again and again in the Scriptures. In our next issue I will discuss how we pray with the Scriptures. Please share this article with a young person in your life and encourage them to develop a life of personal prayer.
– Father Nick Adam, vocation director
(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)
In memoriam: Sister Sherry Barrett, DC EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sister Sherry (Dorothy Sharon) Barrett died at Seton Residence on Oct. 26, 2023. Sister was born on March 12, 1938, in Grosse Point, Detroit, Michigan and was one of five children of John Joseph and Analie Caroline (Maurer) Barrett. She graduated from St. Mary High School in Mount Clemens, Michigan and entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis, Missouri in 1957. Sister Sherry received a BA in elementary education from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, Maryland; an MPS in pastoral studies from Loyola University in Chicago; and a certificate in Titular por Antiguedad Columbia from Teachers of Bolivia, South America and Institute of Special Education, Panama, Central America. Sister was an elementary and secondary teacher at St. Mary’s School in Troy, New York; Hogar San Jose in in LaPaz, Bolivia; Collegio Madre Seton in Trinidad, Bolivia; and Casa de Caridad in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She served in Hispanic ministry at St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan; Catholic Charities in Fort Wayne, Indiana, St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee and the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. She was a Missionary in Maya Tecun, Mexico; Ixcan, Guatemala; Cochabamba, Bolivia; and the Fiji Islands. Sister was also a volunteer at St. Joseph Mission in Keams Canyon, Arizona and in parish outreach at St. Cyprian Parish in Georgetown, South Carolina. She then came to Seton Residence in Evansville to serve as a driver and later in the ministry of prayer. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. in the Seton Residence Chapel, with burial following in St. Joseph Cemetery. Sister was preceded in death by her parents and she is survived by her sisters, Mary Sheila Barrett and Sister Joan Ann Barrett, D.C.; her brothers, John and Patrick; loving family members; her Sisters in Community and many friends. Donations may be made to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63108.
Advanced giving open: November 13-27
https://jackson.igivecatholic.org/
Spirituality 5
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
A subtler kind of poverty IN EXILE By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
doing janitorial work and other work of this kind, I am often left to wonder, are they like my brother? Did they get to choose this work or are they doing it because of circumstances? Did this person want to be a doctor, or writer, a teacher, an entrepreneur, or a CEO of some company, and end up having to take this job because of an economic or other circumstance? Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing demeaning or less-than-noble in these jobs. Indeed, working with your hands is perhaps the most honest work of all – unlike my own work within the academic community where it can be easy to be self-serving and mostly irrelevant. There’s a wonderful dignity in working with your hands, as there was for my brother. However, the importance and dignity of that work notwithstanding, the happiness of the person doing it is sometimes predicated on whether or not he or she had a choice, that is, whether
or not he or she is there by choice or because factors ranging from the economic situation of their family, to their immigrant status, to lack of opportunity, have forced them there. As I walk past these folks in my day-to-day life and work, I try to notice them and appreciate the service they are rendering for the rest of us. And sometimes I say to myself: This could be my brother. This could be my sister. This could be the brightest mind of all who was not given the opportunity to become a doctor, a writer, nurse, a teacher or a social worker. If in the next life, as Jesus promised, there’s to be a reversal where the last shall be first, I hope these people, like my brother, who were deprived of some of the opportunities that the rest of us enjoyed, will read my heart with an empathy that surpasses my understanding of them during their lifetime.
There are different ways of being excluded in life. Earlier this year, one of my older brothers died. By every indication he had lived an exemplary life, one lived mainly for others. He died much loved by everyone who knew him. His was a life lived for family, church, community, and friends. Giving the homily at his funeral, I shared that, while he almost always brought a smile, a (Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teachgraciousness, and some wit to er and award-winning author. He can be contacted every situation, underneath he through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.) sometimes had to swallow hard to always do that. Why? Because, even though through his entire adult life he gave himself to serving others, for much of his life he didn’t have much choice in the The Pope’s Corner matter. Here’s his story. He was one of the older children in our family, a large second-generation immigrant family, struggling with poverty in an isolated rural area of the Canadian prairies where educational facilities weren’t easily available at that time. So, for which has been present on the stage of the Vatican auBy Carol Glatz him, as for many of his contemporaries, both men VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis asked Mary dience hall where the assembly of the synod on synodand women, the normal expectation was that after to look mercifully upon the human family, “which has ality has been held. elementary school (an eighth-grade education) you Among the cardinals present for the ceremony was strayed from the path of peace,” and entrusted to her were expected to end your school days and begin to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the pope’s Ukraine protection the world’s regions and nations at war. work to support your family. Indeed, when he grad“Queen of Peace, you suffer with us and for us, as peace envoy and a synod delegate. Ambassadors to the uated from elementary school, there was no local you see so many of your children suffering from the Holy See from many nations also attended. high school for him to go to. Making this more unOn the eve of the last working day of the assembly conflicts and wars that are tearing our world apart,” fortunate, he was perhaps the brightest, most giftthe pope said during a prayer service for peace in St. of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis asked Mary to ed mind in our family. It’s not that he didn’t want “help us preserve unity in the church and to be artiPeter’s Basilica Oct. 27. to continue his formal education. But, he had to do “At this dark hour this is a dark hour, mother we sans of communion in our world.” what most others of his age did at that time, leave “Make us realize once more the importance of the submerge ourselves in your luminous eyes, we entrust school and begin working, giving your entire salaourselves to your heart, sensitive to our problems,” he role we play,” he said, “strengthen our sense of rery over every month to support your family. He did sponsibility for the cause of peace as men and women said, looking at an icon of Mary. this with good cheer, knowing this was expected of With a black-beaded rosary in hand, Pope Francis called to pray, worship, intercede and make reparation him. prayed with cardinals, bishops and delegates of the for the whole human race.” Through the years, from age sixteen when After Pope Francis’ prayer for peace, the Eucharist assembly of the Synod of Bishops, recalling Mary’s he first entered the work force until he took over strength and initiative from several Gospel scenes the was exposed on the basilica’s main altar and a moment the family farm in his mid-thirties, he worked for visitation, the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus’ passion for silent prayer in adoration was observed. farmers, worked in construction and did everyCardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery and resurrection. thing from operating a backhoe to driving a truck. “Now, mother, once more take the initiative for us, for Promoting Integral Human Development, led benMoreover, when our parents died and he took over in these times rent by conflicts and waste by the fire of ediction, blessing the people gathered in the basilica our farm, there were a number of years when he arms,” the pope said. “Teach us to cherish and care for by making the sign of the cross with the monstrance, was still pressured to use the farm to support the life each and every human life! and to repudiate the praying “let us adore with living faith the holy mysfamily. By the time he was finally freed of this refolly of war, which sows death and eliminates the fu- tery of your body and your blood.” sponsibility, it was too late (not radically, but existure.” tentially) for him to restart his formal education. Pope Francis asked Mary to He lived out his final years before retirement as a “touch the hearts of those imfarmer, though as one who found his energy elseprisoned by hatred, convert those where, in involvement in ongoing education and who fuel and foment conflict.” lay ministries programs where he thrived emotion“Queen of all peoples, reconally and intellectually. Part of his sacrifice too was cile your children, seduced by that he never married, not because he was a temevil, blinded by power and hate,” peramental bachelor, but because the same things he said. that bound him to duty also, existentially, never The pope also asked her to afforded him the opportunity to marry. care for the victims of war: chilAfter I shared his story at his funeral, I was apdren, the elderly and isolated, proached by several people who said: That’s also the sick and wounded and those my brother! That’s also my sister! That was my dad! forced to abandon their homeland That was my mother. and loved ones due to conflict. Having grown “To you we consecrate our up where this was world, especially those countries true of a numand regions at war,” the pope said ber of my older without naming any particular siblings, today, nation or region. “To you we conWholesale and home whenever I see secrate the church, so that in her freezer service people working in witness to the love of Jesus beservice jobs such Beef – Pork – Sausage fore the world, she may be a sign as cooking in cafof harmony and an instrument of 109 - A Camellia Dr. eterias, cleaning Pope Francis prays the rosary for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica with peace.” houses, mowing Present on the altar was icon members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican Oct. lawns, working of Mary, “Salus Populi Romani,” 27, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) in construction,
Pope Francis asks Mary to ‘convert those who fuel and foment conflict’
Passbach Meats Inc.
Natchez 601-445-8743
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
6 DIOCESE
' ... keep our minds and hearts open to the people ...' – Continued from page 1 – women deacons. "Others still, discern it as an appropriate and necessary response to the signs of the times, faithful to the Tradition, and one that would find an echo in the hearts of many who seek new energy and vitality in the church," it said. But, the report added, some members thought that would "marry the church to the spirit of the age." The paragraph on how different members explained their support of or opposition to women deacons also was approved by more than two-thirds of the voting members, but it received more negative votes than any other item, passing 277 to 69. Assembly members also discussed pastoral approaches to welcoming and including in the life of parishes people who have felt excluded, including the poor, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ Catholics and Catholics whose marriages are not recognized by the church. The synthesis report did not use the term "LGBTQ+" or even "homosexuality" and spoke only generally of issues related to "matters of identity and sexuality." Jesuit Father James Martin, a synod member involved in outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, told Catholic News Service, "From what I understand, there was too much pushback to make using the term 'LGBTQ' viable, even though it was contained in the 'Instrumentum Laboris,'" or synod working document. "This opposition came up often in the plenary sessions, along with others who argued from the other side, that is, for greater inclusion and for seeing LGBTQ people as people and not an ideology," he said. The synthesis said that "to develop authentic ecclesial discernment in these and other areas, it is necessary to approach these questions in the light of the Word of God and church teaching, properly informed and reflected upon." "In order to avoid repeating vacuous formulas, we need to provide an opportunity for a dialogue involving the human and social sciences, as well as philosophical and theological reflection," it added. The divergences in the assembly, it said, reflected opposing concerns: that "if we use doctrine harshly and with a judgmental attitude, we betray the Gospel; if we practice mercy 'on the cheap,' we do not convey God's love." Still, it said, "in different ways, people who feel marginalized or excluded from the church because of their marriage status, identity or sexuality, also ask to be heard and accompanied. There was a deep sense of love, mercy and compassion felt in the Assembly for those who are or feel hurt or neglected by the church, who want a place to call 'home' where they can feel safe, be heard and respected, without fear of feeling judged." The report emphasized the "listening" that took place on the local, national and continental levels before the assembly and the "conversations in the Spirit" that took place during it, which involved each person speaking in his or her small group, other participants at first commenting only on what struck them, silent reflection and then discussion. In several places throughout the report, assembly members insisted that greater efforts must be made to listen to the survivors of clerical sexual abuse and those who have endured spiritual or psychological abuse. "Openness to listening and accompanying all, including those who have suffered abuse and hurt in the church, has made visible many who have long felt invisible," it said. "The long journey toward reconciliation and justice, including addressing the structural conditions that abetted such abuse, remains before us,
and requires concrete gestures of penitence." Members of the assembly said the process helped them experience the church as "God's home and family, a church that is closer to the lives of her people, less bureaucratic and more relational." However, it said, the terms "synodal" and "synodality," which "have been associated with this experience and desire," need further clarification, including theological clarification and, perhaps, in
canon law. Some participants, it said, questioned how an assembly where about 21% of participants were lay women, lay men, religious and priests could be termed a Synod of Bishops. The report also acknowledged fears, including that "the teaching of the church will be changed, causing us to depart from the Apostolic faith of our forebears and, in doing so, betraying the expectations of those who hunger and thirst for God today." In response, though, assembly members said, "We are confident that synodality is an expression of the dynamic and living tradition." "It is clear that some people are afraid that they will be forced to change; others fear that nothing at all will change or that there will be too little courage to move at the pace of the living tradition," the report said.
"Also," it added, "perplexity and opposition can sometimes conceal a fear of losing power and the privileges that derive from it." Members of the assembly described the synodal process as being "rooted in the tradition of the church" and taking place in light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, particularly its emphasis on "the church as Mystery and People of God, called to holiness." Synodality, they said, "values the contribution all the baptized make, according to their respective vocations," and thus "constitutes a true act of further reception of the Council." The report also insisted the purpose of synodality is mission. "As disciples of Jesus, we cannot shirk the responsibility of demonstrating and transmitting the love and tenderness of God to a wounded humanity," the report said. Throughout the synod process, the report said, "many women expressed deep gratitude for the work of priests and bishops. They also spoke of a church that wounds. Clericalism, a chauvinist mentality and inappropriate expressions of authority continue to scar the face of the church and damage its communion." "A profound spiritual conversion is needed as the foundation for any effective structural change," it said. "Sexual abuse and the abuse of power and authority continue to cry out for justice, healing and reconciliation." (To view the Synod synthesis report of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, visit https://www.synod.va/en/news/a-synodal-church-inmission.html)
' ... if you take away one message ... pray for peace...'
NEW ALBANY – Youth at St. Francis of Assisi Parish carry a statue of their patron saint, ahead of a procession, during a celebration on Sunday, Oct. 22. (Photo by Galen Holley) – Continued from page 1 – tree’ or ‘sister cat.’” As the faithful received Communion, almost incredibly (and quite comically) an orange tabby cat, with which children had been playing along the edge of the woods, made its way to the altar area.
The cat inspected things, leaped upon a chair or two, then moved on. Before sending forth the congregation, Father Raj reminded the faithful to live the identity of their patron saint. “If you do one thing today, if you take away one message,” Father Raj said, “pray for peace.”
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
NATION 7
Hispanic ministry leaders find hope, challenges in new U.S. bishops’ pastoral plan’s implementation BY JAMES RAMOS
all do as one church. That is why these kinds of gatherings are a constant reminder that, in HOUSTON (OSV News) – Thirty years that work of pastoral ministry of accompaago, a group of Hispanic ministry leaders niment to Hispanic Catholics, is done by the from around the U.S. gathered in Houston to whole church.” discuss plans and initiatives to minister to the That united movement forward is what Hispanic and Latino Catholics living in the excited Ignacio Rodriguez, NCADDHM presU.S. ident, especially during the conference, This Oct. 10-13, the National Catholic Aswhich began with an opening Mass celebratsociation of Diocesan Directors for Hispaned by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galvesic Ministry’s annual conference returned to ton-Houston Oct. 10. Houston, gathering 250 Hispanic ministry While the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 leaders from 109 dioceses in the U.S. The naslowed down much of the follow-up collabotional conference -- which took place at the tail rations between the 3,000 Hispanic ministry end of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, leaders and clergy who met in Texas in 2018 observed Sept. 15-Oct. 15 -- also gathered some for the V Encuentro, Rodriguez said the zeal six bishops, several who lead U.S. bishops’ and desire for the pastoral plan to take shape committees on Hispanic ministry and cultural only grew. diversity in the church. Now that the pastoral plan is out in the The NCADDHM conference focused on the hands of ministry leaders, Aguilera-Titus said new “National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/ that the plan emphasizes the importance of Latino Ministry,” a new document, approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Sister Elsa Narvaez Rodrigues, an evangelization consultant for the diversity and intercultural engagement and June 2023, that was developed through a pro- Hispanic communities in the Archdiocese of Boston, speaks during a includes practical guidelines and resources cess of consultation, discernment and leader- small group discussion at the National Catholic Association of Dioc- for creating a sense of unity and belonging. He esan Directors for Hispanic Ministry’s annual conference Oct. 11 in noted how a parish can thrive when it embracship over multiple years. es diverse cultures present in a congregation The plan is a response to the Fifth Nation- Houston. (OSV News photo/James Ramos, Texas Catholic Herald) through its shared Catholic faith. al Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry (V “When they develop relationships with one Encuentro) process to help Hispanic laypeoforward as Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. That continple and church leaders to meet the needs of the fastest ues to be the case although the demographic landscape another across cultures, they begin to develop a new sense of identity as a diverse, Catholic community,” growing demographic of the Catholic Church in the has changed. U.S. Since 1972, the number of Hispanics in the U.S. Aguilera-Titus said. “The plan has a language that is At the Houston conference, Alejandro Aguilera-Ti- has increased sevenfold, from about 9 million to 63.7 inclusive, engaging and is meant for not only Hispantus, assistant director of USCCB’s Subcommittee for million, according to 2022 U.S. census data. And even ic/Latino Catholics, but for the entire church. We hope Hispanic Affairs and national coordinator for the V En- though there have been reports of an increase in dis- that it will bring new ways to bring the Gospel to life cuentro, said the pastoral plan was a direct reflection affiliation, recent demographic data showed that about and create a more synodal and diverse church.” That intercultural relationship is a key to evangeliand response to the “priorities, needs and aspirations” 31 million Hispanics and Latinos identify as Catholic. of Hispanic and Latino Catholics and has “the potential “We are talking more as we belong to this church. zation, said Sister Elsa Narvaez, a member of the Misto transform the church in the United States.” We’re not going anywhere. It’s our church too, and we sionary Sisters Servants of the Word and an evangeliThe Encuentro was a multiyear series of diocesan, want to be part of it,” said Villar. “And I think that the zation consultant for the Hispanic communities in the regional and national meetings involving tens of thou- whole synod process, and the way that Pope Francis en- Archdiocese of Boston. “Many people might think (the pastoral plan) is just sands Hispanic and Latino leaders that culminated courages (us) to move forward in that direction, we’ve with a national gathering in Grapevine, Texas, in 2018, been doing it in small steps throughout these 51 years.” for Hispanics and Latinos, but it’s not. Our goal is to and identified key pastoral priorities for Latino CathoAuxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda of Detroit, chair bring Christ to everyone. It’s like we are missionaries lics. of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in here in the U.S.,” she said, noting how U.S Catholics Among the 10 priorities highlighted in the pastoral the Church, said the new pastoral plan was the “fruit used to visit Latino and South American countries to plan was the engagement of youth and young adults, of many years of wisdom and consultation, experienc- evangelize. “We help us now. We are here doing a mission and vocations, faith formation, accompaniment of families, es, ups and downs, of listening, collaboration, and so we know everyone is the same before God,” she continministry to the marginalized, and immigration and pol- many fruits that the Encuentros have brought.” icy advocacy. He hopes that the pastoral plan will help equip min- ued, saying that the plan is not about sharing languages During the conference, leaders heard from speakers, istry leaders and Hispanic and Latino parishioners to or cultures but about evangelization and strengthening bishops and theologians who talked about the implica- understand how to share their faith experiences with of the faith. “It’s not because you’re Hispanic or you’re tions of the pastoral plan. In addition to daily Mass and generations who will come after those in ministry to- not Hispanic. We are one church, and we are here to love and serve each other and just to bring Jesus to evpresentations, participants broke into small groups at day. different times to share how the new plan would look “We need to be able to share that and to know that eryone. That’s our goal. ... It’s Jesus, that’s the goal.” like in their ministries and their regions. we need to prepare our second, third generations,” James Ramos writes for OSV News from Houston. For Olga Lucía Villar, executive director of the Mi- Bishop Cepeda told OSV News. “We need to move forami-based Southeast Pastoral Institute – which coor- ward. I think that it is a blessing. It is a challenge, yes. dinates and assists Hispanic ministries in 30 dioceses But we need to be aware of of the Southeastern United States – and one of many it.” speakers at the conference, the new pastoral plan could In Houston, Lázaro not come soon enough. Contreras, director of the She sees the pastoral plan as helping the church be- Office of Hispanic Miniscome more sensitive to the multicultural reality of the try of the Archdiocese of present Catholic Church in the U.S. “Especially at times Galveston-Houston, said where it is difficult, where there are more issues that he looks forward to seemight divide us racially, I think that the plan is placing ing how each parish and us at a good point to continue healing the processes of Catholic community in the reconciliation and focus on belonging and being sent off region will uniquely imby Christ,” she told OSV News. plement the pastoral plan. Villar saw a parallel between the Encuentro process “With this pastoral and the more recent synod effort led by Pope Francis plan, I hope that people are and said that “the plan walks us toward being a synodal motivated and encouraged church.” to make it their own,” he Since the first Encuentro was held in 1972, Villar said. “Hispanic ministry said, the efforts have been bringing the church together is a work that we don’t do to reflect, dialogue and look together for ways to move alone. It’s a work that we
Don’t forget your “Digital Only” Paper!
Mississippi Catholic
joint our email list: text: MSCATHOLIC to 84576
10 Diocese
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
Sometimes called 'little Lent,' Advent zeros in on preparation, which can include penitence By Katie Yoder
called Advent," he said. "Both Advent and Lent share these various presences." Like Lent, Advent in the Roman Catholic Church common features, such as violet liturgical color, omit(OSV News) – For Kendra Tierney, a Catholic auting the Gloria at Sunday Masses, and having a Sunday thor and mother of 10, the Advent season leading up to historically included fasting, O'Malley said. "Advent develops as a fasting period preceding the of 'joy' during both seasons – Gaudete Sunday and LaChristmas is like preparing to give birth. "There's such a unique character to that time where celebration of Christmas, likely connected to initiation etare Sunday." The seasons also have notable contrasts, Father you can't rush it and that you're trying to prepare ev- of Christians," he noted. "But the Roman rite was later erything," said the founder and CEO of Catholic All to adopt this period of around four weeks – it's Gregory Torres added. "While Lent lacks flowers, Advent feaYear. "I think that Advent gives us all that opportunity the Great that tells us of the four weeks. We know in tures them moderately. Lent has images of going into the desert, Advent has a voice coming from the desert. to really dive into that sort of feeling, where we want to Milan, it was six weeks (and still is)." Advent is also marked by the use of the Advent Lent has readings of conversion of life; Advent has use that time to prepare our homes and to prepare our wreath, which O'Malley said was adopted as a practice readings of fulfillment of prophecy in our lives. Advent families to welcome Christ into our lives." Advent marks the beginning of the church's liturgi- of popular piety from Germany, and the O Antiphons, has a joyous anticipation feel, because it is meant to cal year, starting four Sundays before Christmas. The descriptions of the Messiah drawn from the Book of embody the expectation for the Messiah with delightname "Advent" hints at its meaning: It comes from the Isaiah which are used in the Liturgy of the Hours' eve- ful devotion, whereas Lent has penitential practices like the Way of the Cross," he said. Latin word "advenire," which translates to "to come to" ning prayer Dec. 17-23. He noted that the current expectations of Advent Father Torres points to fasts, vigils, wreaths and or "to arrive." The season begins Dec. 3 this year. While Advent is sometimes called "a little Lent," readings of the Prophet Isaiah. And in many countries, are that it is a time of joyful anticipation. "If your home is getting ready to receive a lovely Catholic experts observe that there are important he said, the period between Dec. 17 and Christmas Eve similarities and differences between the two, both of "is filled with prayers, processions and devotions fol- guest, there is a time of cleaning, cooking and prepping," he said. "We are readying our hearts for Jesus in which lead up to major feast days and liturgical sea- lowed by a celebration and songs." Father Torres also noted that Lent was added to the Advent in similar ways." sons: Christmas and Easter, respectively. Advent, they church's liturgical calendar before Advent. agree, is primarily a season of preparation. Katie Yoder writes for OSV News from the Washing"Initially, only Easter had a preparatory season, "Lent has that penitential character where … we are trying to focus on exercising those muscles of be- but later Christmas developed its own similar period ton, D.C., area. ing penitent. I think that the character of Advent is intended to be a little different than that – that it is really, actually, a waiting for a birth," said Tierney, who writes about living the liturgical year in the home. In a 2019 blog post, she describes the difference from Lent: "Advent is predominantly preparation, and Lent is predomihind a few days. I wrote the book with myself and other By Joanna Puddister King nantly penance." JACKSON – Parishioner of St. Paul Flowood, Monica busy people in mind.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church “Advent Reflections for this Day” contains four Sunday Walton, didn’t envision her 2022 Advent Reflection booklet uses similar wording in describing AdGospels, followed by Walton’s unique contemporary parshe made and shared with friends and family would lead to vent. "When the church celebrates the ables, three though-provoking questions to consider how the publishing of her first book, but it did. liturgy of Advent each year, she makes Earlier this year, Sunrise Press rose out of Dogwood the reader might respond in similar situations, and three present this ancient expectancy of the Press, a small but traditional publishing house headed by suggestions on how to live out the Gospel’s message during Messiah, for by sharing in the long prepaJoe Lee, parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Madison. Wal- that particular week. The emphasis is on personal reflecration for the Savior's first coming, the tion, with no right or wrong answers. ton said even though Lee’s publishing faithful renew their ardent desire for his As Walton puts it, “It’s about thinking, house was focused on mystery and second coming," it says. ‘how can I be the best I want to be.’” suspense fiction, he was Catholic and In contrast, the catechism calls Lent Bishop Joseph Kopacz enjoyed thought she would get his perspective one of the "intense moments of the Walton’s Advent reflections, sharing even though she was hesitant to do church's penitential practice." news of the books release with passo. As chance would have it, Lee was Father Agustino Torres, a Franciscan tors across the diocese, saying that the “sufficiently intrigued” with Walton’s Friar of the Renewal and author of the book is “strongly recommended for pitch and he ended up creating Sunnew book "Prepare Your Hearts: A Guidparishes as well as individuals who rise Press, a subsidiary of Dogwood ed Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditalook to further their walk with God, Press that considers faith-based works tion," tied the penitential and preparation and to prepare for the coming of the of fiction and nonfiction for publicaaspects together. Lord.” tion. "Although it's not widely thought of While the book is suitable for peoThe 2023 edition of “Advent Reas such, Advent is a time when we can ofple of any Christian denomination, it flections for this Day” – the very first fer up penance to prepare the way for the is predominantly Catholic, specificalbook published by Sunrise Press – is coming Christ Child," he said. "It is not ly focusing on Year B of the Catholic a unique and thoughtfully crafted repenitential in the same way Lent is, but Liturgical Calendar. Walton plans for source for individuals seeking a more there has been a long-held tradition in the editions covering Year A and B if her profound connection to the Sacred church to offer up prayer vigils, fasts and publisher agrees. She has a wealth of Word during the busy Christmas seaofferings during Advent." her “Modern-Day Parables” to draw son. Walton’s book offers a weekly Timothy O'Malley, the director of from for future offerings, having writfocus on the Sunday Gospels, alloweducation at the McGrath Institute for ten over 100 of them with no shortage ing readers to dive deeper into the Church Life at the University of Notre of inspiration. spiritual meaning of Advent without Dame in Indiana and the academic direcWalton encourages readers to start the pressure of daily readings. One of tor of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, the book the week of Nov. 27, as the the standout features of this book is emphasized that much of the church's the inclusion of “Modern-Day Parables,” original stories first Sunday of Advent falls on Dec. 3. This year, the Adyear has historically been penitential. created by Walton that draw parallels between the Gospel vent season is a bit shorter, with the fourth week ending "Advent takes on a penitential spirit passages and contemporary situations. Walton says that on Christmas Eve, explained Walton. inspired by the three-fold advent of Jesus “Advent Reflections for this Day” is available for purthe parables provide fresh perspectives on the Scripture, Christ," he said. "The Christ who comes at chase at various local bookstores, including Lemuria making it even more relevant to our daily lives. the end of time, who will judge the world. The decision to create a weekly Advent reflection, as (Jackson), Lorelei Books (Vicksburg), Book Mart and Café The Christ who comes into the heart of opposed to a daily one, lies in Walton’s experience with (Starkville), Impression Books (Flowood) and Pass Chrisevery believer longing for his presence. the face-paced nature of the Advent season, often causing tian Books (Pass Christian and Gulfport). For those who The Christ who comes as the newborn people to lose sight of its true significance. She explained, prefer online shopping, the book can also be ordered at babe." “Sometimes it feels like you can’t catch up if you get be- dogwoodpress.com at a cost of $8.95. He added: "It is penitential insofar as we have to ask ourselves if we're ready for
Walton’s “Advent Reflections for this Day" offers unique path to deeper Advent experience
10 de noviembre de 2023
Mississippicatholic.com
“Sirviendo a los Católicos Hispanos de la Diócesis de Jackson desde 1997”
Síntesis del Sínodo muestra acuerdos y divergencias, incluso sobre ‘sinodalidad’
El Papa Francisco preside la Misa que marca el final de la primera sesión de la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad en la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano el 29 de octubre de 2023. (Foto CNS /Lola Gomez)
Por ciNDY wooD
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Un informe que resume los debates de la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos afirma que la Iglesia puede necesitar enfoques pastorales más acogedores, especialmente para las personas que se sienten excluidas, pero también reconoce el temor a traicionar las enseñanzas y prácticas tradicionales de la Iglesia. Entre los temas abordados en el informe figuran los abusos sexuales cometidos por parte del clero, el papel de la mujer en la Iglesia, la ayuda a los pobres y el propio concepto de la "sinodalidad". La asamblea, con 364 miembros con derecho a voto – 365 contando al Papa Francisco – se reunió en sesiones de trabajo seis días a la semana, del 4 al 28 de octubre, tras un retiro de tres días fuera de Roma. Estaba previsto que se reunieran con el Papa el 29 de octubre para la Misa de clausura de la asamblea. Tras concluir la votación de la síntesis, el Papa dijo que quería recordar a todos que "el protagonista del sínodo es el Espíritu Santo". Dio brevemente las gracias a los responsables del Sínodo y se unió a los miembros de la asamblea para dar gracias a Dios. Los debates de la asamblea preparan el terreno para un periodo de reflexión de un año que culminará en la segunda y última asamblea sinodal, a finales de 2024, sobre el mismo tema. El informe de síntesis de alrededor de 41 páginas, votado párrafo por párrafo el 28 de octubre, describe su propósito como la presentación de "las convergencias, las cuestiones que deben abordarse y las propuestas surgidas del diálogo" sobre cuestiones debatidas bajo los epígrafes de sinodalidad, comunión, misión y participación. Todos los puntos del informe fueron aprobados por al menos dos tercios de los miembros presentes que tenían derecho a voto, según informaron los responsables del Sínodo. Publicaron una lista completa de los votos. Dentro de los temas del sínodo, los miembros ex-
aminaron el papel de la mujer en la Iglesia, incluida la toma de decisiones, y la posibilidad de ordenar mujeres diáconos. El informe (cuya versión oficial fue publicada en italiano) pedía más "investigación teológica y pastoral sobre el acceso de las mujeres al diaconado", incluyendo una revisión de las conclusiones de las comisiones que el Papa Francisco creó en 2016 y 2020. El párrafo, uno de muchos párrafos que tocaron el tema de las mujeres y el diaconado – fue aprobado por 279 votos a favor y 67 en contra, más de los dos tercios necesarios, pero aún así fue uno de los párrafos que obtuvo uno de los votos negativos más elevados. Entre los miembros de la asamblea, según el informe, algunos pensaron que la idea de mujeres diáconos sería una ruptura con la tradición, mientras que otros insistieron en que "restauraría una práctica de la Iglesia primitiva", incluso en la época del Nuevo Testamento, que menciona a las mujeres diáconos. "Otros ven en este paso una respuesta adecuada y necesaria a los signos de los tiempos, fiel a la Tradición y capaz de encontrar eco en los corazones de muchos que buscan una renovada vitalidad y energía en la Iglesia", decía el informe. Pero, añadía el informe, algunos miembros pensaban que eso haría "que la Iglesia se alinee con el espíritu de los tiempos". El párrafo sobre la manera en que varios miembros expresaron su apoyo u oposición sobre el tema del diaconado de mujeres también fue aprobado por más de dos tercios de aprobación, pero recibió más votos negativos que cualquier otro punto, pasando con 277 votos a favor y 69 en contra. Los miembros de la asamblea también debatieron enfoques pastorales para acoger e incluir en la vida de las parroquias a personas que se han sentido excluidas, como los pobres, las personas con discapacidades, los católicos LGBTQ+ y los católicos cuyos matrimonios no son reconocidos por la Iglesia. El informe de síntesis no utilizó el término "LGBTQ+" ni siquiera "homosexualidad" y sólo hablaba en general de cuestiones relacionadas con "la iden-
tidad de género y la orientación sexual". El padre jesuita James Martin, un miembro del sínodo involucrado en el acercamiento a los católicosLGBTQ+, dijo a Catholic News Service: "Por lo que entiendo, hubo demasiada oposición para hacer viable el uso del término 'LGBTQ', a pesar de que estaba contenido en el 'Instrumentum Laboris'", o documento de trabajo del sínodo. "Esta oposición surgió a menudo en las sesiones plenarias, junto con otros que argumentaban desde el otro lado, es decir, a favor de una mayor inclusión y de ver a las personas LGBTQ como personas y no como una ideología", dijo. La síntesis dijo que "para desarrollar un auténtico discernimiento eclesial en estos y otros ámbitos, es necesario integrar, a la luz de la Palabra de Dios y del Magisterio, una base informativa más amplia y un componente reflexivo más articulado". "Para evitar la repetición de fórmulas convencionales, hay que inculcar la confrontación con el punto de vista de las ciencias humanas y sociales, la reflexión filosófica y la elaboración teológica", añadió. Las divergencias en la asamblea, decía, reflejaban preocupaciones opuestas: que "si utilizamos la doctrina con dureza y con actitud sentenciosa, traicionamos el Evangelio; si practicamos una misericordia 'barata' no transmitimos el amor de Dios". Aún así, decía, "de distintas maneras, las personas que se sienten marginadas o excluidas de la Iglesia por su situación matrimonial, su identidad o su sexualidad, también piden ser escuchadas y acompañadas. En la Asamblea se percibió un profundo sentimiento de amor, misericordia y compasión hacia las personas que son o se sienten heridas o desatendidas por la Iglesia, que desean un lugar al volver 'a casa' y donde sentirse seguras, escuchadas y respetadas, sin miedo a sentirse juzgadas". El informe hacía hincapié en la "escucha" que tuvo lugar a nivel local, nacional y con-
– Continúa en la pág. 2 –
10 de noviembre de 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATÓLICO
'...Conversación con el Espíritu...' – Viene de la pág. 1 – tinental antes de la asamblea y en la "conversación en el Espíritu" que tuvieron lugar durante la misma, en las que cada persona hablaba en su pequeño grupo, los demás participantes comentaban al principio sólo lo que les llamaba la atención, se reflexionaba en silencio y luego se discutía. En varios lugares del informe, los miembros de la asamblea insistieron en la necesidad de redoblar los
Cardenales y obispos se unen al Papa Francisco mientras preside la Misa que marca el final de la primera sesión de la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad en la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano el 29 de octubre de 2023. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
esfuerzos para escuchar a los sobrevivientes de abusos sexuales por parte del clero y a quienes han sufrido abusos espirituales o psicológicos. "La apertura para escuchar y acompañar a todos, incluidos los que han sufrido abusos y heridas en la Iglesia, ha hecho visibles a muchos que durante mucho tiempo se han sentido invisibles", se afirmó en el informe. "Nos queda un largo camino hacia la reconciliación y la justicia, que requiere abordar las condiciones estructurales que permitieron tales abusos y realizar gestos concretos de penitencia". Los miembros de la asamblea afirmaron que el proceso les ayudó a experimentar la Iglesia como "el hogar y la familia de Dios, una Iglesia más cercana a las vidas de su pueblo, menos burocrática y más relacional". Sin embargo, dijo, los términos "sinodal" y "sinodalidad", que "se han asociado a esta experiencia y deseo", necesitan una mayor clarificación, incluida la teológica y, tal vez, en el derecho canónico. Algunos participantes cuestionaron que una asamblea en la que alrededor del 21% de La madre benedictina Maria Ignazia Angelini, teóloga, relos participantes eran mujeres laicas, hombres cibe la Comunión durante la Misa del Papa Francisco en laicos, religiosos y sacerdotes pudiera denom- la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano el 29 de octubre inarse Sínodo de Obispos. El informe también de 2023, marcando la conclusión de la primera sesión del reconocía temores, como el de que "se cambie Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad. (Foto CNS/ la enseñanza de la Iglesia, alejándose de la fe Lola Gomez) apostólica de nuestros padres y, al hacerlo, tracilio Vaticano II, en particular su énfasis en "la Iglesia icionando las expectativas de quienes aún hoy como Misterio y Pueblo de Dios, llamada a la santidad". tienen hambre y sed de Dios". La sinodalidad, decían, "valora la contribución de En respuesta, sin embargo, los miembros de la asamblea dijeron: "Estamos convencidos de que la todos los bautizados, en la variedad de sus vocaciones", sinodalidad es una expresión del dinamismo de la y así "constituye un verdadero acto de recepción ulteTradición dinámica viva". "Está claro que algunos rior del Concilio". El informe también insistió en que la temen que se les obligue a cambiar; otros temen que finalidad de la sinodalidad es la misión. "Como discípulos de Jesús, no podemos eludir la nada cambie y que haya demasiado poco coraje para tarea de mostrar y transmitir a una humanidad herida avanzar al ritmo de la Tradición viva", dijo el informe. "Además", añadió, "la perplejidad y oposición es- el amor y la ternura de Dios", decía el informe. A lo largo del proceso sinodal, según el informe, conden también el temor a perder el poder y los privi"muchas mujeres expresaron su profunda gratitud por legios que éste conlleva". Los miembros de la asamblea describieron el proce- la labor de sacerdotes y obispos. Pero también hablarso sinodal como "enraizado en la Tradición de la Igle- on de una Iglesia que duele. El clericalismo, el machissia" y teniendo lugar a la luz de la enseñanza del Con- mo y el uso inadecuado de la autoridad siguen marcando el rostro de la Iglesia y dañando la comunión".
25 años después de institución de Ley de Libertad Religiosa Internacional, los límites a la religión en todo el mundo están en aumento Por OSV News Staff
(OSV News) – En los 25 años transcurridos desde que la Ley de Libertad Religiosa Internacional de Estados Unidos se convirtió en ley, "las restricciones a la libertad religiosa han ido en constante aumento durante varios años" en todo el mundo, dijeron los líderes de los comités de libertad religiosa y política internacional de la conferencia episcopal estadounidense. "Lamentablemente", el 80% de los habitantes del planeta "viven en países donde existen altos niveles de restricciones gubernamentales o sociales a la religión", afirmaron el cardenal Timothy M. Dolan, de Nueva York, presidente del Comité de Libertad Religiosa de la Conferencia de los Obispos Católicos de EE.UU. (USCCB), y el obispo David J. Malloy, de Rockford, Illinois, presidente del Comité de Justicia Internacional y Paz de la USCCB. Los prelados hicieron estos comentarios en una declaración conjunta emitida para conmemorar el 25 aniversario de la ley que promueve la libertad religiosa y de conciencia en todo el mundo como "un derecho humano fundamental".
Un sacerdote celebra una Misa para los feligreses en la Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán en Managua, Nicaragua, el 2 de agosto de 2022. Ocho sacerdotes fueron trasladados el 15 de octubre de 2023 de un seminario nacional donde se encontraban bajo arresto domiciliario a una prisión tristemente célebre por sus torturas y condiciones deplorables. La medida se produce en un momento en que el régimen nicaragüense vuelve a intensificar la represión contra la Iglesia católica. (Foto OSV News/Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters)
El presidente Bill Clinton promulgó la Ley de Libertad Religiosa Internacional el 27 de octubre de 1998, para elevar la libertad religiosa como un objetivo de la política exterior de Estados Unidos, promover la libertad religiosa en los países que violan este derecho humano básico y reforzar la defensa de las personas perseguidas en otros países por motivos religiosos. La Iglesia católica reconoce desde hace tiempo la naturaleza esencial e inviolable de la libertad religiosa", afirmaron el cardenal Dolan y el obispo Malloy en una declaración el 25 de octubre. En 1965, San Pablo VI promulgó la Declaración sobre la Libertad Religiosa del Concilio Vaticano II ("Dignitatis Humanae"), que afirmaba que este derecho se fundamenta "'en la dignidad misma de la persona humana'. "Unámonos a nuestro Santo Padre en su oración 'para que la libertad de conciencia y la libertad religiosa sean reconocidas y respetadas en todas partes; son derechos fundamentales, porque nos hacen libres para contemplar el cielo para el que fuimos creados'", dijeron el cardenal Dolan y el obispo Malloy.
10 de noviembre de 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATÓLICO
Causa de Seis Santos, un regalo para nuestra diócesis y nación Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
narnos la vida. Trabajábamos día y noche, a fin de no ser una carga para ninguno de La Fiesta de Todos los Santos es el portal a principios de noviembre que invita ustedes mientras les anunciábamos el evangelio de Dios. Por esto, de nuestra parte, a todos los miembros vivos de la iglesia a trascender el tiempo para ver la Nube de damos siempre gracias a Dios, pues cuando ustedes escucharon el mensaje de Dios Testigos que rodean el trono del Cordero en el Cielo. Las vidas de los santos revelan que nosotros les predicamos, lo recibieron como mensaje de Dios y no como mensaje el plan supremo de Dios para nosotros en la eternidad y un camino bien definido de hombres. Y en verdad es el mensaje de Dios, el cual produce sus resultados en ustedes los que creen.” (1 Tesalonicenses 2:7-9 y 13) para que esta vida alcance la meta. Esta fue la experiencia de la hermana Thea cuando los hermanos, hermanas y En el libro de Apocalipsis, la visión celestial se compone de una “…gran multisacerdotes religiosos compartieron sus vidas de la manera tud de todas las naciones, razas, lenguas y pueblos. Estaque describe San Pablo. “Me sentí atraída a examinar y ban en pie delante del trono y delante del Cordero, y eran “Todo esto quiere decir que junto con las aceptar la fe católica debido al testimonio vivido día a día tantos que nadie podía contarlos. seis mujeres y hombres católicos negros en de los cristianos católicos que primero me amaron y luego Iban vestidos de blanco y llevel camino de la canonización, hay muchos compartieron conmigo su historia, sus valores, sus creenaban palmas en las manos”. (7:9) cias; quienes primero me amaron, luego me invitaron a ¡Qué gran regalo de esperanotros católicos negros aquí en nuestra compartir con ellos en comunidad, oración y misión. za el apóstol Juan ha dado a la igdiócesis y en toda nuestra nación que Cuando era niño no reconocía la evangelización trabajanlesia para cada generación hasta ahora están testificando, sirviendo, do en mi vida. Reconocí el amor, el servicio, la comunidad, que el Señor regrese! enseñando y evangelizando porque el la oración y la fe”. De muchas maneras el Señor El sábado pasado, al comienzo del mes de la Historia regalo que alguna vez recibieron continúa Jesús moldeó a todos los santos Católica Negra, participé en un desfile, caminata y proen su singularidad a su imagen floreciendo”. grama en Jonestown, Mississippi, en honor a la fallecida y semejanza. Entre este número Hermana Kay Burton, SNJM, una hermana de los Nomdemasiado grande para contar se encuentran las seis causas afroamericanas de canon- bres de Jesús y María. Esta comunidad religiosa fue fundada por Eulalie Durocher ización. Son mujeres y hombres extraordinarios a quienes en 1843 en Quebec, Canadá. La hermana Kay había supervisado el desarrollo de Dios llamó de la oscuridad de la esclavitud y la segregación varios servicios y programas comunitarios de Jonestown durante sus treinta años implacable a la luz de la santidad y la dignidad. Ellos son de ministerio. El regalo es que continúen a través del liderazgo local entre esta genla Madre Mary Lange, el Padre Augustus Tolton, la Madre Henriette DeLille, Pierre eración de colaboradores cristianos. El domingo participé en el programa del Día de la Mujer patrocinado por la AuxToussaint, Julia Greeley y, por supuesto, nuestra propia Sierva de Dios, la Hermana Thea Bowman. Ellos son testigos sobresalientes del fiel discipulado de la iglesia uni- iliar de Damas del Espíritu Santo. Nuestra diócesis estuvo completamente inmersa versal y más aún durante todo el mes de noviembre, que está dedicado a la Historia en la búsqueda de la justicia y la paz en los últimos años de Jim Crow y la era de los Derechos Civiles, una realidad que fue reconocida con gratitud durante el proCatólica Negra. Sabemos que la iglesia quedó atrapada en los males de la esclavitud y sus con- grama. Todo esto quiere decir que junto con las seis mujeres y hombres católicos secuencias, y por eso estamos llamados al arrepentimiento y a la luz de un nuevo negros en el camino de la canonización, hay muchos otros católicos negros, aquí en día. Este mes también queremos celebrar a la iglesia como una madre amorosa que nuestra diócesis y en toda nuestra nación, que ahora están testificando, sirviendo, cultivó las semillas de la fe, la esperanza y el amor a través del servicio amoroso y la enseñando y evangelizando porque el don que alguna vez recibieron continúa floreciendo. educación en muchos entornos afroamericanos. Los participantes en el Sínodo, que concluyó recientemente en Roma a finales Las palabras de San Pablo a los Tesalonicenses son el paradigma de la iglesia como corazón palpitante de Cristo. “Aunque muy bien hubiéramos podido hacer- de octubre, tuvieron representación de casi todos los condados del mundo, o como les sentir el peso de nuestra autoridad como apóstoles de Cristo, nos hicimos como proclamamos, de cada nación, tribu, pueblo y lengua. Que el Espíritu Santo proniños entre ustedes. Como una madre que cría y cuida a sus propios hijos, así tam- fundice por ellos y por todos nosotros nuestro compromiso de unidad, participación bién les tenemos a ustedes tanto cariño que hubiéramos deseado darles, no sólo el y misión. Con San Pablo y la hermana Thea, que el corazón palpitante de Cristo dirija evangelio de Dios, sino hasta nuestras propias vidas. ¡Tanto hemos llegado a quererlos! Hermanos, ustedes se acuerdan de cómo trabajábamos y luchábamos para ga- nuestros pasos en esta vida e inflame nuestra visión de la promesa de la vida eterna.
Papa: "Querer 'controlar' a Dios y limitarlo a una agenda es idolatría" Por Carol Glatz
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Reformar la Iglesia es poner a Dios en primer lugar y adorarlo, y amar y servir a los demás, dijo el Papa Francisco en la Misa que marcó la conclusión de la primera sesión del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad. "Es esta, hermanos y hermanas, la Iglesia que estamos llamados a 'soñar': una Iglesia que es servidora de todos, servidora de los últimos. Una Iglesia que nunca exige un expediente de 'buena conducta', sino que acoge, sirve, ama, perdona; una Iglesia de puertas abiertas que sea puerto de misericordia", afirmó. "Quizás tengamos realmente muchas ideas hermosas para reformar la Iglesia, pero recordemos: adorar a Dios y amar a los hermanos con su mismo amor, esta es la mayor e incesante reforma", dijo el Papa en su homilía durante la El Papa Francisco, en una captura de pantalla de un vídeo, explica por qué él y Misa en la Basílica de San Pedro el todos los papas necesitan las oraciones de la gente. La Red Mundial de Oración 29 de octubre. Miles de fieles se pusieron de del Papa pide a los católicos que oren por el Papa en el mes de noviembre. (Foto pie al esperar el comienzo de la
CNS/ThePopeVideo.org)
Misa mientras los miembros y participantes del sínodo entraban a la basílica. La procesión fue encabezada por miembros no ordenados, seguidos por obispos y luego cardenales. El sínodo sobre la sinodalidad marcó la primera vez que laicos y religiosas pudieron participar como miembros con derecho a voto. Del total de 364 miembros, cerca del 25% eran "miembros no obispos" y 54 de ellos eran mujeres. "Hermanos y hermanas, se concluye la Asamblea sinodal", dijo el Papa en su homilía. "Hoy no vemos el fruto completo de este proceso, pero con amplitud de miras podemos contemplar el horizonte que se abre ante nosotros". "El Señor nos guiará y ayudará a ser una Iglesia más sinodal y misionera, que adora a Dios y sirve a las mujeres y a los hombres de nuestro tiempo, saliendo a llevar a todos la reconfortante alegría del Evangelio a todos", dijo. Al concluir la Iglesia esta etapa de su camino, dijo, "es importante contemplar el 'principio y fundamento' del que todo comienza y vuelve a comenzar: amar". "Amar a Dios con toda la vida y amar a nuestro prójimo como a nosotros mismos", dijo, es "el centro de todo".
10 de noviembre de 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATÓLICO
Alrededor Diocesano
MADISON – (arriba izq.) Parroquianas de St. Francis ejecutan una danza tradicional de India, en la fiesta de Taste of St Francis el 8 de octubre. (Foto de Martha McLean) PEARL – (arriba der.) Un bebé lleva el traje de San Judas Tadeo el 28 de octubre. (Foto de Nadia García) CARTHAGE– El Padre Marco Sánchez, ST (centro) ofreció afeitar su barba si los parroquianos llegaban a más de mil dolares, en festival de otoño, para financiar el aire acondicionado de la iglesia de Santa Ana. (Foto cortesía de la parroquia) OLIVE BRANCH – Alumnos de la iglesia Queen of Peace celebraron el Día de Todos los Santos. Durante la Misa, (der.) el Padre Hendrick Ardianto los incluyó en su homilía y se rio mucho cuando les hizo preguntas sobre cómo trataban a sus hermanos y hermanas.
OLIVE BRANCH – (izq.) Después de Misa, el padre Ardi y el diácono Mark posan con el grupo de niños vestidos de santos. (Fotos cortesía de la parroquia) PONTOTOC – (debajo. izq.) Un grupo de mujeres de St Christopher de Pontotoc y de Inmaculado Corazón de Maria Houston participaron en el primer retiro de Emaus, celebrado en el area, organizado por la Hermana Raquel, Danna Johnson, LEM y mujeres y servidoras de Missouri. (Foto de Luis Gordillo)
TOME NOTA Vírgenes y Santos Día de Acción de Gracias. Noviembre 23 Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Rey del Universo. Noviembre 26 Envíenos sus fotos a editor@jacksondiocese.org Síganos en Facebook @Diócesis Católica de Jackson Visite Nuestra página web www.mississippicatholic.com/Español
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
DIOCESE 11
St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis marks centennial In place of her “From the Archives” column, archivist and chancellor Mary Woodward requested to run this story from Gulf Pine Catholic on the centennial celebration of St. Augustine Seminary in honor of Black Catholic History Month.
By Terry Dickson
BAY ST. LOUIS – St. Augustine Seminary, the first seminary in the U.S. to train Black men for the priesthood, celebrated its centennial Oct. 29 with a special Mass on the seminary grounds. Originally established by the Divine Word Missionaries as the Sacred Heart Preparatory Seminary in 1920 in the Mississippi Delta city of Greenville, the seminary relocated three years later to Bay St. Louis, located on the Gulf of Mexico between New Orleans and Biloxi. On May 23, 1934, four men – Anthony Bourges, Maurice Rousseve, Francis Wade and Vincent Smith – were ordained to the priesthood at St. Augustine. Between its inception and closure in 1968, the seminary produced numerous priests, nine of whom later became bishops, including Joseph Bowers, SVD; Harold Perry, SVD; Carlos Lewis, SVD; Raymond Caesar, SVD; Joseph Francis, SVD; Curtis Guillory, SVD; Dominic Carmon, SVD; Leonard Olivier, SVD; and Terry Steib, SVD. Bishop Steib, bishop-emeritus of Memphis, was principal celebrant of the Mass, which was concelebrated by 11 bishops, including Archbishops Thomas Rodi of Mobile; Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Shelton Fabre of Louisville; Bishops Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi; Michael Duca of Baton Rouge; Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette; Anthony Taylor of Little Rock; and Guillory, bishop-emeritus of Beaumont. “One hundred years ago on Sept. 16, 1923, the House Chronicle of St. Augustine Seminary described the formal opening day of the seminary as a ‘red-letter day in the annals of St. Augustine Mission House in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.’ It was the day of dedication of this new mission house and, in the history of the Catholic Church among the Colored people of America, the day of the of the opening of the portals of the first seminary for young men of their race with a vocation to the priesthood, a day that will be long remembered as an epoch-making forward step,” said Bishop Steib. “Now, one hundred years later, today is another red-letter day because we are celebrating the centennial year of this seminary, 100 years of preparing young Black men for the priesthood right here at St. Augustine. It is indeed and has been an epoch-making time. We celebrate and we praise God for this epoch-making time. We give thanks for the St. Augustine Seminary, a building that stood majestically and tall for over 75 years, a building where high school seminarians lived and studied, where African American students
BAY ST. LOUIS – Prior to celebrating the centennial Mass of St. Augustine Seminary, Bishop Emeritus Terry Steib, SVD, of Memphis enjoys a chat with (l-r) Bishop Louis Kihnemann of Biloxi, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, and Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile. (Photo by Juliana Skelton/Gulf Pine Catholic) were trained and formed as they discerned a call to be priests and Divine Word Missionaries, despite the odds. We celebrate proudly how many religious teachers dedicated their lives to educating and forming these young men, how many religious brothers and laity worked and ministered here on this sacred ground 25 to a 100 years ago despite the odds.” Bishop Steib imagined that, if the minor seminary building were still standing erect and could speak, it would mention how proudly the hundreds of alumni who graduated from here moved on. “If the oak trees and the pine trees and the magnolia trees that have weathered the storms and hurricanes of past centuries and are still growing, the tress that sheltered the students over the years and are still growing could speak, they would say, ‘Look at all the hundreds who graduated from here, all who went to the novitiate and took vows and were ordained here, look at the first African-American priests to be ordained here – Father Bourges, Father Rousseve, Father Smith and Father Wade. They stood tall in the midst of segregated times. They were the men who stood tall, who served the Lord in some trying times. These are men who are role models for us.” “How thankful are we that St. Arnold Jannsen, founder of the Divine Word Missionaries, would take to heart his own desire to proclaim the Gospel where
it was not yet viable and dare to train African Americans to make it possible. How thankful are we that the (Society of the Divine Word) continues to proclaim the Gospel by calling forth vocations from all nations to serve in this Southern province.” Father Paulus Budi Kleden, superior general of the Society of the Divine Word who traveled from Rome to take part in the centennial celebration, said although the seminary “has lost its function as a center to train African American candidates for the priesthood, its legacy remains.” “It is a permanent call to fight against all kinds of segregation and discrimination, which, like a virus, can quickly enter a person or group without being fully aware of it and affects our way of thinking, judging and acting,” he said. “In this sense, celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. Augustine Seminary is a privileged moment for all the members of the SVD to recommit ourselves to live and promote interculturality, which is our heritage, commitment and mission. The seminary stands for the Society’s dedication to actively participate in the efforts to eradicate the discrimination of race, religion, nationality, culture, and sexual orientation. At the same time, it calls for all of us to remain firm and consistent in this mission,” Kleden concluded. “I think a second point to that is that seminaries be more welcoming, but also be sensitive to the different cultures of the people entering the seminary,” said Bishop Curtis Guillory. “One of the many things that we learned here at Divine Word Seminary was, first of all, acceptance of our culture and to see the beauty and the contributions of that culture. With that, we were not only able to be in the midst of other cultures but also learn from them and they from us.” (Terrance Dickson is communications director and editor of the Gulf Pine Catholic for the Diocese of Biloxi.)
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
12 BRIEFS not allowed to celebrate Mass, visit school grounds, or lead any church ministries. If anyone is aware of Crow doing so, they are encouraged to contact the Archdiocese immediately at (251) 434-1587.”
VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis will travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 1-3 to participate in the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the Vatican press office confirmed. In an interview broadcast in Italy Nov. 1, the pope had said he intended to go, but the Vatican did not confirm the trip until Nov. 3. “Accepting the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, His Holiness Pope Francis will make the previously announced trip to Dubai from 1 to 3 December 2023, on the occasion of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” commonly called COP28, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office. The conference is designed to assess progress or failures in reaching the goals adopted by 196 nations and parties, including the Holy See, with the Paris climate agreement in 2015. VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi setting up the first Nativity scene, the creche in St. Peter’s Square in 2023 will This is a painting of Blessed María Antonia de San come from the Diocese of Rieti, Italy, and pay tribute José, an 18th-century consecrated laywoman from to the scene set up in the diocese in 1223. The ChristArgentina who will be canonized in early 2024, ac- mas tree that will stand in St. Peter’s Square is excording to an Oct. 24, 2023, announcement by the pected to be more than 80 feet tall and come from the Vatican. San José, popularly known as “Mama Antu- Maira Valley near Turin. It will be decorated with la,” will be Argentina’s first home-grown female saint live edelweiss flowers cultivated at a nursery nearby; picking or transplanting wild edelweiss is against (OSV News artwork/Enrique Breccia) the law in Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The unveiling BROOKLYN, N.Y. (OSV News) – Bishop Robert J. of the creche and lightBrennan of Brooklyn celebrated a Mass of Reparation ing of the Christmas tree Nov. 4 in a Brooklyn Catholic Church used in a violent in the square is schedand provocative music video, and he has removed its uled for 7 p.m. Dec. 9. well-known pastor from his diocesan development They will remain in the role. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter released a music square through the feast video to her song “Feather” Oct. 31, which includes of the Baptism of the scenes of the singer dancing and performing inside Lord, Jan. 7, 2024. and outside of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn, including in the sanctuary where the altar is located. Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, the parish’s pastor, was removed as the Diocese of BrookWADOWICE, Poland lyn’s vicar for development Nov. 3. He will remain pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation (OSV News) – In 1988, Parish. However, Bishop Robert Brennan has appoint- when he was a convicted ed Auxiliary Bishop Witold Mroziewski as the tempo- drug addict serving time rary administrator. Earlier this week, Bishop Brennan in prison, he thought of was said to be “appalled” by what was filmed. “Bishop God as a severe Father Robert Brennan strongly condemns the filming of the who punishes rather music video inside Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin than loves. Until a tiny Mary Church. A review of the documents presented to woman visited his pristhe parish prior to the filming, while failing to depict on. That woman was the entirety of the scenes, clearly portrays inappropri- Mother Teresa. James ate behavior unsuitable for a church sanctuary,” a di- Wahlberg, once a convict, is now a film proocesan statement read. MOBILE, Ala. (OSV News) – The Archdiocese of ducer and has just creatMobile said it is “relieved” that a priest who fled his ed a documentary about pastoral assignment this summer has returned to the her. “Mother Teresa: No U.S., as the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office Greater Love,” produced announced its investigation into the priest has been with the Knights of Coclosed with no charges filed. The archdiocese also af- lumbus, commemorated firmed the soon-to-be-laicized cleric has been removed the 25th anniversary of from ministry. Father Alex Crow, who abruptly left Cor- the death of one of the pus Christi Parish in Mobile at the end of July to trav- world’s favorite saints, el to Italy with a June 2023 graduate of McGill-Toolen but the film also provides Catholic High School, “may have returned home to the an exploration of her Mobile area” according to “numerous individuals and long-lasting legacy, and media reports,” said the archdiocese in a Nov. 6 state- producers traveled the ment. The statement – which referred to the priest by world to show it. “This his given name, without the title “Father” – noted that film is much bigger. ... he had not contacted the archdiocese, which stressed Sometimes in Catholic that Father Crow “has been removed from ministry programming ... budgets and his priestly faculties are suspended. “Therefore, are very low. We had a Crow is not to exercise any ministry as a priest, or full budget and we had present himself as a priest,” said the statement. “He is full access to the Mis-
NATION
WORLD
sionaries of Charity,” Wahlberg told OSV News. Brother of Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, James was a troubled kid and fell into drug addiction. Asked about the encounter that changed his life, he said he had “goosebumps” and “emotion welling up” in his chest. “I’m just thinking about that day, the day the first time I ever heard in my life that God loved me and that Jesus died for me,” he said. He recalled there were 800 people in the room but he remembered Mother Teresa “talking to me.” The documentary premiered in Poland Oct. 19. BUENOS AIRES (OSV News) – Argentina will get its first home-grown female saint in early 2024 with the canonization of Blessed María Antonia de San José. The Vatican announced Oct. 24 that San José, born as María Antonia de Pa Figueroa, but known throughout Argentina simply as Mama Antula, would be canonized as the pope authorized the promulgation of the decree on the miracle attributed to her intercession. The decision means a lot for Argentina, its native Pope Francis and his Jesuit order. She will be the fifth saint associated with Argentina of whom four were elevated to sainthood by Pope Francis but is the first female of Argentina to be canonized. “Mama Antula is considered the mother of the nation. She was a strong, brave woman who believed in Argentina. She was committed to the country and that knowing Christ would transform society,” Bishop Santiago Olivera told OSV News. Mama Antula’s path to sainthood began more than a century ago. Pope Francis beatified her in 2016. When the Jesuits were expelled from Spain and its colonies in the Americas in 1767, Bishop Olivera said that Mama Antula kept the Jesuits’ work going and she continued to work with the Jesuits until the end of her life. “It is impressive that after all these years she will be canonized and it will be a Jesuit who makes her a saint,” said Bishop Olivera.
PLEASE, BE GENEROUS! Nov. 18 & 19, 2023
14 Diocese
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
New diocesan office aims to build relationships and invite young adults to be a part of the Body of Christ By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – In a proactive response to the growing demand for more opportunities for young adults, the Diocese of Jackson inaugurated its Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry in the fall of 2022. With this new office, the diocese is on a mission to build a vibrant and inclusive ministry that not only brings young adults and college students together but also strengthens their relationship with Christ. In his post-synodal apostolic exhortation released in April 2019, Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive!), Pope Francis emphasized the need to make all institutions more welcoming to young people, and his words resonated deeply with the mission of the Diocese of Jackson. “We need to make all our institutions better equipped to be more welcoming to young people,” said Pope Francis from Christus Vivit. (216) Amelia Rizor, coordinator for the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, echoed the sentiment expressed by Pope Francis, stating, “The community has an important role in the accompaniment of young people; it should feel collectively responsible for accepting, motivating, encouraging and challenging them. All should regard young people with understanding, appreciation and affections; and avoid constantly judging them.” The office’s efforts in the Jackson area have already shown promise. Rizor has organized activities such as basketball, co-ed softball, and co-ed kickball, which have provided opportunities for young adults to come together for fellowship and build relationships. Additionally, the office also reintroduced “Theology on Tap,” a popular event that engages young adults in discussions of faith in a relaxed setting, with a beverage of choice. However, the office’s focus isn’t just limited to social events, said Rizor. She highlights the importance of GREENWOOD – On Saturday, Oct. 14 college students from across the diocese gathered at Locus growing young people’s spiritual lives, mentioning an Benedictus Retreat Center in Greenwood for a day of fun, fellowship, speakers, prayer and Mass. The upcoming “Young Adult Advent Day of Reflection” on theme for the day was "Living Joyfully." The event was led by the Diocesan Campus Ministry Retreat Saturday, Dec. 2 at Camp Bratton Green in Canton, with Team which is made up of students from campuses across the Diocese. (Photos by Amelia Rizor) diocese director of Faith Formation, Fran Lavelle. Rizor also expressed her desire to create more service opportunities that can be conducted diocesan-wide, alRizor says the trip is open to all young adults who will be sophomores in college in lowing young adults to put their faith into action. fall 2024 through age 35. Future plans for service include a spring break service trip to Southern KenRizor emphasized the importance of actively engaging young adults in these initucky, with the aim of assisting those affected by the devastating tornadoes in Detiatives, saying “Everyone likes to be invited! If you are waiting around for them to cember 2021. just come back, you’re going to be waiting a long time.” She urged the necessity of The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry also recently hosted its first going out and building relationships with young adults, inviting them to be a part of campus ministry retreat on Oct. 14 at Locus Benedictus in Greenwood. The event the Body of Christ, much like the approach taken by Jesus himself. brought together students from various colleges and universities across the diocese In the Diocese of Jackson, the launch of this young adult ministry is not only for fellowship, participation in small groups, and the opportunity for the Sacrament about building a community but also about revitalizing the faith and involvement of of Reconciliation and Mass. the younger generation in the church’s mission, ensuring that they are an integral Excitingly, the office is offering a 10-day trip on the Camino de Santiago – an oppart of the church’s body. Pope Francis’ vision, as articulated in Christus Vivit, is a portunity to travel in the footsteps of St. James, led by Father Lincoln Dall. The St. guiding light for this important mission. James Way is one of the most ancient and popular pilgrimage routes in the world. “We are incredibly blessed to have someone with Amelia’s ministry experience The trip can accommodate only 13 pilgrims total and spots are filling up quickly. and her love for the young church,” said Fran Lavelle, director of the Department of Faith Formation for the diocese. “Her strength is in building relationships that lead people to a deeper understanding of their faith. She demonstrates what accompaniment looks like in practice.” For more information on upcoming young adult ministry events, visit https://jacksondiocese.org/ young-adult-campus-ministry or contact Amelia at amelia.rizor@jacksondiocese.org.
JACKSON – On Wednesday, Oct. 18, young adults from around the Jackson area gathered at Martin's restaurant in downtown Jackson for Theology on Tap. The guest speaker was Father Nick Adam who shared with them ideas on how they could make time for prayer and faith in their busy lives. The next Theology on Tap will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Martin's. A Christmas party will be held in December, date to be announced.
PLEASE, BE GENEROUS Dec. 9 & 10, 2023
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
16 Columns
Putting God first REFLECTIONS ON LIFE By Melvin Arrington
We all know what the commandment says: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) The text goes on to state in a straightforward manner: “You shall not make for yourself an idol … You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (verses 4a and 5a) Unfortunately, the Israelites did just that. They built altars to pagan idols and worshipped them rather than the one true God. In our time we obviously don’t bow down to Baal or any of the other false gods mentioned in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, idolatry (worshipping some aspect of creation instead of the Creator) is pervasive in our contemporary culture. Our society considers practically everything more important than matters of faith. And anything we put before God becomes, in essence, an idol. Think about how our culture idolizes celebrities of all kinds. We put rock stars and sports heroes on a pedestal. The fact that we call certain movie actors matinee idols is especially telling. What about family, friends, possessions, careers and leisure activities? Are we guilty at times of prioritizing any of these at the expense of Sunday worship? Instead of going to Mass, some choose to stay in bed a little longer on Sunday or perhaps play a round of golf or go to the lake. But because God is, in the words of St. Anselm, “that than which nothing greater can be thought,” we should always give Him precedence in our lives, especially on Sundays. In other words, we should make sure we get to Mass, and then we can do some of the other things, as long as we “keep the Sabbath day holy.” God wants first place in our lives. If we will make Him a priority, He will in turn supply our needs: “Strive first for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
Rosary rally
When we pray the spiritual communion prayer, we say to Jesus: “I love you above all things.” Not some things, but all things. If I say I love God more than anything, I need to prove it; I need to live it. Others are watching, and the last thing I want to do is turn someone away from God and the church because they see that I’m not living out my faith. Years ago, I met a man who belonged to a wellknown civic organization that has clubs in practically every large city in the country. This man was heavily involved in the club’s service activities; it was his life. I know this because he told me one time that the club was his religion. Admirable as his commitment to service was, he clearly had his priorities mixed up. Some people put flag and country first. It’s right and proper to love our country, but we should never privilege country over God. I belong to a local civic club (a different one from the club referred to above). Our meetings open with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the flag, in that order. But that wasn’t always the case. At one point, confusion arose among club members regarding how we should begin our meetings. After some discussion, we finally resolved the issue by acknowledging that God is paramount. Prayer is always the first thing on our agenda. As is often the case, tradition helps us to get things right. As everyone knows, the phrase is “God and country,” not the other way around. Daily scripture reading and prayer are other ways we can make the Lord preeminent in our lives. We offer up prayers of thanksgiving, praise, petition and intercession first thing in the morning, at various times during the day, including before meals and immediately before going to bed at night. Scripture study and prayer allow us to enter into intimate conversation with God. Do I sometimes forget one of my prayer times or fail to do the daily readings? Sure I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my reading and prayer regimen altogether. The Christian life is a struggle in many ways, and one way this can manifest itself is in our study and prayer time. If our modern society were to put things in
their proper order, God, the source of all good things, would come first; others would be second, and we would place ourselves last. However, our culture usually gets that turned around. What we actually see is the self, the ego, first and foremost; and everything else far behind. Regrettably, the classic expression – looking out for number one – still holds sway. Advertising backs this up by encouraging consumers to pamper their ego, to “go for all the gusto.” So where does this leave God? It leaves Him out of the picture altogether. How often do we put family, friends, sports and our own wishes before God? It’s difficult for me to reflect on this because I’ve been guilty of relegating God to second place or lower at various times in my life. But imagine what society would look like if we all gave God His rightful place. It would, in short, revolutionize our culture. As in everything else in life, we have a choice. We must choose between the kingdom of God and the things this world has to offer. Choosing both is not an option because “no one can serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24) As Christians, our desire should be to serve God first, always, and everywhere, because He is, was and always will be before all things. It’s His proper place. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 contains the schema, the fundamental statement of the Jewish faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Practicing Jews still recite this passage twice a day. Jesus expands on these words by showing us how to apply them to our lives: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Keeping the commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” requires that we love God with all of our being and that we put our faith into practice by transforming our selfishness into selflessness. In short, we show our love for God by our love for others. When we give God first place in our lives, we put others before ourselves. That’s the correct order. (Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages for the University of Mississippi and a member of St. John Oxford.)
The Diocese of Jackson has launched a third-party reporting system that will enable all diocesan employees, volunteers and parishioners to anonymously (or named if preferred) make reports. Examples of this activity include fraud, misconduct, safety violations, harassment or substance abuse occurring at a Catholic parish, Catholic school or at the diocesan level. The system is operated by Lighthouse Services. Based in Deerfield, Illinois, Lighthouse Services maintains ethics, safety and fraud hotlines for over 4,100 organizations between the U.S. and abroad.
To make a report visit www.lighthouse-services.com/ jacksondiocese or call 888-830-0004 (English) or 800-2161288 (Spanish).
CLARKSDALE – The parishes of St. Elizabeth and Immaculate Conception held a Rosary rally on Saturday, Oct. 14 as part of the America Needs Fatima national rally. (Photo by Austin Britt)
The Association of Priests of the Dioceses of Jackson and Biloxi provide a small pension to our retired priests. As you consider your estate plans, please remember these faithful servants by making a donation or leaving a bequest to the Association of Priests. Our parish priests dedicate their lives to caring for us, their flocks. Let us now care for them in their retirement. Donations can be made payable to the Association of Priests and can be mailed to: Diocese of Jackson, P.O. Box 22723, Jackson, MS 39225-2723
DIOCESE 17
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
Unlocking philanthropy: Catholic Foundation offers Charitable Gift Annuities to support your faith and financial future By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – So many of us have large philanthropic hearts, but our wallets and budgets don’t allow us to make that large gift that is in our heart. The Catholic Foundation offers donors an opportunity to give a gift and receive income back called a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA). Charitable Gift Annuities (CGA) are gaining popularity due to the rising payout rates. “Now is a great time to consider establishing a CGA,” said Rebecca Harris, executive director of the Catholic Foundation. “A CGA is a simple arrangement where assets are given and in return the donor will receive fixed lifetime payments.” Harris can help walk anyone interested in CGAs through the process. This is a way for a donor to give a gift now, receive income, and help their parish, school, or favorite Catholic ministry. The Catholic Foundation and the Diocese of Jackson are partnering with Catholic Extension to work with donors on estabRebecca Harris lishing a CGA. “Many donors shy away from these types of donations because they feel they are too complicated for them. Our goal is to walk you through the process to determine if this is the right type of gift for you,” says Harris. A CGA is a simple contract guaranteeing it will pay the donor a fixed lifetime income based on a donor’s age and gift size that can be for one or two annuitants, and the payouts can be deferred. This is often a preferred strategy for retirees who want to put their charitable dollars to work and not have to worry about giving away a large sum of your retirement at once. “Simply, it is a way to support your Catholic faith and retain your cash flow,” says Harris. The primary benefit of a CGA is that the donor receives a fixed payment for life, no matter how long he or she may live. A portion of the payments are tax-free for a specified time. Further, because the donor is making a gift, a portion of the amount paid for the annuity is an immediate deductible charitable gift for income tax purposes, as allowable by IRS rules. Harris says, funding a CGA can be done with cash, IRA required minimum dis-
tribution, and stocks and securities. Harris says, “If you are looking for a way to decrease your income tax obligation after retirement and support your Catholic faith, a CGA may be what you are looking for.” To receive a free illustration of your gift contact Rebecca Harris at (601) 960-8477. With a few details her office can provide you with a gift illustration. Included in the illustration is your potential charitable income tax deduction and your yearly payments for life as well as an estimated amount that will go to your beneficiary.
$9,793
$1,320
$10,000
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
18 YOUTH
Around the diocese TUPELO – (Right) St. James Tupelo’s Children Choir sang their hearts out at the 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Oct. 29. (Photo by Michelle Harkins)
PEARL – St. Jude youth enjoy pumpkin activities on Wednesday, Oct. 25. (Photo by Tereza Ma) PHILADELPHIA – Youth gathered for a Halloween party at Holy Rosary parish. (Photo by Father Bob Goodyear)
FLOWOOD – Youth enjoy a fun-filled trunk and treat event on Saturday, Oct. 28 at St. Paul parish. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
FLOWOOD – The St. Anthony Eagles sixth grade team pulled out a huge victory against Jackson Prep on Thursday, Nov. 2. (Photo by Joanna King)
MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC NOVEMBER 10, 2023
YOUTH 19
Around the diocese TUPELO – (Left) A group of three photos depict community fun at St. James parish's annual trunk or treat event. (Photos by Michelle Harkins) MADISON – (Below) The St. Joe Bruins faced-off against Presbyterian Christian School of Hattiesburg at Bill Raphael Field on Friday, Oct. 13. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)
JACKSON – Townes and Finn Crews were all smiles at the annual St. Richard Catholic School Pre-K Harvest Festival. Each year the sixth graders volunteer with the Pre-K students and throw them a fun themed festival to celebrate the return of Fall. (Photo by Chelsea Dillon)
PEARL – St. Jude youth group work on rebuilding a "Jenga" block set on youth day on Saturday, Oct. 21. (Photo by Lauren Roberts)
20 Diocese
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC
Catholic Foundation celebrates 50 years of community service and vision for the future
By Joanna Puddister King
Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary, it stands as a testament JACKSON – In 1973, Bishop Joseph to the dedication and vision of indiBrunini called a group of community viduals like Bishop Brunini, Msgr. leaders together from across the dioHarkins and Jack Geary, who laid cese to form The Catholic Foundation. the foundation for the organization’s Fifty years later, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, mission-driven success. The Catholic the Foundation gathered for its golden Foundation’s journey from vision to anniversary celebration and annual fruition is a remarkable testament to membership meeting at the Country the power of perseverance, communiClub of Jackson. The event celebrated ty support and a strong commitment half a century of community service to the values and mission of the Cathand included heartfelt tributes to key olic Church. figures who played pivotal roles in the Bishop Joseph Kopacz offered his Catholic Foundation’s journey. words of encouragement during the Among those acknowledged was celebration. He emphasized, “It takes Msgr. Thaddeus Harkins, who worked many people to make this work … closely with Bishop Brunini in shapAgain, the promise of the future is ing the Foundation during its early there before us. … As long as we seek years. Joe Rice, president of the Caththe Kingdom of God first, everything olic Foundation, acknowledged Msgr. else will follow.” He expressed his Harkins, stating, “Msgr. Harkins was gratitude by saying, “I’m grateful to be the self-proclaimed historian of the here for this milestone.” Foundation. He understood and appreBishop Kopacz’s presence and inciated the mission from the outset.” spirational words reaffirm the CathoAnother remarkable figure cellic Foundation’s mission and its dediebrated during the event was Jack Geary, the founding president of the JACKSON – Joe Rice, president of The Catholic Foundation, leads a toast in cel- cation to serving the community. As Catholic Foundation for the Diocese ebration of 50 years of service at the annual foundation membership meeting on the Foundation celebrates 50 years of community service and looks ahead to of Jackson. Geary, who passed away Tuesday, Oct. 24 at the Country Club of Jackson. (Photos by Joanna King) the future it does so with the blessings in the week before the anniversary and encouragement of the church’s celebration, served as chairman of the sion of the church, its ability to embrace change and leadership, including the chancery investment committee and was a member of the execinnovate will be vital in ensuring its continued success. staff of the diocese, and especially, executive director utive committee. Rice made special mention of Geary’s Chuck Adams, who served on the executive com- of the Catholic Foundation and Stewardship and Designificant contributions, saying, “he was a mentor mittee of the Catholic Foundation in the early to mid- velopment director of the diocese, Rebecca Harris, said to many of us. We learned so much from Jack. We 1980s and as president for over 20 years, provided a Bishop Kopacz. learned not only a lot about the securities industry but valuable insight into the Foundation’s early years and “The Catholic Foundation’s 50th anniversary celemore importantly, how it pertained to doing the Lord’s its remarkable journey. bration is not just a reflection on its remarkable histowork.” Reflecting on his time in service, Adams shared his ry but also a promise of an even brighter future, built Unable to attend the event was Lewis Mallory, the memories of the Foundation’s early days. He empha- on the legacy of dedicated individuals, visionary leadlast living member of the original group that created sized, “At first, there was no real staff. It was all about ers and a commitment to making a positive impact on the Foundation with Bishop Brunini. Rice said that trying to come up with a vision for how a foundation the lives of those it serves,” said Harris. Mallory's perspective on the growth of the Foundation would work in a mission diocese.” is unique and inspiring; calling him one of the biggest In those formative years, the Catholic Foundation (If you would like to learn more about the Catholic influencers in his adult life. faced unique challenges, including limited resources Foundation and become a member contact Rebecca Har"He's just been a wonderful inspiration both profesand a mission-driven approach to serving the commu- ris at rebecca.harris@jacksondiocese.org or call (601) sionally and spiritually; and I'm eternally greatful to nity. Adams highlighted the importance of laying the 969-1880. Membership fees and fundraisers aid in covknow him," said Rice. groundwork, stating, “The first 18 years laid the foun- ering administrative costs of the Catholic Foundation As the anniversary event unfolded, Rice shared his dation. We didn’t have a lot of money, but it planted Office and allows 100% of the annual distributions to go vision for the Foundation’s future. Reflecting on the all the seeds that are bearing fruit today. At the end of directly to beneficiaries – schools, parishes and Catholic incredible growth and progress over the last 50 years, those first 18 years, we had $2 million in assets.” ministries.) he stated, “I think the FounThis period of growth and development set the dation has evolved and, stage for the Catholic God willing, will continue Foundation’s remarkto evolve in years to come. able journey over We have grown in ways that the last five decades. Bishop Brunni and Msgr. Adams expressed his Harkins could never have sentiments about his imagined in the 1970s.” long-lasting involveIndeed, the Foundament, saying, “It’s tion’s transformation from been a pleasure to be its humble beginnings into associated with the a force for community supCatholic Foundation port with over $56 million in as long as I have.” assets and 400 trusts is a tesHis enduring comtament to the tireless efforts mitment to the Founof its founders and over 600 dation, along with the dedicated members. dedication of others This forward-looking like Lewis Mallory, perspective underscores has been instrumenthe Catholic Foundation’s tal in shaping the orcommitment to adapt to the ganization into what changing needs of the comit is today – a pillar of munity and the evolving community support landscape of Catholic minbenefiting numerous istries. As the Foundation Chancery staff members stand for recognition for their contributions to various parishes, schools and continues to serve the comministries across the diocese at the Catholic Foundation's 50th anniversary celeCatholic ministries. munity and support the misAs the Catholic bration and membership meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24.