MS Catholic April 26, 2024

By Gina Christian (OSV News)

Pew finds Catholics diverge by political parties, Mass attendance on many, but not all, issues

– A new study of U.S. Catholics suggests that Mass attendance and political affiliation are associated with their views of Pope Francis and Catholic teaching on key moral issues.

The findings were released by the Pew Research Center April 12 from a study that surveyed close to 12,700 respondents, 2,019 of whom self-identified as Catholic.

The sample was designed to be representative of the nation’s self-identified Catholics, who constitute 20% of the U.S. population, about 52 million U.S. Catholic adults out of the nation’s 262 million adults counted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2023.

Most (57%) of the nation’s Catholics are white, while 33% are Hispanic, followed by Asian (4%), Black (2%) and Catholics of other races (3%). Racial and ethnic distribution of Catholics varies in the U.S., with greater numbers of U.S. Hispanic Catholics living in the South and West, where they respectively represent 40% and 55% of the Catholic population in those regions.

A majority of U.S. Catholics (58%) are age 50 and above, as compared to 48% of all U.S. adults in Pew’s survey.

Hispanic Catholics tend to be significantly younger than white Catholics, with 57% of Hispanic Catholics under 50 as compared to 32% of white Catholics.

Regionally, 29% of U.S. Catholics live in the nation’s South; 26% in the Northeast; 24% in the West; and 21% in the Midwest.

Pew found that nearly three in 10 (28%) of U.S. Catholics reported attending Mass weekly or more often, similar to results reported by a recent Gallup poll in which 21% of U.S. Catholics said they attend weekly and 9% almost every week.

Daily prayer was reported by 52% of U.S. Catholics, while 46% described religion as “very important” in their lives. According to Pew, 20% of U.S. Catholics reported weekly Mass attendance, daily prayer and a regard for religion as “very important” in their life.

Politically, a majority of Catholic registered voters (52%) identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and 44% with the Democratic Party.

The data showed that 75% of U.S. Catholics regarded the pope favorably, which is down from 83% in 2021, and 90% in early 2015.

The report said that 89% of U.S. Catholics who are or lean Democrat approve of the pope, while just 7% disapprove of him. In contrast, just 63% of U.S. Catholics who are or lean Republican give the pope a thumbs-up, while 35% view him unfavorably. Those unfavorable views among Catholics who are or lean Republican are higher than 2018, the year a new wave of sex abuse scandals, including abuse accusations involving former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, broke out.

“The partisan gap in views of Pope Francis is now as large as it’s ever been in our surveys,” said the report.

Despite the church’s teaching against abortion, some six in 10 U.S. Catholics support legalized abortion in all or most cases, with Hispanic Catholics (63%) slightly more approving of keeping abortion

Cowbell Catholic leads Eucharistic Procession across University campus

By sydni VandeVender

STARKVILLE – Over 100 Mississippi State University (MSU) students participated in Cowbell Catholic’s semesterly Eucharistic Procession across the university campus on Thursday, April 4.

The procession route began at the Chapel of Memories, crossing the Drill Field and ending in the Junction outside Davis Wade Stadium. The procession concluded with 30 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration in the Junction and a talk from Father Rufino Corona, TOR, a friar at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Father Rufino said it was an honor and privilege to get to process with the Blessed Sacrament around Mississippi State and spoke on why the procession was important to him.

“The fact that our Lord makes himself vulnerable even to be presented among those that don’t know who he is. It’s more important for him to be present,” Father Rufino said.

Casey Dinkle, who serves as a Liturgical Coordinator for Cowbell Catholic alongside Griffin Mahoney, noted that they delegated over fifty roles to students to facilitate the procession. Dinkle said the procession is now one of his favorite college memories.

“There is something really beautiful about walking with our Lord and Savior,” Dinkle said. “Proceeding with Him invites us to be a public witness to the faith and to our belief in the true presence in the Eucharist.”

Kester Nucum, who led the schola cantorum for the procession, reflected on his experience preparing for the event.

“I’ve served in the Music Ministry at my home parish for many years, yet this is the first time I organized music, headed rehearsals and led the choir by myself,” Nucum said.

Nucum said that while leaving the procession, he was stopped by a group in a car curious about the event.

“[They] asked what was going on and I was

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INSIDE THIS WEEK

STARKVILLE – Members of Cowbell Catholic lead a procession through the campus of Mississippi State University on Thursday, April 4. (Photo by Annalise Rome)

PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS

DIOCESE – Jackson area young adults (ages 1835), Co-ed Softball league, register by May 8. Cost: $30. Games on Monday and Thursday evenings; game locations vary from Ridgeland Baptist Church, Liberty Park and in Canton. Details: Register at https://jacksondiocese.flocknote.com/signup/164316 or email amelia.rizor@jacksondiocese.org

CLEVELAND – Our Lady of Victories, Parish Picnic, Sunday, May 19. Enjoy cookout and games for the whole family. Details: church office (662) 846-6273.

DIOCESE/JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Priestly Ordination of Tristan Stovall, Saturday, May 18 at 10:30 a.m. All are invited to attend.

JACKSON – St. Richard, Evening with Mary, Thursday, May 2 at 6 p.m. Please join us for a time of reflection and prayer honoring the Blessed Mother, with speaker Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation for the diocese. Details: RSVP to the church office at (601) 366-2335 or secretary@saintrichard.com.

MADISON – St. Joseph School, “Bruin Burn” 5k Run/Walk and fun run, Saturday, May 11 at 8 a.m. Registration $30 for 5k or $15 for fun run after April 25. Register at https://raceroster.com/ events/2024/87878/bruin-burn. Details: email bruinburn@gmail.com.

NATCHEZ – Cathedral School, Cajun Countdown, Friday, May 3. Details: eks_46@yahoo.com or sarahc@terralriverservice.com.

OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Cinco de Mayo Dinner Celebration, Saturday, May 4 after Mass in the social hall. Sign-up to attend in the common area. cost: $20/person or $30/couple – includes dinner and one beverage. Must be 21 or older to at-

tend. Details: church office (662) 895-5007.

PEARL – St. Jude, Spring Fair, Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parish hall. This free event will feature a variety of handmade items, homemade food, raffle and more. All proceeds will benefit the St. Jude’s Artisan Guild ministry. Details: church office (601) 939-3181.

RIPLEY – St. Matthew, Free Immigration Day, May 4 at 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Conference is on key aspects of Immigration Law in the U.S. Special guest: attorney, Steven Balson-Cohen, Esq. of Immigration Pro, LLC. Conference includes free case evaluation and consultation. Details: church office (662) 993-8862.

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

BOONVILLE – National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 2 at 12 p.m. at the Booneville City Hall steps. Join this day as Christians come together and pray for our nation. Lunch provided for attendees.

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis of Assisi, Vietnamese Language Mass, 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 12 (then the first Sunday of the month thereafter).

NEW ORLEANS – Directed Retreat with the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center at the Cenacle on Lake Pontchartrain, June 28-July 3.

Cost $500 – includes lodging, meals and personal spiritual director. To register call (504) 861-3254. Details: for more information call Melinda at (601) 597-7178.

MERIDIAN – St. Patrick, Men’s Group, Saturday, May 4 at 9 a.m. in the Father Vally room in the St. Patrick center. This is the first meeting of this newly formed group. Details:

John at jmcylk@gmail.com.

NATCHEZ – National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 2 at 12 p.m. at the Gazebo on the Bluff.

SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” Thursdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; and June 6 from 6:30-8 p.m. How do these Jewish roots help us, to understand his real presence in the Eucharist? Facilitator is Don Coker. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.

SAVE THE DATE

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis of Assisi, Vacation Bible School, July 14 - 17.

MADISON – St. Francis, Vacation Bible School –June 17-20, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for Pre-K4 through fourth graders. Email mc.george@stfrancismadison. org to volunteer.

St. Francis, Cajun Fest, Sunday, May 19.

DIOCESE – Each month, the Office of Catholic Education holds a Rosary in thanksgiving for Catholic education in the diocese. Join them via Zoom on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. Check the diocese calen

JACKSON – Chancery staff members look up to the sky to see the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Though it was cloudy, many across the diocese got to observe the eclipse between 90 to 97% totality. (Photo by Berta Mexidor)

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC APRIL 26, 2024

May we hear the voice of the Lord

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

Throughout the Easter season of 50 days there are outstanding manifestations of the Lord from week to week that strengthen our faith in him, and love for him.

Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter is the culmination of the Easter Octave reverberating with the loving mercy, peace and power of the resurrection.

Good Shepherd Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter enfolds us in perhaps the most beloved image of God in the entire Bible revealing the personal relationship that the Lord wants with each of us and all of us together as his flock, his body. Two weeks later we celebrate the great feast of the Ascension, with the assurance that our citizenship is in heaven. From that moment until Pentecost we will maintain vigilance in prayer awaiting to be clothed with power from on high.

Although Good Shepherd Sunday has a much longer tradition in the Catholic Church than Divine Mercy Sunday, it is St. John the Evangelist who has blessed the church until Christ comes again with these beloved manifestations.

The beloved disciple, apostle and evangelist embraced the image of the Good Shepherd, beloved to Jew and Christian, and made it the centerpiece of his Gospel at nearly the halfway point in chapter 10. It is an image that is deeply rooted in the Old Testament portraying that God for the Israelites was far more than a lawgiver.

He was a loving presence who renewed their strength, anointed their heads with oil, set a table before them, and led them through dark valleys and rough patches. It is such a powerful image that it easily transcended its origins to become the earliest rendition of the risen Lord in Christian art as discovered in the catacombs.

It continues to capture the imagination of believers even though many of us have never directly experienced this way of life, except for the sheep barn at the County Fair. It endures because it represents God as loving and personal, wedded to his people forever. “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep… I know my own and my own knows me… My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.”

(John 10:1ff)

On Good Shepherd Sunday, the church prays for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As part of the flock of the Good Shepherd all are grafted onto the vine of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and we pray that all will respond generously to the voice of the Lord to live their vocation.

From the household of God, we pray for vocations to the ordained and consecrated life. We recall Jesus’ words at the Last Supper to his apostles. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (John:15-16) Ultimately, this is the work of the Lord, but we are to beg the harvest master to send out workers to the vineyard because the harvest is great.

(Matthew 9:35-38)

The Eucharistic Revival is intrinsically linked with the priesthood, and all the faithful have a part to play in raising up vocations. In this spirit, the Synod on Synodality is a clarion call for all of the baptized to take their place in the household of God, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart to proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light. (1Peter 2:9)

May we hear the voice of the Lord, crucified and risen, resound in our hearts and minds in order to follow him faithfully.

Happy Ordination Anniversary

May 7

Bishop Joseph Kopacz (ordained priest)

May 11

Father Mark Shoffner

St. John the Evangelist, Oxford

Father Adolfo Suarez Pasillas

St. Michael, Forest; St. Michael, Paulding

May 14

Father Panneer Selvam Arockiam

St. Mary, Yazoo City; Our Mother of Mercy, Anguilla

Father Jason Johnston

St. Joseph, Starkville

Father Joseph Le

St. Francis, Aberdeen

Father Andrew Bowden

St. Richard, Jackson

May 17

Father Matthew Simmons

St. Joseph, Gluckstadt

May 23

Dcn. Hank Babin Retired

May 24

Father Bob Goodyear, ST

Holy Rosary, Philadelphia; St. Therese, Pearl River; St. Catherine Mission, Conehatta

Father Joseph Chau Nguyen, SVD St. Mary, Vicksburg

May 27

Father Carlisle Beggerly Diocese of Jackson

Father Charles Bucciantini Retired

May 29

Father Guy Blair, SCJ

Catholic Parishes of Northwest Mississippi

Father Hilary Brzezinski, OFM St. Francis, Greenwood

Father Sam Messina Retired

May 31

Father Lincoln Dall Holy Savior, Clinton Vicar General

Father Rusty Vincent St. Paul, Vicksburg

Father José de Jesus Sanchez St. Joseph, Greenville

Father Binh Chau Nguyen

Immaculate Conception, West Point

Father Nick Adam Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson Vocations Director

Father Aaron Williams

Basilica of St. Mary & Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Natchez

Sunday, April 28, 5 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Francis, Madison

Monday, April 29, 6 p.m. – Mass of Thanksgiving for Pastoral Reimagining Process, St. Therese, Kosciusko

Tuesday, April 30, 5 p.m. – Mass of Thanksgiving for Pastoral Reimagining Process, St. Mary, Batesville

Wednesday, May 1, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Joseph, Starkville

Thursday, May 2, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Alphonsus, McComb

Wednesday, May 8, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Paul, Flowood

Thursday, May 9, 9:30 a.m. – Re-naming ceremony – St. Dominic Sister Trinita Community Clinic, Stewpot, Jackson

Thursday, May 9, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, St. John, Oxford

Saturday, May 11, 10:30 a.m. – Confirmation, St. Francis of Assisi, Brookhaven

Saturday, May 11, 5 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Michael, Forest

Sunday, May 12, 11 a.m. – Confirmation for Catholic Community of Meridian

Saturday, May 18, 10:30 a.m. – Priestly Ordination of Tristan Stovall, Cathedral of St. Peter, Jackson

The summer is quickly approaching, and this is the time when our seminarians get to take a break from the books and get out into our parishes. I’m excited to announce that all of our seminarians will have great assignments this summer; and I’m grateful to the pastors and lay leaders who are helping me to give them important experiences as they continue to discern whether or not the Lord is calling them to be priests in the Diocese of Jackson.

But first I want to remind you of the ordination date for Deacon Tristan Stovall. On May 18 at 10:30 a.m. he’ll be ordained at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. At that point, he will not be a seminarian anymore, and therefore I have no say in his assignment (although people have asked me where he’ll be assigned, it is to be announced!) Please make plans to come to the ordination Mass and celebrate with all of us. Deacon Tristan has been a wonderful seminarian and I’ve had him with me for various assignments during his time in formation. In fact, when he began his formation, I was a seminarian with him!

Okay, onto the summer assignments. With Deacon Tristan being ordained, Will Foggo will be our ‘senior-most’ seminarian. It is time for Will to have his summer of hospital ministry. We have had a great partnership with St. Dominic Hospital and their pastoral care team

since 2016. After second year Theology, our seminarians have worked with the pastoral care team at St. Dominic. They begin by shadowing each member of the staff and getting a lay of the land, and then they spend the whole summer visiting patients – bringing them communion, praying with them, and collaborating with the medical and pastoral care staff at the hospital. A great thanks to Jill Hisaw, director of the pastoral care department, and the whole staff for their wonderful work and support of our seminarians.

Grayson Foley and EJ Martin will be traveling to Omaha, Nebraska to take part in the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF). This is an 8-week program that we’ve been sending seminarians to since 2015. It is designed to help diocesan seminarians understand the spiritual life of the diocesan priesthood and gives them tools to make sure that they pray well during their priesthood and that they teach their people how to pray as well. My time at IPF was very formative, and most of the techniques for personal prayer that I teach in the parish were taught to me during my summer in Omaha.

Our first-year seminarians, Wilson Locke, Francisco Maldonado and Joe Pearson, will all be in parishes this summer here in the diocese. Wilson will be at Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland; Francisco will be at St. Joseph in Greenville; and Joe will be at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez. A great thanks to Fathers Kent, Jose and Aaron for walking with these men and being great examples of priestly ministry to them.

– Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi submits required letter of retirement, remains Archbishop of Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. – In conjunction with his 75th birthday, Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile, has submitted his required retirement letter to Pope Francis.

In the Catholic Church, all bishops are required by Church Law to submit a letter of retirement to the Holy Father when they reach their 75th year. Archbishop Rodi remains the chief shepherd of the Archdiocese of Mobile as the resignation letter does not automatically result in immediate retirement.

The letter does set into motion a process that will eventually lead to the retirement of Archbishop Rodi and the appointment of the next Archbishop of Mobile. There is no timetable as to when a successor will be appointed. Soon after an appointment is made, the new Archbishop of Mobile will be installed during a Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile.

Archbishop Rodi has served the Archdiocese of Mobile since 2008, having succeeded Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb.

“Thank you to the people of the Archdiocese of Mobile. I have been blessed and continue to be blessed by serving the people of this wonderful archdiocese,” Archbishop Rodi said. “The Holy Spirit works powerfully in this archdiocese and works through the people of the archdiocese. It is a privilege to serve as shepherd of this archdiocese to praise God, to serve neighbor and together to grow in faith.”

The archdiocese encompasses 22,969 square miles and includes the lower 28 counties of the State of Alabama. The first parish in Mobile was founded on July 20, 1703. The Archdiocese of Mobile was established in 1825 as the Vicariate-Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas in 1825 and became the Diocese of Mobile in 1829.

The name was changed to the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham on July 9, 1954, and was redesignated on June 28, 1969. It was established as the Archdiocese of Mobile on Nov. 16, 1980. Archbishop Rodi is the second Archbishop of Mobile.

Below is information according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding archbishops:

How is a new archbishop chosen? Canon 401 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states that all bishops must submit their resignation to the Pope at the age of 75. The pope can accept their resignation at that time, or ask them to stay on until their successor is chosen. All aspects of the process of choosing a successor are supposed to be confidential, but there are some things that are known. The papal nuncio will present a list of candidates for investigation to (in the case of the U.S.) the Congregation of the Bishops in the Roman Curia. The congregation then reports to the pope, who makes the final decision.

Does the new archbishop have to be a bishop already? Though it happens very rarely, a newly-named archbishop need not be a bishop first. In this case, the new archbishop would need to be ordained as a bishop before he could be installed as an archbishop.

What’s the difference between an archbishop and a bishop? An archbishop is the head of diocese that is considered to be particularly important for some reason. The diocese is then designated as an “archdiocese” and its bishop is designated as an “archbishop.” In sacred matters, an archbishop is the equivalent of a bishop. An archbishop has no authority over the bishops in the other dioceses of his area, but the archbishop is the one who calls the bishops together to discuss issues and to remain in communication with one another.

MOBILE – Archbishop of Mobile, Thomas J. Rodi submitted his required retirement letter to Pope Francis on March 27, 2024. (Photo courtesy of archives)

Father Nick Adam

God’s exuberant energy

IN EXILE

By Father ron rolheiser, oMi

All things considered; I believe that I grew up with a relatively healthy concept of God. The God of my youth, the God that I was catechized into, was not unduly punishing, arbitrary or judgmental. Granted, he was omnipresent so that all of our sins were noticed and noted; but at the end of the day, he was fair, loving, personally concerned for each of us, and wonderfully protective to the point of providing each of us with a personal guardian angel. That God gave me permission to live without too much fear and without any particularly crippling religious neuroses.

But that only gets you so far in life. Not having an unhealthy notion of God doesn’t necessarily mean you have a particularly healthy one. The God who I was raised on was not overly stern and judgmental, but neither was he very joyous, playful, witty or humorous. Especially, he wasn’t sexual, and had a particularly vigilant and uncompromising eye in that area. Essentially, he was somber, heavy and not very joyous to be around. Around him, you had to be solemn and reverent. I remember the assistant director at our Oblate novitiate telling us that there is no recorded incident, ever, of Jesus having laughed.

Under such a God you had permission to be essentially healthy. However, to the extent that you took him seriously, you still walked through life less than fully robust and your relationship with him could only be solemn and reverent.

Then, beginning more than a generation ago, there was a strong reaction in many churches and in the culture to this concept of God. Popular theology and spirituality set out to correct this, sometimes with an undue vigor. What they presented instead was a laughing Jesus and a dancing God, and while this was not without its value, it still left us begging for a deeper literature about the nature of God and what that might mean for us in terms of a health and relationships.

That literature won’t be easy to write, not just because God is ineffable, but because God’s energy is also ineffable. What, indeed, is energy? We rarely ask this question because we take energy as something so primal that it cannot be defined but only taken as a given, as self-evident. We see energy as the primal force that lies at the heart of everything that exists, animate and inanimate. Moreover, we feel energy, powerfully, within ourselves. We know energy, we feel energy, but we rarely recognize its origins, its prodigiousness, its joy, its goodness, its effervescence, and its exuberance. Moreover, we rarely recognize what it tells us about God. What does it tell us?

The first quality of energy is its prodigiousness. It is prodigal beyond our imagination, and this speaks something about God. What kind of creator makes billions of throwaway universes? What kind of creator makes trillions upon trillions of species of life, millions of them never to be seen by the human eye? What kind of father or mother has billions of children?

And what does the exuberance in the energy of young children say about our creator? What does their playfulness suggest about what must also lie inside of sacred energy? What does the energy of a young puppy tell us about what’s sacred? What do laughter, wit and irony tell us about God?

No doubt the energy we see around us and feel irrepressibly within us tells us that, underneath, before and below everything else, there flows a sa-

cred force, both physical and spiritual, which is at its root, joyous, happy, playful, exuberant, effervescent, and deeply personal and loving. God is the ground of that energy. That energy speaks of God and that energy tells us why God made us and what kind of permissions God is giving us for living out our lives.

God is ineffable, that is the first truth that we hold about God. That means that God cannot be imagined or ever circumscribed in a concept. All images of God are inadequate; but that being admitted, we might try to imagine things this way. At the very center of everything there lies an unimaginable energy that is not an impersonal force, but a person, a loving self-conscious mind and heart. From this

ground, this person, issues forth all energy, all creativity, all power, all love, all nourishment and all beauty. Moreover, that energy, at its sacred root, is not just creative, intelligent, personal and loving, it’s also joyous, colorful, witty, playful, humorous, erotic and exuberant at its very core. To live in it is to feel a constant invitation to gratitude.

The challenge of our lives is to live inside that energy in a way that honors both it and its origins. That means keeping our shoes off before the burning bush as we respect its sacredness, even as we constantly receive permission from it to be robust, free, joyous, humorous, and playful – without feeling we are stealing fire from the gods.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

The Pope’s Corner Cultivate solidarity through prayer, adoration, pope tells donors

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) –

Today’s “growing culture of indifference and individualism” must be countered with prayer and adoration, which inspires solidarity with those in need, Pope Francis said.

Charitable efforts guided and inspired by the Catholic faith “must be continually nourished by participation in the life of the church, the reception of the sacraments, and time spent quietly before the Lord in prayer and adoration,” the pope told more than 60 members of The Papal Foundation and their families April 12.

The U.S. foundation describes itself as the only charitable organization in the United States dedicated to fulfilling the pope’s requests for the needs of the Catholic Church. Donors to the foundation, known as Stewards of St. Peter, make annual pilgrimages to Rome and have an opportunity to meet the pope.

Pope Francis reminded the group that the pilgrimage this year is taking place during the Year of Prayer in preparation for the Holy Year 2025, and he encouraged them to “not forget to adore the Lord” in silent adoration. “We have neglected this form of prayer and we need to take it up again: adoring the Lord in silence.”

“Through our perseverance in prayer, we gradually become ‘a single heart and soul’ with both Jesus and others, which then translates into solidarity and the sharing of our daily bread,” he said, referencing a passage from the Acts of the Apostles.

The pope noted that although the donors may not personally meet the beneficiaries of their generosity, “the programs of The Papal Foundation foster a spiritual and fraternal bond with people from many different cultures, languages and regions who receive assistance.”

The foundation announced in a statement April 12 that it will dedicate $14.74 million to grants, scholarships and humanitarian aid in 2024.

Close to $10 million will be distributed to grant recipients identified by the Vatican, supporting 118 projects in more than 60 countries, the foundation said, including projects to provide for basic needs such as access to clean water; renovating schools,

churches, convents and seminaries; and building health care facilities. The foundation also allocated $4 million to its Mission Fund to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and it will provide $819,000 in scholarships to enable more than 100 priests, women religious and seminarians to study in Rome.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, said in the statement that the generosity of The Papal Foundation’s donors prioritizes the needs of the poor and vulnerable “in a society where the divide between rich and poor continues to grow.”

In their meeting, Pope Francis thanked the group for helping the successors of St. Peter “to build up many local churches and care for large numbers of the less fortunate.”

Cardinals O’Malley, Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Wilton D. Gregory of Washington attended the meeting as trustees of the foundation, as well as Archbishops Samuel J. Aquila of Denver and Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans and Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey.

According to the foundation’s website, it has awarded more than $200 million in grants and scholarships selected by the popes since its founding in 1988.

Pope Francis receives a New Orleans Saints football jersey bearing his name during a meeting with members of The Papal Foundation and their families at the Vatican April 12, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

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... People (who) attend Mass weekly or more are definitely different than folks that attend less often ...'

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legal in all or most cases than white Catholics (59%).

Those opinions about abortion “tend to align” with U.S. Catholics’ political preferences, noted Pew, with 78% of Catholics who are or lean Democrat favoring legalized abortion in most or all cases less than 84% of U.S. adults who are or lean Democrat; and 43% of Catholics who are or lean Republican slightly favoring abortion compared to 40% of U.S. adults who are or lean Republican.

The survey also assessed U.S. Catholics’ views on contraception, sexuality and the priesthood, and found “big differences between Mass-attending Catholics and those who don’t (attend)” on those issues.

“Catholics who attend Mass regularly (once a week or more) are far more inclined than those who go less often to say the church should take a traditional or conservative approach on questions about the priesthood and sexuality,” said the report.

Most weekly Mass attendees said the church should not recognize same-sex marriages (65%) or allow women to be ordained as priests (56%).

A majority of U.S. Catholics (69%) across the political divide – including 53% of weekly Mass attending Catholics – said the church should “allow priests to get married.”

The Pew survey question on this point, however, does not accurately distinguish between the normative practice in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches of ordaining married men to the priesthood on the one hand, and the churches’ ancient prohibition on priests attempting marriage after ordination.

Although the Latin Church, which most Catholics belong to, only ordains celibate men with few exceptions, and could legitimately change its discipline on the ordination of married men to align with the Eastern Catholic or Orthodox churches – none of these churches allows priests to marry unless they are returned first to the lay state, rendering them no longer in a position of spiritual power over a lay woman whose full and free consent is necessary for sacramental marriage.

U.S. Catholics who do not attend Mass on a weekly basis favored recognition

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of same-sex marriages (61%) and women’s ordination (71%).

Broadly, 83% of U.S. Catholics surveyed said the church should permit the use of contraception, 75% said the church should permit reception of holy Communion by unmarried couples living together and 54% said the church should recognize same-sex marriage.

Among Catholics who opposed deviating from church teaching on contraception, priestly celibacy, women’s ordination, holy Communion for unmarried cohabiting couples and recognition of same-sex marriages, 59% said they attend Mass at least once a week, and 72% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.

For those Catholics who said the church should permit the above practices, 56% reported seldom or never attending Mass, and 57% identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party.

Pew research associate Patricia Tevington told OSV News the report, for which she was one of three primary researchers, is intended to serve as “a descriptive source of information,” rather than a causal analysis of the nation’s Catholics and their characteristics.

“We try to just tell you what’s going on,” said Teverington. “If we can rule out explanations that might be obvious, we try to do so, but generally we just ... give you the facts.”

The data has been released publicly and can be downloaded from Pew’s website, she said, so that other researchers “are able to run deeper analyses ... and make more causal arguments” about the results.

Still, Teverington said that the effects of political divides and weekly Mass attendance can be detected in the data.

“Political partisanship has definitely been ... increasing over time,” she said. “And people (who) attend Mass weekly or more are definitely different than folks that attend less often.”

(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina.)

... We were bringing Jesus and His grace to everybody on campus ...'

– Continued from page 1 –

able to explain that, ultimately, we were bringing Jesus and His grace to everybody on campus,” Nucum said.

During part of the route, which was just over half a mile, Father Rufino helped carry the Blessed Sacrament alongside Father Jason Johnston, pastor and chaplain, and Deacon Jeff Artigues, of St. Joseph parish. Father Rufino expressed that the procession was especially beautiful to him as MSU is a state public school.

“Not only not faith affiliated, but also sometimes faith opposed, though that was not my experience at Mississippi State,” Father Rufino said.

(To learn more about Cowbell Catholic, visit cowbellcatholic.org or email ccm@stjosephstarkville.org)

STARKVILLE – Members of Cowbell Catholic lead a procession through the campus of Mississippi State University on Thursday, April 4. The procession route began at the Chapel of Memories, crossing the Drill Field and ending in the Junction outside Davis Wade Stadium. (Photo by Annalise Rome)

Pope Francis grants plenary indulgences for National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, Congress participants

By Maria Wiering

(OSV

News)

– Participants in the National Eucharistic Congress and related National Eucharistic Pilgrimage now have opportunities to receive plenary indulgences, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced April 9.

“It is with gratitude to the Holy Father that we receive his Apostolic Blessing upon the participants in the National Eucharistic Congress, and for the opportunity for Catholics in our country to obtain a plenary indulgence by participating in the events of the Eucharistic Revival,” he said in a USCCB statement.

According to the statement, Archbishop Broglio, who also leads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, had requested that a plenary indulgence be available to Catholics who participate in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and that “he or another prelate be designated to impart the Apostolic Blessing with a Plenary Indulgence” to the faithful joining the National Eucharistic Congress.

men and women throughout our country to the Lord who, by his presence among us, rekindles hope and renews life.”

According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Indulgences are the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains the indulgence under prescribed conditions for either himself or the departed. Indulgences are granted through the ministry of the Church which, as the dispenser of the grace of redemption, distributes the treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints.”

tentiary requests that all priests with appropriate faculties “present themselves willingly and generously in administering the Sacrament of Penance” to pilgrimage participants, according to the statement.

The second decree of the papal blessing with plenary indulgence for the National Eucharistic Congress empowers Archbishop Broglio or another prelate assigned by him to impart it, following Mass, to the faithful participating in the congress. As is the case with the previous indulgence, Catholics must be truly repentant of their sins, be motivated by charity, and meet the usual conditions of sacramental confession, Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

However, Catholics who “due to reasonable circumstances and with pious intention” cannot be physically at the congress may also receive the indulgence if they have participated in Mass and received the blessing through media communications.

The requests were granted in two separate decrees by the Apostolic Penitentiary, an office with the church’s central administrative body known as the Roman Curia, which grants the use of indulgences “as expressions of divine mercy,” the statement said. Both decrees were approved by Pope Francis.

The congress and preceding pilgrimage are efforts of the National Eucharistic Revival, a threeyear initiative of the U.S. bishops that began in 2022 to inspire greater understanding of and love for Jesus in the Eucharist. Held in Indianapolis July 17-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the congress aims to bring together tens of thousands of Catholics for liturgies, devotions and well-known Catholic speakers.

Beginning the weekend of May 17-18, 24 young adults in four groups are traveling thousands of miles to the congress from starting points in California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas. Pilgrims in this National Eucharistic Pilgrimage plan to travel – often by foot – with the Eucharist in a monstrance, with stops along the routes for Mass and Eucharistic adoration at local parishes and national shrines. The “perpetual pilgrims” anticipate thousands of Catholics from across the country will join them at pilgrimage events or journey with them for segments of the routes.

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chair of the board of directors of the National Eucharistic Congress, told OSV News that the “tradition of giving an indulgence for pilgrimages and important celebrations is ancient.”

“We are grateful to the Holy Father through the Apostolic Penitentiary that offers this blessing to those who are seeking to grow in greater purity of heart through the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress,” he said. “These events will be great moments of conversion which this indulgence points to as we seek to be free from the effects of our sins. We are grateful for the Holy Father’s blessing on these events.

He added, “Pope Francis himself said that (the) ‘National Eucharistic Congress marks a significant moment in the life of the Church in the United States’ and he prayed that the National Eucharistic Congress would guide

One may obtain indulgences for other people, but can only apply them to the souls in purgatory. One may also obtain the indulgence for oneself. But one cannot apply an indulgence to another living person; that person (unlike someone in purgatory) can still obtain one for himself or herself.

The plenary indulgence for National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is granted to anyone who participates in the pilgrimage between May 17 and July 16, as well as to elders, people with infirmities and “all those who cannot leave their homes for a serious reason and who participate in spirit with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, uniting their prayers, pains, or inconveniences with Christ and the pilgrimage,” the USCCB statement said. To receive the indulgence, an individual must fulfill the usual conditions: sacramental confession, Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

In granting the indulgence, the Apostolic Peni-

“Through the efforts of the revival over the last two years, we have been building up to the pilgrimage and congress that will offer Catholics a chance to experience a profound, personal revival of faith in the Eucharist,” said Archbishop Broglio. “Pope Francis continues to encourage and support us as we seek to share Christ’s love with a world that is desperately in need of Him.”

The National Eucharistic Revival continues after the congress through 2025 with a “Year of Missionary Sending.”

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

(Editor’s note: The Southern route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage (St. Juan Diego route) will be traveling through the Diocese of Biloxi between June 10-14. Visit https://www.biloxidiocese.org/eucharist and click on the button “Eucharistic Revival Procession (Across the Coast)” to view a schedule of events.)

This is an updated map showing the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. Participants in the National Eucharistic Congress and related National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will have opportunities to receive plenary indulgences, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced April 9, 2024. (OSV News illustration/courtesy National Eucharistic Congress)

Survivors shine light on immigrant communities’ plight with church abuse

By Maria del Pilar GuzMan (OSV News)

– When Eduardo Lopez de Casas was abused by a priest during his school years, he could not bring himself to tell his mother what was happening, fearing it would ruin her faith in the Catholic Church. Having grown up hearing about her mother’s upbringing – and how she came to find solace in her faith after becoming an orphan at an early age in Mexico City – Lopez de Casas “did not want, ever, to come in between my mother’s faith because it was so strong.”

Lopez de Casas’ mother passed away in 2021, never hearing of her son’s plight with the abuse he had suffered at the hands of a man who was supposed to offer him guidance.

Now the vice president of the board of directors for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Lopez de Casas shared his story in the January webinar “Courageous Conversations: How Immigrant Voices Are Silenced in Church Abuse,” part of a speaker series hosted by Awake, a survivor support and advocacy organization that works to support survivors and educate Catholics on the issue of sexual abuse within the church.

The independent nonprofit was established in 2019 in Milwaukee by a small group of Catholics and recently broadened its focus. Its mission? To “awaken our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, work for transformation, and foster healing for all those who’ve been wounded,” Catherine Owers, Awake’s community engagement specialist, told OSV News in March.

Owers said the Courageous Conversations episode speaks directly to the first part of the mission statement – awaken our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church – as many people, when they think about abuse in the church and survivors of abuse, “they have this classic image of an older man, usually an older white man, who has abused the child, (such as) a priest and maybe the child was serving as an altar boy.”

While that is true in many cases, there are other kinds of survivors, Owers affirmed.

“People of color, women, survivors who have experienced abuse as adults, maybe not by priests but by other religious leaders, by religious sisters, by lay ministers,” Owers said, adding, “So, having these conversations, where we’re really highlighting the diversity of stories, I think it’s just so tremendously important.”

Aside from Lopez de Casas, the webinar also gave voice to Aimee Torres, a Filipino filmmaker from Los Angeles who was harmed by a priest when she was a child, and Susan Bigelow Reynolds, assistant professor of Catholic Studies in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.

Reynolds, whose essay “’I Will Surely Have You Deported’: Undocumenting Clergy Sexual Abuse in Immigrant Communities” was published in the journal Religion and American Culture in 2023, said that, for her research, she examined the case of Peter Edward Garcia. A priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1980s, Garcia targeted the children of undocumented immigrants for sexual abuse, threatening them with deportation if they ever told on him.

“(Garcia) served for a time as the head of Hispanic outreach in the archdiocese, which gave him a really unique, trusted status, particularly for recently arrived families,” Reynolds shared during the webinar. He would then “use families’ undocumented status to threaten these children effectively, children and teenagers ... who feel an obvious and understandable sense of loyalty and fidelity to their families, into si-

lence, to scare them not to report their violence,” she added.

Garcia was accused of abusing at least 12 minors in a period of 20 years. He was laicized in 2006 and died in 2009, according to records from bishop-accountability.org.

Reynolds pointed to power abuse and clericalism as chief contributors to the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church as, because of these, perpetrators enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution due to their position in the church.

However, clericalism does not operate in a vacuum, Reynolds said.

“Clericalism gains traction, gains force and power by trading on other structures of domination based on race and ethnicity and class and legal status and gender and age,” she said.

Torres can see the power dynamics at play in her experience of abuse. Growing up in a predominantly Catholic family of Filipino immigrants, she witnessed how priests held revered status within her community and how they were viewed as “little kings.” Inevitably conditioned by her culture, she did not report the abuse she suffered at the hands of a priest, a close friend of an aunt, between the ages of 8 and 12, until she was 17.

“The priest that abused me; he used his power as a priest over me because I felt, at the time, that I was doing something wrong,” Torres said. “At that point, you feel so small over somebody like this,” she added.

Because immigrants experience unique challenges associated with economic hardships, language and discrimination, among others, they become more vulnerable to potential acts of abuse.

Even before the death of her father at a young age, Torres’ mother, dealing with financial pressures, worked “full-time and lacked resources for child care,” leaving Torres and her sister in the care of her aunt.

“The priest that abused me, he would come over every Sunday after Mass at his parish and stay over at her (aunt’s) house, and that’s where the abuse happened,” she shared.

For Lopez de Casas, it was the language barrier that became the ultimate obstacle when he tried to report his first instances of abuse at school (this was before being abused by a priest). Wanting to know what was happening to their son, Lopez de Casas’ parents met with the school principal, counselors, and teachers. Not speaking English, they resorted to a translator.

However, “from the very beginning, even though I was very young, I did learn immediately at these meetings that, whenever I would say something, they would translate my statements to my mom, but they were very whitewashed ... they would do it in a way that made me look bad and made the predators look sane,” he said.

This shaped how he would report – or not – future instances of abuse.

Responding to Reynolds’ call at the end of the webinar to look “harder for the stories” of immi-

grants who have suffered abuse within the church “and bring them to light,” Owers said Awake continues to work toward bridging “the gap between survivors and concerned Catholics who want to learn more.”

In an earlier interview with OSV News, Sara Larson, Awake’s executive director, said she has seen “so many survivors work so hard to disentangle their abuser and the things he or she said or did or the way that spirituality was used – disentangle that from their own spiritual life, their own understanding of God and, for some, their own relationship with the church.”

Awake has a “desire to be really survivor-centered,” and to “make sure that when people are engaging with abuse survivors, that they’re ready for that and have the training and an approach that’s not going to cause additional harm,” she said.

“(Survivors) are out there, and they are part of our community,” Owers said.

“We also want to continue to connect with church leaders and provide resources for them to help the church become safer, more accountable, and more compassionate,” she added.

(Maria del Pilar Guzman writes for OSV News from Boston. Notes: To reach the National Sexual Assault Hotline, call 800-656-HOPE (4673)

For more information about Awake, visit: https:// www.awakecommunity.org/)

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Child Abuse Prevention Month during the Easter season is no better time than to celebrate the protection of our most valuable gift from God – our children.

Child abuse is an unthinkable crime, hurting, wounding and molesting our society’s most vulnerable and innocent population. April is the national month to learn more about prevention and education and how we can protect all of our children and young people. During this month we recommit to giving every child a safe, stable and nurturing environment that is free from abuse and neglect.

The Diocese of Jackson remains committed to helping survivors and their families heal and find peace. If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse by a church employee or volunteer, please contact the Victims Assistance Coordinator, Erika Rojas at 601-326-3736. Erika is available to help and support.

“The Church loves all her children like a loving mother but cares for all and protects with a special affection those who are smallest and defenseless.” – Pope Francis

Additional resources can be found on the USCCB Communications webpage: https://www.usccb.org/committees/communications/abuse-prevention-resources

Vatican says abortion, surrogacy, war, poverty are attacks on human dignity

of how human dignity is not lessened by one’s state of development or where he or she is born or the resources or talents one has or what one has done.

Instead, he said, they chose the comment St. John Paul had made.

threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” it said. However, the declaration clarified that “this is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities.”

Members of the dicastery also warned about the implications of changing language about human dignity, citing for example those who propose the expressions “personal dignity” or “the rights of the person” instead of “human dignity.”

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Being a Christian means defending human dignity and that includes opposing abortion, the death penalty, gender transition surgery, war, sexual abuse and human trafficking, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a new document.

“We cannot separate faith from the defense of human dignity, evangelization from the promotion of a dignified life and spirituality from a commitment to the dignity of every human being,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, wrote in the document’s opening section.

The declaration, “Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”), was released at the Vatican April 8.

In the opening section, Cardinal Fernández confirmed reports that a declaration on human dignity and bioethical issues – like abortion, euthanasia and surrogacy – was approved by members of the dicastery in mid-2023 but Pope Francis asked the dicastery to make additions to “highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war and other themes.”

In February the cardinals and bishops who are members of the dicastery approved the updated draft of the document, and in late March Pope Francis gave his approval and ordered its publication, Cardinal Fernández said.

With its five years of preparation, he wrote, “the document before us reflects the gravity and centrality of the theme of dignity in Christian thought.”

The title of the document is taken from an Angelus address St. John Paul II gave in Germany in 1980 during a meeting with people with disabilities. He told them, “With Jesus Christ, God has shown us in an unsurpassed way how he loves each human being and thereby bestows upon him infinite dignity.”

The document is dated, “2 April 2024, the nineteenth anniversary of the death of Pope St. John Paul II.”

Cardinal Fernandez said initially the dicastery was going to call the document “Beyond all Circumstances,” which is an affirmation by Pope Francis

The declaration noted that the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World also listed attacks on human dignity as ranging from abortion and euthanasia to “subhuman living conditions” and “degrading working conditions.”

Members of the doctrinal dicastery included the death penalty among violations of “the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances” and called for the respect of the dignity of people who are incarcerated.

The declaration denounced discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and particularly situations in which people are “imprisoned, tortured and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.”

But it also condemned “gender theory” as “extremely dangerous since it cancels differences in its claim to make everyone equal.”

Gender theory, it said, tries “to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”

The Catholic Church, the declaration said, teaches that “human life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God. This gift is to be accepted with gratitude and placed at the service of the good.”

Quoting Pope Francis’ exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” the declaration said gender ideology “envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family.”

Dicastery members said it is true that there is a difference between biological sex and the roles and behaviors that a given society or culture assigns to a male or female, but the fact that some of those notions of what it means to be a woman or a man are culturally influenced, does not mean there are no differences between biological males and biological females.

“Therefore,” they said, “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected.”

Again quoting Pope Francis’ exhortation, the declaration said, “We cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore.”

“Any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks

In many cases, they said, the proposal understands “a ‘person’ to be only ‘one who is capable of reasoning.’ They then argue that dignity and rights are deduced from the individual’s capacity for knowledge and freedom, which not all humans possess. Thus, according to them, the unborn child would not have personal dignity, nor would the older person who is dependent upon others, nor would an individual with mental disabilities.”

The Catholic Church, on the contrary, “insists that the dignity of every human person, precisely because it is intrinsic, remains in all circumstances.”

The acceptance of abortion, it said, “is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake.”

“Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth,” it said.

The document also repeated Pope Francis’ call for a global ban on surrogacy, which, he said, is “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.”

Surrogacy, it said, transforms a couple’s legitimate desire to have a child into “a ‘right to a child’ that fails to respect the dignity of that child as the recipient of the gift of life.”

Extreme poverty, the marginalization of people with disabilities, violent online attacks and war also violate human dignity, the document said.

While recognizing the right of nations to defend themselves against an aggressor, the document insisted armed conflicts “will not solve problems but only increase them. This point is even more critical in our time when it has become commonplace for so many innocent civilians to perish beyond the confines of a battlefield.”

On the issue of migrants and refugees, the dicastery members said that while “no one will ever openly deny that they are human beings,” many migration policies and popular attitudes toward migrants “can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.”

The promotion of euthanasia and assisted suicide, it said, “utilizes a mistaken understanding of human dignity to turn the concept of dignity against life itself.”

The declaration said, “Certainly, the dignity of those who are critically or terminally ill calls for all suitable and necessary efforts to alleviate their suffering through appropriate palliative care and by avoiding aggressive treatments or disproportionate medical procedures,” but it also insisted, “suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own.”

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, speaks at a news conference to present the dicastery’s declaration, “Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”) on human dignity at the Vatican press office April 8, 2024. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Parish priests are lifeline to church’s mission, cardinal says

By Carol Glatz

ROME (CNS) –The success of the Synod of Bishops on synodality will much depend on also including parish priests in the process, said Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington.

Of the more than 360 bishops, religious and laypeople who participated in the first assembly at the Vatican last October, the small number who were ordained priests “were scholars, missionaries (or) they were engaged in leadership in religious communities,” he said.

“Not that those other participants weren’t generous and insightful,” he said, but in his 40 years as a bishop, his experience has been that “a number of people may know who the bishop is, they all know who the pastor is.”

The parish priest is the church’s “point of contact and if we lose contact with our people through their priests, it disables the mission of the church,” he told Catholic News Service April 10 at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he was to receive the annual Rector’s Award April 11.

Cardinal Gregory had served as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago before leading the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, and then the Archdiocese of Atlanta; he was named archbishop of Washington in 2019 and then elevated to the College of Cardinals the next year.

Pope Francis personally invited the 76-year-old native of Chicago to attend the synod on synodality in Rome.

“There was a lack of parish priests present” at the first assembly, Cardinal Gregory said, noting the importance of the upcoming gathering of 300 parish priests from all over the world to make their contribution to the ongoing synod process by sharing their experiences of parish life.

Parish priests are the ones who “serve the folks in the pew, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday,” he said. The gathering of parish priests, which will be held April 28May 2 outside of Rome, was needed “because if the synod is going to be a success, it really needs to keep its roots in the Sunday pew.”

The priests, selected by bishops’ conferences and Eastern Catholic churches, also will have the chance to dialogue with Pope Francis as part of responding to the first assembly’s report requesting more active involvement of deacons, priests and bishops in the synodal process.

Because there will only be one to four priests representing each bishops’ conference and Eastern-rite Catholic church, Cardinal Gregory said it would be important for the priest delegates to “use media to pass on what they did, what they heard, what they said.”

“After all, 300 priests is a good delegation, but it’s a small representation of the total number of priests who are engaged directly in pastoral ministry,” he said.

Just as priests are being asked to “follow up more effectively with their parishioners and learn how to listen to and to learn from criticism and also support” as part of the synodal process, he said, bishops, too, should be showing their support of their priests, even in the simplest of ways.

“Long before the synod and in every diocese that I’ve served in,” he said, he has always shared messages and comments he receives complimenting one of his priests for something they did.

“I always send that complimentary letter to the priest himself, along with my letter of thanks to the individual who thought enough of a pastor to say something nice,” he said.

“That builds a relationship with the priest and the bishop that says, ‘you know, he contacts me not necessarily because I’ve done something wrong, but because I’ve done something right.’ And that’s very important. Our guys need to know that the bishop is grateful,” he said.

The success of the synod, Cardinal Gregory said, will be seen with “an increase in the contact that people, ordinary people, the faithful of God, have with their priests,” their bishop and with the pope. Success will be recognizing that the pope “is not an individual who governs the church simply from the desk of the papal apartment” and that the bishop and pastor are not leaders who simply manage or direct activities from afar.

“To have a successful synod outcome, it has to tighten the bonds that unite us, even going into those areas where most people had not been before. And unfortunately, sometimes where bishops haven’t been before, that is, in the midst of their flock,” he said.

“Isn’t that one of Pope Francis’ favorite early terms, the smell of the sheep?” the cardinal asked. “You’ve got to have the smell of the sheep.”

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 800-216-1288 (Spanish).

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

“When individuals express their gratitude and share the positive impact our services have had on their lives, it serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of our work.”

Twenty-eight years ago, a profound calling was fueled through her experience as a mother to a special needs child. From these beginnings, Wanda Thomas launched her journey into social services, ultimately finding herself at Catholic Charities, where advocacy for social justice is combined with compassionate service. Her work is not just about immediate assistance but reflects the essence of the faith and values of the diocese.

Wanda finds joy and fulfilment in serving those in need, rooted in the teachings of Jesus, their work is an expression of love for God and His children. “When individuals express their gratitude and share the positive impact our services have had on their lives, it serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of our work.” Just being able to witness helping families stay together and become self-sufficient is its own abundant reward.

“To whom much is given, much is required,” is Wanda’s favorite quote, it is a reminder of our responsibility towards others. Despite increasing needs, especially exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry persists in its mission. With additional funding, they hope to expand their reach and services, ensuring that no one is turned away. The Catholic Service Appeal is a part of their efforts by providing Catholic Charities with funding.

Your gift to the Catholic Service Appeal helps Wanda Thomas to expand the reach and services of Catholic Charities, Inc.

You can mail your check to: Catholic Service Appeal PO Box 22723

Jackson, MS 39225-2273

(Please put your parish name in the memo section of your check)

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC APRIL 26, 2024

NATION

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) – Jesuit Father William J. Byron, known for his leadership of Jesuit institutions of higher learning and his many years of lecturing, teaching and writing on the relationship between business practices and Catholic spirituality, died April 9 at Manresa Hall, the health center of the Jesuit community at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He was 96. Byron was a former president of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, 1975-1982, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, 1982-1992.

Jesuit Father William J. Byron, a former president of The Catholic University of America in Washington and University of Scranton, Pa., and known for his writings on the relationship between business practices and Catholic spirituality, died at age

96 April 9, 2024. (OSV News photo, CNS file)

He spent a year as acting president of Loyola University New Orleans, 2003-2004, and served as president at his high school alma mater, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, 2006-2008. His other leadership roles for the Society of Jesus included rector of the Jesuit community at Georgetown University in Washington, 1994-2000.

A funeral Mass for Father Byron was celebrated April 20 at St. Matthias Church in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. In an April 9 message to the university community, Jesuit Father Joseph Marina, Scranton’s current president, said that during one of their last visits together, Father Byron managed to ask him if he was “the president at Scranton now. When I nodded yes, he said, ‘Take good care of it.’”

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. (OSV News) – By any measure, Louis Anthony “Lou” Conter, a Catholic hero of World War II who died April 1 at his home in Grass Valley, California, at age 102, led a celebrated life. Conter’s funeral Mass will be celebrated April 23 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Grass Valley, followed by burial with full military honors. Born in Ojibwa, Wisconsin, on Sept. 13, 1921, Conter graduated from high school in Colorado. He escaped a hardscrabble life – at age 7, he hunted rabbits in Kansas, where his family was living, in order to provide dinner – and a job in a Hormel meatpacking plant by enlisting in the Navy in 1939. As a quartermaster on the battleship USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Conter was one of only 335 crewmen and officers aboard to survive the assault by Japanese fighter pilots, bombers and torpedo planes that sank it on Dec. 7, 1941, launching the United States into World War II. The sailors and Marines killed aboard numbered 1,177. The Arizona casualties amounted to nearly half of the 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, who died that day. Conter served for 28 years, retiring at the rank of lieutenant commander, the highest rank possible for someone with a high school diploma.

AMARILLO, Texas (OSV News) – An assault on a Texas priest highlights the need for parishes to implement more robust security measures, experts told OSV News. On April 10, Father Tony Neusch, rector of St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Amarillo, was pepper-sprayed while hearing confessions. The priest advised in a Facebook post that he was uninjured and that police had been notified, but that walkin confessions would be suspended pending security upgrades. The assault comes in the wake of Catholic churches and shrines throughout the U.S. and Canada having seen a number of security incidents in

the past few months, from protesters to mentally-ill individuals. Preserving both pastoral welcome and commonsense security in places of prayer can be a delicate balance, said Craig Gundry of Critical Intervention Services, a Tampa, Florida-based security consulting firm with extensive experience in church security. Having a parish security team is valuable, he added – and the Catholic Community of St. Thomas More in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, established such a team in 2017. The St. Michael the Defender Ministry, according to its leader and security professional Jeff Malkovsky, has now been applied to parishes and schools throughout the Diocese of Raleigh. But keeping priests and penitents safe during the sacrament of reconciliation, which is bound by anonymity and the seal of confession, requires extra consideration, admitted St. Thomas More pastor Father Scott McCue. The attack on Father Neusch, he said, is “a good conversation starter” for additional discussions on parish security.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Hundreds of parish priests from around the world will spend three days praying and talking about experiences of synodality and discernment in parishes and dioceses before having a two-hour dialogue with Pope Francis May 2. The priests, chosen by their national bishops’ conference or Eastern Catholic church synod, will meet outside of Rome April 29-May 1 to reflect on the theme “How to be a synodal local Church in mission.” The results of their discussions will be used, along with contributions from bishops’ conferences, in preparing the working document for the second session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality in October. Publishing a detailed schedule of the priests’ meeting April 16, the synod secretariat listed the questions the priests will be asked to pray about and discuss during their time at Sacrofano, outside of Rome. The priests will be asked what “experiences of a synodal church” have they had in their parishes and “which ones have been happy and which ones less so?” They also will be asked how they have experienced the participation of “different charisms, vocations, ministries in the life of the parish and diocese/eparchy” and what questions those experiences raised.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Peace can spread and grow from “small seeds” like including someone who is left out of an activity, showing concern for someone who is struggling, picking up some litter and praying for God’s help, Pope Francis told Italian schoolchildren. “At a time still marked by war, I ask you to be artisans of peace,” the pope told some 6,000 Italian schoolchildren involved in the National Network of Schools of Peace, a civic education program designed to teach the children to care for themselves, their friends, their communities, the world and the environment. During the gathering April 19 in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Francis led the children in a moment of silent prayer for their peers in Ukraine and in Gaza. “In a society still prisoner of a throwaway culture,” he told them, “I ask you to be protagonists of inclusion; in a world torn by global crises, I ask you to be builders of the future, so that our common home may become a place of fraternity.”

WORLD

MOHNYIN, Myanmar (OSV News) – Unknown assailants gunned down and seriously injured a priest while celebrating morning Mass in Myanmar’s conflict-stricken northern Kachin state on April 12. Two men opened fire at 6:30 a.m. on Father Paul Khwi Shane Aung, 40, parish priest of St. Patrick’s Church in Mohnyin town, within the Myitkyina Diocese, according to church sources. “They were wearing black clothes and masks and entered the church on a motorcycle to shoot the priest three times,” U Zaw, a local catechist, told UCA News, an independent Catholic news service covering East, South and Southeast Asia. The motive behind the attack is not yet known. Zaw said the injured priest was rushed to a Mohnyin hospital and was later moved to a hospital in Myitkyina, the state capital. An activist based in Kachin state said anti-social elements are fomenting religious and ethnic conflict as the civil war in military-ruled Myanmar has entered a critical phase. Clergy, pastors and church-run institutions are being targeted by the military, which toppled the civilian government in February 2021, for supporting the rebels. Kachin state’s 1.7 million people are mainly Christians, some 116,000 of whom are Catholics.

LAGOS, Nigeria (OSV News) – For decades, Nigeria has remained a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa, with her citizens making up 6% of immigrants in Libya, where they are commonly traded in open markets, according to a 2021 report from the International Organization for Migration. But a network of Catholic Sisters of St. Louis at the Bakhita Empowerment center, a safehouse in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, is determined to change this by providing shelter to survivors and conducting education campaigns to prevent others from being victimized. At the transit shelter, women and girls receive rehabilitation and counseling to restart their lives. The shelter is named after St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of human trafficking survivors. Kidnapped at age 7 in Sudan and sold into slavery, Josephine was taken to Italy in 1885 by her last owner. A court ruled she was free because slavery was illegal in Italy. The Catholic Sisters of St. Louis offer assistance, counseling and vocational training at the shelter to help trafficking survivors reintegrate into society. They also do prevention and sensitization campaigns, to raise awareness on the causes of human traffickers. The shelter accommodates about 30 survivors whom Sister Patricia Ebegbulem, project coordinator of the safehouse calls “treasures.” Human trafficking is a global plague that generates billions of dollars in profits; over 40 million people are exploited and trafficked each year.

Historic stained glass awes Cathedral visitors

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Mary WoodWard

JACKSON – This past Sunday morning we celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation in St. Peter Cathedral. As is often the case, a candidate chooses a grandparent to be his or her sponsor. At this celebration, one of the candidate’s grandmothers came up from New Orleans on the train to be his sponsor.

While I was going through the rite with the candidates prior to Mass, she commented on the beauty of our stained-glass windows. So, I gave them a little history of the windows and the church.

The current St. Peter church structure is the third St. Peter’s. The parish dates back to 1846 and is the fourth parish established in the diocese. Natchez, Paulding, and Biloxi predate Jackson’s parish. The first church burned during the Civil War. The second church was built in 1868 on the grounds where the current rectory and chancery sit now. Once the current church – begun in 1896 and completed in 1900 –was ready for worship. The second church was used for various things until it was moved eight blocks north in 1913 to Cloister Avenue to become the first Holy Ghost Church.

The windows were installed over a period of 30 years beginning with the Rose Window in 1903 and finishing with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Lourdes windows in the 1930s. All of these windows are in the Munich style and were fashioned by the Mayer – Zettler studios.

The initial ones – the Rose Window, the two transept windows and the first two on each side – were created in the Munich studios. The next three on each side were styled in the St. Louis studio.

The windows in the vestibule around the main doors and the windows above the side entrances were added a little later and do not have the artistic

JACKSON – In 2011, the new frame work for the Rose Window of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle traveled from Conrad Schmitt studios in Wisconsin to Jackson on the side of a large truck, as it was too large to fit in the interior. (Photos by Mary Woodward)

quality of the main windows but are still nice examples of teaching the Bible through visual aids.

What is unique about the windows in our Cathedral is except for the Rose Window they are at eye level. In most churches this size window would be higher up in the wall. Ours are down close to the floor so that one may walk right up to the window and see the detail and artistry.

The windows were restored in 2011 by Conrad Schmitt Studios in Wisconsin. Each one was mapped, removed, cleaned, re-leaded and returned to the frames which had been repaired and vented so that the summer heat would not take such a toll. Protective glass featuring the latest technology also

was added to the outside of each window.

When the Conrad Schmitt crew removed the Rose Window, they found the frame to be completely rotten. A new frame was built at a mill connected to Conrad Schmitt studios in Wisconsin. It was too large to be placed inside a trailer truck, so it was attached to the side of the truck and made its way down the heartland of the country.

Working in archives, one gets to be a part of such diverse projects and it was quite interesting to watch this project unfold. In addition to chalices and altars, our art and glass in parishes around the diocese are considered a part of the patrimony of the diocesan church and hold a major place in the life and history of our church.

Our Cathedral houses such beautiful treasures given in faith and love by the faithful over the past century. We thank them for sharing their gifts to glorify our God through art.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.

The beauty of the Rose Window at the Cathedral of St. Peter of the Apostle in Jackson continues to delight many visitors to the church. It was originally installed in 1903 and restored in 2011.

By John Mulderig

Movie Review: Irena’s Vow

NEW YORK (OSV News) – An inspiring but once little-known chapter of history provides the basis for the Holocaust drama “Irena’s Vow” (Quiver). The humane basic values of the story could potentially make it appealing for older teens as well as grownups. However, a plot development involving an objectively immoral situation requires careful assessment.

Sophie Nélisse plays Irena Gut, a young Catholic Polish woman swept up in – and left homeless by –the Nazi occupation of her homeland following the outbreak of World War II. Irena is eventually put to work as a waitress in the local Wehrmacht officers’ mess. She’s also placed in charge of the group of Jewish laundry workers who tend to the officers’ clothing.

Overhearing that all Jews in the area will be transported and liquidated in the near future, Irena resolves to act quickly. A lucky but unlikely opportunity to rescue her new friends arises when Major Rugemer (Dougray Scott), one of the soldiers who dines at the mess, decides to make Irena his personal housekeeper.

Rugemer has requisitioned a large villa with a multi-room basement. As Irena gets the dwelling ready for its new occupant, but before he moves in, she smuggles the launderers into the cellar and arranges to keep them safely concealed there.

The perils of the precarious situation uphold viewer interest in director Louise Archambault’s generally uplifting adaptation of screenwriter Dan Gordon’s play. But the film is not free of challenging content.

In addition to scenes of brutality, Irena has to confront an unforeseen problem when one of her proteges – who, with the arrival of a newcomer, now

number 12 – becomes pregnant and announces her intention to terminate her baby’s life. Though this subplot has a happy ending, and shows Irena in a still more favorable light, it obviously constitutes mature fare.

So, too, does the turn the relationship between Irena and Rugemer takes as the movie nears its end. While revealing the specifics would constitute a spoiler, suffice it to say that – to borrow a phrase from Facebook – it’s complicated.

This aspect of the picture shouldn’t necessarily bar mature adolescents from watching it. But a family discussion might be needed to unpack its ins-and-outs.

The real-life Irena survived the global conflict and went on to marry United Nations worker William Opdyke. She resisted telling the tale of her wartime activities until provoked to do so, beginning in the 1970s, by a Holocaust denier. Having been honored both by the State of Israel and by St. John Paul II, she died in 2003 at age 85.

The film contains stylized but sometimes disturbing violence, including infanticide, implied nonmarital sexual activity and discussion of an abortion. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

adult guardian. (OSV news photo/Quiver)

(John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JohnMulderig1.)

Sophie Nélisse stars as Irene Gut, left, alongside members of the ensemble cast in a scene from the movie “Irena’s Vow.” The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or

‘It is the Lord!’

CALLED TO HOLINESS

By Jaymie Stuart Wolfe

If there’s one thing we can learn from those who encountered the Risen Lord during the 40 days between his Resurrection and Ascension, it’s this: Seeing Jesus isn’t the same as recognizing him. To Mary Magdalene, distraught at the tomb, Christ looked like the gardener. To the two disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus, he was a clueless stranger. To former fishermen returning to Galilee uncertain of what to do next, the Master was just a man hoping to cook breakfast on the shore.

The Gospel accounts are strange – maybe even troubling – to us. When we read or hear these stories at Mass, we can’t help but wonder what in the world was going on. How is it possible that the people who knew Jesus best, those who were among his closest followers, didn’t know him when they saw him?

But before we take a disparaging view of those very first Christians, perhaps there is another question we ought to ask: How many times do we see Jesus and fail to recognize him?

Based on my own experience, I’ll venture to guess that the answer is somewhere between countless and infinite. By faith, I know that Jesus keeps his promises, that he is always with me and that he never abandons me. But if I’m honest, I don’t recognize Christ’s presence with me most days – not even on the days when I go to adoration or Mass.

And yet, the Eucharistic encounter at adoration and Mass can show us how to see Jesus and know that it is Jesus when we see him. The impact of being able to say, “I have seen the Lord’’ is orders of magnitude greater than simply making a credal statement like “I believe in God” or “I follow Jesus,” or even “I’m Catholic.” It makes us far more convincing witnesses.

The faith formation we all need most can be found at the feet of the Eucharistic Lord. And like those first disciples, we also come to know him in “the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35) The “school of the Eucharist,” as it were, teaches us where to look for Jesus; where we are likely to see him at work in our own lives. We see him in presence, sacrifice and communion. We experience God’s presence in creation, in Scripture, in silence, in the presence of others, most especially the poor. We see him in the sacrifices that are made for us, those we value deeply but also those we easily take for granted. And we see him in the community he gathers, those who resonate with us in shared life experience and those who don’t.

I think that’s why St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta) made the daily Mass and holy hour a priority for her Missionaries of Charity. The Eucharist may well have been the secret to how she herself was able to see Jesus in the poorest of the poor. It may also be the source of the prayer Mother so often shared, the one in which she recited the words “You did it to Me” on her fingers.

Wonder of ordinary time

ON ORDINARY TIMES

By lucia a. Silecchia

By now, the eclipse glasses have been put away. The photos of the April 8 nature show have all been posted to Facebook and Instagram to prove that it really happened. The stories from the day have, likewise, also been told – ranging from the “wow” from those in the path of totality to the “meh” from those who saw a partial eclipse through a cloud shrouded sky.

I was in the latter camp since my cloudy neighborhood seemed merely and anticlimactically overcast. Yet, it was still a “wow” day. For me, the excitement was not what I saw in the heavens. It was, rather, what I saw here on earth. For a day, I saw busy people catch their breath and look skywards. I saw genuine excitement about a natural sky show. I saw all too cynical people embracing the excitement, without seeming self-conscious at all.

Since then, I have wondered why. Perhaps it was simply a case of FOMO, the fear of missing out of a big event. Perhaps it was mere curiosity. Perhaps it was the desire to be part of something bigger and to be connected to others even if only for a few minutes.

Perhaps it was something else.

This much is clear: if we are to become Christ in our world, we must see him there first. That shouldn’t be as difficult as it often seems to us because he is there. In fact, he is everywhere. Christ Jesus is cultivating life among the dead and in all the cemeteries of our lives.

He is walking along with us on the road when we are confused and disappointed. He is explaining to us the truths we thought we understood, calling out to us from the shoreline, and preparing to feed us when we are hungry. He comes to us in shame and isolation, behind the locked doors we are afraid to open. He breathes peace over our souls, forgives our sins and shows us how to forgive one another. And yes, he is with us in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. And because he has never left us, because the Eucharist is his body, blood, soul and divinity, we can say with all those who came before us in faith: “I have seen the Lord.”

(Jaymie Stuart Wolfe is a sinner, Catholic convert, freelance writer and editor, musician, speaker, pet-aholic, wife and mom of eight grown children, loving life in New Orleans.)

ligious faith. It is perhaps far more surprising that any true scientist can remain unconvinced of God.

Yet, we do not have to wait for the next eclipse to keep that sense of divine wonder. I am a person of little patience, so I cannot wait until 2044 when an eclipse next returns to the continental United States!

Fortunately, every single day, I can see a flash of a sunset and the rise of a silver moon and know that Christ himself once gazed on them too. I can listen to the roar of an ocean and know that God filled the seas. I can see a bird fly and marvel at how well engineered the tiniest feathered creature is, or watch a cat lie in wait for that same bird and wonder how well designed the lowliest feline is.

“As the eclipse of 2024 recedes in memory, I hope that it leaves in its wake that sense of wonder that turned our eyes upward.”

Perhaps there is, in all of us, the search for wonder. Perhaps there is the fervent hope to catch a glimpse of the face of God in those things that seem far bigger than ourselves. Like many, I learned more about eclipses these past weeks than I have ever known before. To my amazement, I learned that the sun is both 400 times larger than the moon and 400 times further away. This is a symmetry that demands wonder at the One who made it thus. What demands even more wonder is that He also cares deeply and completely for each one of us.

I almost wished, for a while, that I had become a student of science because that seems a direct path to the divine. It is not surprising that so many great men and women of science have been, through the centuries, people of deep re-

I can see a butterfly and know that nothing exactly like it has flown before or will again. I can see a crocus burst from what was just soil a day ago and wonder how it got there.

I can be dwarfed by a tree whose peak I cannot see or be amazed at photographs of the cacti that dot our deserts and the creatures that fill the dark depths of the oceans.

I can look at a coral reef or smell the first rose of summer and know that I need not look to the heavens for a rare burst of wonder. I can touch the tiny toes of the smallest child or gaze into the gleaming eyes of a great-grandmother and be left without words. There is so much that inspires awe down here too.

As the eclipse of 2024 recedes in memory, I hope that it leaves in its wake that sense of wonder that turned our eyes upward. May that same wonder also turn our hearts upward, to the God who gave us all the extraordinary splendor that fills our ordinary time.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)

Statewide and international awards honor St. Joe high school journalists’ work

By Staff RepoRtS

MADISON – Two St. Joe seniors, Emerson Erwin and Adriana Terrazas, received all-state honors at Mississippi’s spring high school student media awards announced at the University of Mississippi.

Another senior, Paige Loyacono, finished third in a separate international competition sponsored by Quill & Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists. Loyacono won for a multimedia story about a student garden at St. Anthony Catholic School.

“These are impressive achievements,” said Dr. Dena Kinsey, principal of St. Joseph Catholic School. “Our student journalists are a hard-working, dedicated group who regularly produce high-quality video productions including an award-winning weekly newscast.

“St. Joe has the best high school student media program in Mississippi. The awards our students regularly win highlight that fact. It sets them apart from all other programs in the state and around the nation. I’m incredibly proud of their success.”

Erwin’s and Terrazas’ awards were two of 22 honors St. Joseph Catholic School took home from the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association spring convention April 2 on the University of Mississippi campus. The 22 awards included six first-place finishes.

Hundreds of high school journalists from across Mississippi attended the MSPA convention where they participated in breakout sessions designed to help them improve their skills at reporting, interviewing, writing, photography and more.

The day ended with a keynote speech and the spring MSPA awards program. This marked the third straight year Erwin received all-state honors and the second that Terrazas received the same honor – both part of the Best of Mississippi awards competition.

Also honored in the Best of Mississippi awards were “JV Bruin News Now,” named the state’s best middle school newscast, and Bruin Sports Radio’s live coverage of St. Joe varsity girls basketball, named the best live-stream program.

On top of that, sophomore Zaniah Purvis won Best In-Studio Anchor; senior Malick Yedjou won Best LiveStream On-Air Talent; seventh-grader Ava Harris won Best Middle School Video Sports Story; and seventh-grader Margaret Klar won Best Middle School Video Feature Story.

In the Best of Show competition – a contest that saw middle and high school students compete against each other in the same categories – seventh-grader Mamie Heitzmann defeated high school entries for Best Sports Story.

In a separate, international contest sponsored by Quill & Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists, Loyacono placed third for a feature story. She competed against entries from across the United States including California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Texas.

St. Joe students can take Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism and Sports Broadcasting classes, three of many electives the school offers. Journalism students produce a weekly video newscast, “Bruin News Now”; a Wednesday news update, “BNN Midweek Paws”; a Monday sports preview, “What’s Bruin”; and a school yearbook, The Shield.

Journalism students also webcast sports live on the “Bruin News Now” YouTube channel as well as broadcast the audio feed live over WJXC-LP Jackson, Mississippi Catholic Radio, 107.9 FM. The radio station studio is in the journalism classroom.

“The awards my students won say more than I can about the hard work, dedication and pride they have in the work they produce,” said Terry Cassreino, a former longtime Mississippi journalist who has taught high school journalism at St. Joe since 2012.

“These students put in long hours before school, after school, at nights and even on the weekends to create high-quality, award-winning work,” he said. “I am so proud that their efforts have been recognized on a state and national level.”

MADISON – St. Joseph Catholic School student journalists recently attended the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association Spring 2024 convention at the University of Mississippi. Students left the convention winning 22 awards in the Best of Mississippi and Best of Show competitions including seven first-place finishes and two students – seniors Emerson Erwin and Adriana Terrazas – receiving All-State honors. Students celebrating their wins and attending the event included the following: On the back row from left, Fletcher Goodwin, Thierry Freeman, Luke Jones and Davis Hammond. Third row from left: Connor Odom, Elizabeth Vanderloo, Emma O’Brien, Paige Loyacono, Mabry Hirn, Zaniah Purvis, Landry Erwin, Maddie-Claire Spence, Stella McCarty, Alex Hood and Jason Buckley. Second row from left: Campbell Miller, Adriana Terrazas, Emerson Erwin, Andrew Doherty and Adam Williams. Front: Malick Yedjou, left and Nick Burger.

Mississippi Scholastic Press Association Spring 2024 Best of Mississippi Awards

BEST LONG-FORM STORY

WTHS & Bruin News Now, finalist

PUBLICATION AWARDS

NEWSCAST OF THE YEAR

BEST NEWS COVERAGE

BEST FEATURE COVERAGE

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE

Bruin News Now, finalist

PODCAST DIVISION

LIVE-STREAM ON-AIR TALENT

Malick Yedjou, winner

Connor Odom, finalist

Davis Hammond, finalist

BEST LIVE-STREAM PROGRAM

Bruin Sports Radio, winner

BEST OF SHOW AWARDS

BROADCAST BEST OF SHOW

Bruin News Now, finalist

BEST MULTIMEDIA NEWS STORY

Zaniah Purvis, finalist

Adriana Terrazas, finalist

BEST SPORTS REPORER

Malick Yedjou, finalist

BEST WEATHER REPORTER

Andrew Bonds, finalist

BEST MULTIMEDIA SPORTS STORY

Mamie Heitzmann, winner

Nick Burger & Charlie Gordon, finalists

VISUALS (PHOTOGRAPHY) PORTRAIT

Campbell Miller, finalist

First Communion and Confirmation

SPRING SACRAMENTS – Mississippi Catholic will publish a Spring Sacraments edition in July. This means we need First Communion and Confirmation photos! Send photos with parish name, date of sacrament, names listed left to right by row of those pictured, plus name of the photographer; no later than Friday, June 7. Email in the highest resolution possible to editor@jacksondiocese.org.

COLUMBUS – (Left) Chris and Janel Vander-Zanden had two of their children –Isaiah and Everett – baptized by Father Jeffrey Waldrep in the month of February. (Photo courtesy of Annunciation Church)

(Below)

CLARKSDALE – (Right) St. Elizabeth, First Communion on Sunday, April 14. Pictured (l-r): Catelin Britt, Emily Guevara, Allison Zuniga, Alexa Zuniga, Emery Ellis Alderson, Elizabeth Blaine Cauthen and Father Raju Macherla.

St. Elizabeth, Confirmation on Saturday, April 6 at 6 p.m. Pictured (l-r): Catelin Britt, Kevin Elias, Angel Zuniga, Dominic Birdsong, Priscila Lopez, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Bella Favi, Ayden Lutts, Bailey Martin and Father Raju Macherla. (Photos courtesy of St. Elizabeth Church)

MISSISSIPPI

Around our schools

CATHOLIC APRIL 26, 2024

MADISON – St. Joseph students received a standing ovation for their performance “All Shook Up!” The play featured the music of Elvis Presley and was based on a book by Joe Dipietro. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

JACKSON – Students at Sister Thea Bowman School were pumped to view the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. (Photo by Deacon Denzil Lobo)

COLUMBUS – First graders at Annunciation School were in awe of the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. (Photo by Jacque Hince)

‘It will be breathtaking,’

Notre Dame’s chief architect says; iconic cathedral reopens Dec. 8

By Caroline de Sury

PARIS (OSV News)– Philippe Villeneuve, Notre Dame Cathedral’s chief architect, learned about the 2019 fire 300 miles from Paris and rushed to the capital to help firefighters save the iconic monument.

For France’s top architect of historical sites, the evening of April 15, 2019, was especially dark as Notre Dame Cathedral was already his passion when he was a little boy. Since the inferno, he has worked tirelessly to finalize major parts of renovations by Dec. 8 when the cathedral is reopened.

In fact, it was a fascination with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the French architect who restored the cathedral in the 19th century, that inspired Villeneuve to become an architect of historic monuments. A graduate of École Nationale Supérieure D’architecture de Paris Val-de-Seine, Paris’ architecture university, he has been entrusted with the renovation of many iconic monuments, including one of the most well-known castles in the Loire Valley – Chambord.

In 2013, he was asked to renovate part of Notre Dame in Paris – including repairing the stonework of the flying buttresses and the fissures in Viollet-le-Duc’s spire. When the fire broke out, he was working on the spire.

The fire of 2019, the cause of which remains unknown, struck Villeneuve as a personal tragedy.

“Everyone was scared, and it went on for hours, getting worse by the hour,” he told OSV News. He was immediately asked to secure the site, and the Ministry of Culture confirmed him in his mission to repair the damaged cathedral. Since then, he has devoted all his time and passion to the challenge.

Today, the chief architect is confident of meeting the deadlines imposed on him. “Yes, the cathedral will be ready for its official reopening on December 8, 2024. The framework is finished. The roofers are still working,” he told OSV News. “There was a lot of wind at Easter, so we were a little behind schedule. But we will make it up. We have to hurry, but everything will be fine.”

The site of the Notre Dame reconstruction is still sealed off, with tourists patiently watching the front towers of the cathedral from the wooden steps installed in front of it. The steps are placed not far from the place where Villeneuve found the copper rooster perched at the spire’s top that was feared lost on April 15. However, on April 16 at dawn, Villeneuve found the battered rooster lying in the gutter of Rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, a street right next to the cathedral square. The relics of Paris’ patron, St. Genevieve, were found intact inside.

After five years of intense work and installation of a new rooster – one he designed himself – on top of the new spire, Villeneuve told OSV News they are now “preparing the most decisive phase of the project.”

“This involves dismantling the large scaffolding at the transept crossing. Removing it will enable us to rebuild the cross vault, replace the paving and install the altar. We are going to erect a new scaffolding, but this time detached from what is below, to put the finishing touches to the work on the spire’s roof at this point,” he explained.

“This work, above the transept crossing vault,” he said, “is the most delicate part of the project. But everything is going well.”

Villeneuve emphasized that this magnificent project was made possible by the international outpouring of generosity and donations that followed the fire. “I would never have imagined that Notre Dame could have aroused such emotion throughout the world, during and after the fire,” he told OSV News. “It was astonishing.” Those involved in the re-

construction emphasize that many American donors generously supported rebuilding of the icon of Paris and icon of the Catholic Church.

“Notre Dame shows France’s influence in the world, and its extraordinary heritage. But the fire was not just a national issue. Notre Dame is also a (UNESCO) World Heritage site, and during the fire, we really felt that it was humanity that was seeing its heritage disappear.”

Villeneuve added that “the flames and the fall of the spire sent shockwaves around the world” but “fortunately, the firemen did an extraordinary job, and in the end we lost a frame, a roof, a spire, a few pieces of vaulting, but no more. And thanks to all that, in the end, we will have an even more beautiful cathedral than before the fire. This is very stimulating.”

Since the rebuilding work began, all those involved on site have testified to the exceptional quality of the skills and spirit of Notre Dame’s craftsmen. “It is true that there is an extraordinary atmosphere,” Villeneuve confirmed. “If so far we were able to meet the deadlines, it is because the contractors and craftsmen trusted me. And I trusted them. The complicity and commitment were total, for the good of the cathedral, and also for the pleasure and pride of working on this extraordinary monument”.

He said he also has “deep respect and affection for the totally anonymous people on the site, such as those who take care of the daily clean-up,” Villeneuve told OSV News. “It is thanks to them too that this project is progressing so well. I greet everyone in the same warm way.”

Eight months into the reopening, various teams are working on the process of equipping the cathedral with electricity, IT, heating, lighting, among other systems.

Vileneuve said every person working in the reconstruction has a symbolic task of passing on their knowledge and work for future generations. They “will spread out everywhere after the site is finished,” Villeneuve said, “Those who will have benefited from this project to perfect their craft, will pass on all this as (craftsmen did) in the Middle Ages. They will pass on all this know-how.” Villeneuve added, “Life is about transmission. … We are passersby.”

Villeneuve doesn’t treat the cathedral’s reconstruction merely as a work project. In a conversation with OSV News, he described the cathedral as if it were a human being. “We are giving the cathedral all the elements that will bring it to life,” he said. “I would like to give people something that will touch them. I would like to help Notre Dame Cathedral speak to people, as best as it can.”

He said, “Notre Dame speaks to me. … Notre-Dame means a lot to me,” adding that this cathedral “is no ordinary monument. Everything we do has a strong mystical and religious significance. We cannot forget that. There is a mystical and religious dimension in our work.”

Villeneuve also confessed that he is already dreaming of seeing people’s

amazement when they enter the cathedral. “It will be breathtaking,” he said. “On the outside, it is now exactly as we knew it. But on the inside, it is more beautiful than we have ever seen it.

“Even us. Even I, who knew it by heart, am amazed to finally see what this cathedral was really like inside (in the further past), in terms of architecture, light, care and quality. It is extraordinary. You will not recognize it.”

For Notre Dame’s chief architect, this “project of a lifetime” will not end at the end of the year. “There will still be the restoration of the chevet,” or apse, he said. “And we are going to use the rest of the donations to restore the sacristy, the presbytery, maybe even the transepts. We will not stop work after December 8. I will be here on a daily basis until 2028.”

He said for him the most important thing in life “is doing useful things for others,” Villeneuve added. “I am happy to be able to contribute something to the world.”

(Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.)

The spire of Notre Dame Cathedral, pictured April 10, 2024, is now back atop the iconic structure with part of the scaffolding removed. Reconstruction work on the spire and roof of the iconic structure entered its last phase as the world prepared to observe the fifth anniversary of the April 15, 2019, blaze that caused the spire to collapse inside the cathedral. Notre Dame is scheduled to reopen Dec. 8, to be followed by six months of celebrations, Masses, pilgrimages, prayers and exhibitions. (OSV News photo/Charlene Yves)