AUGUST 18, 2020
GOING DIGITAL
SERVICE IN A PANDEMIC
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Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
AUGUST 18, 2020
A SHEPHERD’S MESSAGE
VOL. 57, NO. 5
TO WHOMEVER I SEND YOU, YOU SHALL GO.
BY DANIEL CARDINAL DINARDO Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
W
e are approaching a very important time, time to return to school. We do so amidst the anxious and trying circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. I start out by praying for students, parents and teachers. This will be a year very unlike past school semesters. Whether your children are going to in-person learning, being taught virtually at home or entering a hybrid situation, to you, parents, it will be a new and sometimes “nervous” experience. To you who are teachers, you also face a new set of circumstances to teach children in a classroom while simultaneously mastering the techniques of teaching virtually. To you, children, the word is patience; it will itself become a great positive force for learning. For all of you, health and safety are of See SHEPHERD, page 2
LOVE CONQUERS COVID
First comes love, then comes online marriage prep BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — When engaged couple Janet Golden Lix and Kenneth Berntsen selected a springtime wedding date, little did they know that their nuptials would fall right in the middle of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Their priest at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Father Ryan Stawaisz, a cancer survivor, offered to help them with marriage preparation online or in person. A second marriage for both of them after receiving annulments, the couple did not want to cancel their May 23 wedding despite the uptick in coronavirus cases. So they decided on an intimate wedding yet still livestreamed it to share with a larger group of family and friends.
LIFE IN THE PANDEMIC
PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
Deacons Joseph White, Houston Okonma, Chad Henry and Wayne Ly kneel during their Mass of Ordination to the Diaconate celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop George A. Sheltz at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart July 10. FOR MORE PHOTOS, SEE PAGE 3 AND VISIT WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/TCH.
Catholic schools tread unfamiliar road in upcoming academic year Pandemic causes school leaders and families to weigh fall semester options BY LESLIE BARRERA AND REBECCA TORRELLAS Texas Catholic Herald
High schools start semester with blend of virtual, on-campus class
SCHOOL IN THE PANDEMIC
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald
HOUSTON — Over the past semester, the education landscape in the U.S. changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this new normal of virtual classrooms and remote learning, Catholic school administrators and educators worked with families to ensure that students and staff have a safe and evolving instructional environment conducive to the continuity of education, according to school officials. Catholic educational philosophy espouses that families serve as the first educators in the life of a child. The partnership between parents and Catholic schools is vital to a student’s education.
HOUSTON — Most of the 11 area Catholic high schools are starting their classes online mid-August before moving back into the classroom later in September or October as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. At St. Thomas Catholic High School for boys, all new students (freshmen and transfers) attended orientation Aug. 10 and 11 to pick up laptops and learn other skills to begin a successful year. Then, St. Thomas began its 2020 fall semester in a remote
See SCHOOLS, page 4
See HIGH SCHOOLS, page 5
See MARRIAGE, page 6
THE FIRST WORD † 3
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COLUMNS † 14
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ESPAÑOL † 20 - 21
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MILESTONES † 23