Author Archives: Tereza Ma

Holy forgetting

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From the hermitage
By sister alies therese
In England I was blessed to know an Anglican priest, Robert Llewelyn, who for many years was the chaplain at the Julian Shrine in Norwich. I lived some twenty miles away and went there frequently. Of his several books, a favorite is Prayer and Contemplation (SLG Press, Oxford, 1977). In chapter seven, he considers contemplation and the cloud of forgetting – some help to me.

As we age forgetfulness shows up … names, things, why I’m doing this, where was I going? etc. These seem quite negative and often cause us to wonder where we are on the dementia continuum.

I heard about a psychiatrist speaking before a group of seniors about dementia. Key to his rather clinical explanations was this delightful indicator. He asked how many had lost their keys. Most raised their hands. Then he asked how many found them? Most raised their hands. That is not dementia he told them. This is: did you know what to do with the keys when you found them? This caused some laughter and he laughed too. Holy forgetting is not quite the same!
This holy forgetting that Robert writes about is from The Cloud of Unknowing an old 14th century text, written by the author to a young disciple who wanted training in prayer. These ‘clouds’ help us focus on God in prayer. For example, one of the most important things to put under this cloud of forgetting is past sins, confessed and forgiven. Yes, they come into our minds … that distracts us. In Chapter 31 of The Cloud:
“…sins (new or old) try to cover them with the thick cloud of forgetting as though they had never been committed by you or anyone else …”

sister alies therese

Robert then goes on to remind us that he is not talking about repression (nor was the author of The Cloud) … that is dangerous. “That,” he says, “is a compulsory and involuntary forgetting or experience of memories which the mind has found too painful to retain in conscious thought.” These are mental health issues to be sorted and healed in other ways.

Robert is concerned rather with trying to heal involuntary distractions (and even voluntary ones), so that we are able to pray, focused on God. “We are,” he says, “poor apart from God’s enabling strength and it may well be that this awareness is our deepest need.” (page 80)

Without this strength we can do nothing. Our goal is to ultimately behold God and in our daily life we see the many wonderful, unique, and marvelous works of God … but not quite God. What we want, Robert reminds us, is to come to the prayer of the Holy Spirit who “gives us the ‘best’ prayer, whether seen as being for God’s glory or as a meeting of our need for deliverance: twin aspects of prayer that must be held together.”

“But once our sights,” he concludes, “have been truly set on God, with the desire and intention that in God’s grace they will remain so, we need not fear these invaders of our imagination. What now becomes necessary is to pay them no attention.” When this is practiced, we find healing. “Try to forget created things, let them go … sit in the darkness as long as it takes … go on longing after the God you love, never giving up.”

Mark Lowry, Christian humorist, musician and writer noted this: “I look forward … but the memories can be greater.” He talks of how his PawPaw couldn’t remember much near his end … “except the Sunday dinners on the ground and singing in the male quartet. He sat and looked forward to the coming of the Lord … where memories and plans are the same. And I’m sure,” he quips, “over the door into heaven there is a sign: No Wheelchairs, Hospital Beds, or Bedpans Allowed!” Great things to forget!

(Sister alies therese is a canonically vowed hermit with days formed around prayer and writing.)

Welcome to 2022!

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On Ordinary Times
By Lucia A. Silecchia
On New Year’s Eve, I found myself in a favorite small town donut shop in Pennsylvania. While many may crave more lavish year end celebrations, for me it is good company, hot coffee and a fresh donut bursting with coconut custard that make a sweet way to bid farewell to one year and greet the next.

The cashier at the donut shop was handing out calendars that day. The one she gave me will find its way into my office where, for twelve months, it will keep me constantly craving donuts.

In coffee shops, banks, grocery stores, churches, repair shops and stationary stores everywhere, calendars are scattered at the start of a new year. Perhaps, the paper calendar is in decline a bit as many live by online schedules and the ever-present daily data from smart phones. Yet, I hope that the paper calendar endures. It is a tangible sign of the gift of time. The calendars we hold in our hands, tack on our walls, keep on our desks, or toss in piles of papers are simple reminders to entrust the new year to God.

Lucia A. Silecchia

The pages of our calendars may already have notes about what is expected to happen in 2022. The pages are preprinted with holidays, observances, and the starts and ends of seasons. Calendars of a religious nature highlight the feast days and liturgical seasons that mark our walk through this life on our way to the eternal.

We also mark on the pages those events that we ourselves plan for 2022. We record routine obligations, vacation plans, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and the special events and celebrations that we hope will lie ahead in the months to come.

Yet, most of the days of the calendar hold the unknown because the futures held in those days are still hidden. They are in the hands of God and will stay safely there as they unfold.

Right now, when I look at the donut shop calendar, I do not know which days will bring unexpected joys. I cannot predict what days will record meetings with students who have painful struggles or dinners with friends to share exciting news or newfound fears.

I see blank pages now where new adventures will take place and days that will be spent with those I love. I know that many meetings will be added to the schedule – and with uncertainty I wonder whether I will have the wisdom or insight to make the most of them.

I cannot tell now if there will be medical appointments on any of those days when I or someone I love receives bad news. I cannot tell which days will go well, and which will leave me yearning for the chance to re-do something I did or said.

I do not yet know if I will use the days of this new year wisely and keep enough time for prayer and contemplation. Somehow, for me, that which is most important never gets scheduled at all.

I cannot tell if there are days ahead when my schedule includes commitments I should have declined – or fails to include commitments I should have made. I do not know which days I will have an opportunity to say or do something that helps another along life’s path, or whether I will take or waste that opportunity.

I do not know which days might hold first meetings with those who may become lifelong friends. I do not know which days I might hold a newborn seeing the world for the first time or clasp the hand of an elder seeing the world for the last time.

Most profoundly, I do not know if, on any of the days on my calendar, I will ever mark a small cross – something my mother always did on her calendar when someone she loved passed from this life. I do not know if there will be a day on which my own entries themselves will stop because I cannot presume that I will have any day beyond today.
Perhaps when you look at your calendar you sense the same “unknown-ness” that I do. It fills me with hope and a deep sense of how much I need to entrust the 365 days on my donut shop calendar to God.

For all of us, the dark (but lengthening!) days of January may be the right time to briefly hold our calendars in our hands or look at them hanging on our walls and pray that the days they mark will hold only what is good, holy and healthy for body and spirit. It is a chance to pray, together, that we can be good and faithful stewards of the time we are given, that we will give more than we receive and that even the most ordinary days will be traveled with reverence for how extraordinary the gift of days is. With these hopes is a prayer that God will strengthen, help, guide and bless all of us embarking on our new days of ordinary time.

Happy New Year! May God bless you and yours.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. “On Ordinary Times” is a biweekly column reflecting on the ways to find the sacred in the simple. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)

Colorado family finds hope in Mary statue largely untouched by wildfire

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By Dennis Sadowski
LOUISVILLE, Colo. (CNS) – Amid the smoldering ashes of his family’s recently remodeled Louisville, Colorado, home that was destroyed by a Dec. 30 wildfire, Tom Greany found hope in a symbol of his deep Catholic faith.

A statue of Mary that he and his wife Kat had placed outside their home was left unscathed except for the soot that covered its right side.

“Bricks appeared to have fallen all around her – some probably even hit her. But she didn’t even fall over,” Greany wrote in a reflection shared with Catholic News Service by a friend, who asked to remain unidentified. He wrote about what happened just hours after the blaze raced through the suburban communities of Louisville and Superior, about 20 miles northwest of Denver.

Greany wrote that the discovery of the statue is a reminder of how their faith provides protection and can “sustain us through everything.”

A statue of Mary is seen standing amid the rubble of a Louisville, Colo., home Dec. 31, 2021. (CNS photo/courtesy Tom Greany)

The Greanys were among hundreds of families who lost their homes in the wildfire driven by winds estimated to top 100 mph. In the Greanys’ Louisville neighborhood, 50 of 55 homes were destroyed. The other five were untouched.

Authorities said 991 structures, including businesses, were destroyed and another 127 damaged. Flames from what is called the Marshall Fire swept through more than 6,000 acres, devastating entire neighborhoods before snow helped extinguish the blazes. Residents said they fled with few possessions through dense smoke that turned the sky orange.

The Archdiocese of Denver reported on its website that two parishes – St. Louis in Louisville and Sacred Heart of Mary outside Boulder – were evacuated as flames advanced, but were undamaged. The fire nearly reached Sacred Heart, seemingly blocked by a roadway.

Both parishes as well as St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Boulder and Immaculate Conception Parish in Lafayette, northeast of Louisville, were helping affected families.

Saying the ferociousness of the flames “shocked everyone,” Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila quickly established an emergency fund Dec. 31, seeding it with $250,000. He asked that parishes throughout the archdiocese take a special collection at Masses the weekend of Jan. 8-9.

“To those affected by these fires, know that Joseph and Mary had to flee with Jesus shortly after he was born. The Holy Family is close to you and knows the anguish and loss you are feeling,” the archbishop said in a statement posted on the archdiocesan website.

Archbishop Aquila also encouraged parishes and other agencies to help those who fled — with little more than the clothes they were wearing, computers and important documents — by hosting families, opening food pantries and offering other services.

Recovery was complicated by cold weather and the onset of snow following an unusually warm and dry fall and early winter in the area located near the Rocky Mountains.

The fire in the middle of the holiday season remained under investigation. Authorities have focused on a property south of Boulder where the fire is believed to have started, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told reporters Jan. 2.
In the aftermath, the Greany family is counting on Mary to intercede for them as they seek to rebuild their lives.
“It stings to look at this – our home and all of its contents were lost,” Greany said in his reflection. “The Christmas giving we had celebrated with our sons up in smoke along with everything else they and we owned. The entire neighborhood gone in less than a day.”

“Awareness of the loss stings mightily,” he continued. “But we can only feel the loss as pain because of the extraordinary magnitude of the gifts we have been given in our lives. How richly blessed we are!
He said his family’s home was not burned to teach them a lesson, but it did give them the chance to experience God’s comfort through Mary’s intercession.

Greany is also convinced no one can take away his family’s faith and their trust that the Holy Family is “looking out for us.”

“They pray for us. And they pray for the world in these dark times we live in.”

Briefs

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NATION
OWENSBORO, Ky. (CNS) – Celebrating Mass in a 20-by-25-foot metal outbuilding on Dec. 24, 2021, for the displaced community of Resurrection Parish in Dawson Springs, the image that came to mind for Owensboro Bishop William F. Medley was “there was no room at the inn.” But parishioners did find room in a structure shared by a couple in the parish for Christmas Eve and Masses in the new year as well. “I felt the gratitude that the congregation could be together again – but that they were still stunned,” Bishop Medley told The Western Kentucky Catholic, diocesan newspaper of Owensboro, of the Christmas Eve Mass. The bishop had driven the 90 minutes to Dawson Springs from Owensboro that day, wanting to open the Christmas season with the Resurrection community. Resurrection Church was among the buildings lost to the historic tornadoes that hit western Kentucky during the night of Dec. 10, 2021. The strong winds had torn out windows and ripped off parts of the roof, exposing the interior of the little church to the elements. In the following days, parishioners Donnie and Rhonda Mills offered the use of their outbuilding, which is used primarily as an exercise room, as a substitute church for the time being. The parish gathered for Mass for the first time since the tornadoes on Sunday, Dec. 19. Their second gathering was that Christmas Eve. “Their doors have always been open to everybody,” said Deacon Mike Marsili.

Bishop William F. Medley of Owensboro, Ky., celebrates Christmas Eve Mass in a 20-by-25-foot metal outbuilding Dec. 24, 2021, for the displaced community of Resurrection Parish in Dawson Springs, Ky. (CNS photo/James Kenney, courtesy The Western Kentucky Catholic)


WASHINGTON (CNS) – The 49th annual national March for Life – with a rally on the National Mall and march to the Supreme Court Jan. 21 – will go on as scheduled this year amid a surge in the omicron variant in the nation’s capital. Outdoor events are not affected by the District of Columbia’s vaccine mandate for indoor gatherings, but participants should expect to wear face masks. Indoor events associated with the annual march will have to comply with city COVID-19 restrictions. The national Pro-Life Summit, sponsored by Students for Life, is also scheduled to take place Jan. 22 at Washington’s Omni Shoreham Hotel. The March for Life has canceled its three-day Pro-Life Expo and is combining two planned Capitol Hill 101 panel discussions Jan. 20 into a single event. The organization is still holding its annual Rose Dinner Gala. Participants who are 12 and older attending the panel discussion or dinner will have to provide proof of receiving one COVID-19 vaccination by Jan. 15, or, if they are seeking a medical or religious exemption, they must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of the event. The Pro-Life summit is also requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination following the city’s regulations.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – At his celebration of Mass for the Sunday of the Word of God Jan. 23, Pope Francis will formally install new catechists and lectors. The Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, which coordinates the annual celebration, said the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica will include “the conferral of the ministries of lector and catechist.” Pope Francis’ formally instituted the ministry of catechist in May 2021. He often has spoken of the importance of selecting, training and supporting catechists, who are called to lead people to a deeper relationship with Jesus, prepare them to receive the sacraments and educate them in the teachings of the church. The Sunday of the Word of God, instituted by Pope Francis in 2019, is meant to encourage among all Catholics interest in knowing the sacred Scriptures and their central role in the life of the church and the Christian faith. The theme for the 2022 celebration is “Blessed are those who hear the word of God,” a verse which comes from the Gospel of St. Luke.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Living out and proclaiming the Gospel are inseparable aspects at the heart of an authentically Christian life and witness, Pope Francis said in his message for World Mission Sunday. “Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ. And the church, the community of Christ’s disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ,” the pope wrote in his message for the celebration, which will be held Oct. 23. The theme chosen for the 2022 celebration is taken from the Acts of the Apostles: “You will be my witnesses.” The Vatican released the pope’s message Jan. 6. In his message, the pope reflected on three key “foundations of the life and mission of every disciple,” beginning with the call to bear witness to Christ. While all who are baptized are called to evangelize, the pope said the mission is carried out in communion with the church and not on “one’s own initiative.”

WORLD
YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) – For Christians in Chin and Kayah states, there were no Christmas and New Year celebrations due to fighting. They have borne the brunt of a decades-old civil war and faced oppression and persecution at the hands of the military, reported ucanews.com. On Dec. 29, Catholics in Kayah’s Hpruso Township held a funeral for 35 civilians – all Catholic – killed by troops and their bodies set on fire Christmas Eve in Mo So village. Ucanews.com reported local sources said the funeral was led by catechists, because the military would not allow a local priest to officiate. The killings shocked the world and drew swift condemnation from Cardinal Charles Bo, who called it a “heartbreaking and horrific atrocity. The fact that the bodies of those killed, burned and mutilated were found on Christmas Day makes this appalling tragedy even more poignant and sickening. As much of the world celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the people of Mo So village suffered the terrible shock and grief of an outrageous act of inhumanity,” he said. Cardinal Bo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, urged the military “to stop bombing and shelling innocent people, to stop destroying homes and churches, schools and clinics” and to begin “a dialogue.”

DUBLIN (CNS) – After a year at the head of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Archbishop Dermot Farrell said, “Radical change is coming in the church,” which will see a renewal of energy and new forms of ministry. “With a powerful commitment from clergy and lay faithful, across the full range of the life and ministry of parish communities, we are going to experience a renewal of energy and the adoption of new forms of outreach and ministry,” the 67-year-old archbishop told Catholic News Service. He also said he believes change is already happening in the church’s structures all over the Western world. “Pope Francis is offering us a way of being church, the synodal pathway, of walking together more closely and being a church that is hope-filled, despite many challenges.” The leader of the largest Irish diocese, with more than 1 million Catholics and 207 parishes, invited the faithful to “walk this journey together with me – and walk it with hope: a hope that frees us to undertake radical change, a hope that inspires us to be ambitious and a hope encourages us to be brave.” In November, the archdiocese published its “Building Hope Task Force Report,” a strategic plan for pastoral renewal amid major challenges such as a collapse in revenue and priest numbers.

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) – As Ethiopia celebrated Christmas Jan. 7, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Addis Ababa called for humility, patience and gentleness, while urging the people to remember those suffering from war. Ethiopia is celebrating the birth of Christ under the shadow of a deadly war in the northern state of Tigray. In less than 14 months, the conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and ignited an international outcry over human rights abuses. Agencies say a huge humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the region, as food, medicine and basic needs fail to reach the people. “As we celebrate the birthday of Jesus, let us remember those who are suffering in war, those who have suffered a moral breakdown, those who have been displaced from their homes and injured, those who have lost their parents and families, by sharing in their pain and grief,” Cardinal Souraphiel said in a message. The cardinal said people needed to get away from pride, hatred and anger for the sake of peace.

In memoriam: Sister Marie Elizabeth Alspaugh, SSJ and Paul Artman

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FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Sister Marie Elizabeth Alspaugh, SSJ, died on Nov. 23, 2021, at age 86. She was a dedicated servant in Catholic education for 33 years. From 1990-2008, she served as principal at Our Lady of Lourdes in Greenville.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 10:30 a.m. Services are private but will be livestreamed from the Saint Joseph Villa website, www.stjosephvilla.org.

Sister Alspaugh is the daughter of the late Howard and Henrietta (nee Klenke) Alsplaugh, sister of Alice Both (David), and her late sisters Mary Bowers, Judith Sullivan (Stewart), and Sister Marie St. Paul Alspaugh, SSJ. She is also predeceased by her brother Richard Alspaugh. She is survived by nieces Susannah Beacom, Karen and Willa Sullivan, Julie George and nephew Grayson George. She is also survived by members of her congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sister’s name to Saint Joseph Villa, 110 W. Wissahickon Ave., Flourtown, PA 19031.

GREENVILLE – On Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, Paul Artman, devoted family man, dedicated friend, community servant-leader, and faithful child of God died at the age of 70. He was born July 21, 1951, in Greenville, Mississippi, to Carol and Paul Artman, loving parents who would be his model for the extraordinary life he enjoyed. He married the former Barbara Deaton in 1975 and the two had four children.

Paul was a life-long learner; therefore, he revered his studies at the University of Notre Dame and Delta State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Education in Social Sciences, a Master of Educational Supervision, a Master of Education in History, and a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership.

Paul was a graduate of the Catholic Lay Ministry Program in the Diocese of Jackson and served both St. Rita Catholic Church at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Greenville as an Extraordinary Minister and Faith Formation teacher. He served both St. Rita and St. John Catholic Schools on their School Advisory Councils.

Artman served as Greenville mayor from 1996-2004 after serving on city council starting in 1989. He was also the administrator at St. Joseph Catholic School until his retirement four years ago.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the institution he so loved, St. Joseph School Facilities Organization, P. O. Box 1406, Greenville, MS 38702. Go Irish!

Featured photo … Final engraving finished on gravestone…

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JACKSON – Mark Terry prepares the template on Bishop Joseph N. Latino’s gravestone, on Dec. 13. Terry and his father, James, are from Columbia, Miss., and are one of the few monument companies that still do on site engraving on large granite stones. (Photo by Mary Woodward)
Bishop Latino passed on May 28, 2021. He was born Oct. 21, 1937 in New Orleans. He was ordained on May 25, 1963 and was appointed the 10th Bishop of Jackson on Jan. 3, 2003, with his installation on Mar. 7, 2003 in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, the site of his final resting place.

Negar la dignidad de trabajo es una injusticia, dice el papa

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Por Junno Arocho Esteves

Catholic News Service

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — El trabajo de San José como humilde carpintero sirve como un ejemplo de la dignidad del trabajo duro que hoy en día a menudo se le niega a los necesitados, dijo el papa Francisco.

“Muchos jóvenes, muchos padres y madres viven el calvario de no tener un trabajo que les permita vivir tranquilos, solo viven el día a día. Y cuántas veces la búsqueda de trabajo se vuelve tan desesperada que los lleva al punto de perder toda esperanza y deseo de vivir”, dijo el papa el 12 de enero durante su audiencia general semanal.

El valor del trabajo pesado también se explota en el mundo actual, agregó, donde muchas personas, incluidos los trabajadores indocumentados, se ven obligados a realizar tareas agotadoras por salarios injustos y los niños, “que deberían estar jugando”, en cambio, se ven “obligados a trabajar como un adultos.”

Sofia, Bulgaria – 6 May, 2019: (Photo by BigStock)

“Son nuestros hermanos y hermanas, los que se ganan la vida así, con trabajos que no reconocen su dignidad. ¡Pensemos en esto, esto está pasando hoy en el mundo!” él dijo.

El papa Francisco continuaba su serie de charlas de audiencia sobre San José, reflexionando sobre su trabajo como carpintero.

El trabajo de un carpintero, o alguien que trabajaba la madera, en esos tiempos, explicó el papa, implicaba no solo fabricar herramientas o muebles, sino también construir casas. Desde el punto de vista económico, “no aseguraba grandes ganancias”.

El papa Francisco dijo que el hecho de que San José, al igual que Jesús, practicaran la carpintería le hacían pensar en “todos los trabajadores del mundo, especialmente a los que hacen trabajos arduos en las minas y fábricas”, así como a “los que son explotados a través del trabajo indocumentado” y las “víctimas del trabajo”, que se lesionan o mueren en el trabajo debido a condiciones de trabajo inseguras.

También llamó a los cristianos a recordar a aquellos que están sin trabajo y que regresan a casa todos los días, sin éxito en sus esfuerzos por “ganarse el pan”.

“Ganar el pan es lo que te da dignidad y si no le damos a nuestro pueblo, a nuestros hombres y mujeres, la capacidad de ganarse el pan, esto es una injusticia social en ese lugar, en esa nación, en ese continente”, dijo el papa. “Los líderes deben dar a todos la capacidad de ganarse el pan, porque ese ganarse les da dignidad”.

Partiendo de sus comentarios preparados, el papa pidió un momento de oración en silencio por aquellos que perdieron sus trabajos durante la pandemia y por aquellos que, “aplastados por una carga insoportable, llegaron al punto de quitarse la vida”.

“Me gustaría recordar a cada uno de ellos y sus familias hoy. Hagamos un momento de silencio, recordando a estos hombres, estas mujeres, que están desesperados porque no pueden encontrar trabajo”, dijo el papa antes de inclinar la cabeza en oración.

El papa Francisco invitó a las personas presentes a pensar qué pueden hacer “para recuperar el valor del trabajo” y qué puede hacer la Iglesia “para que el trabajo se redima de la lógica del mero lucro y se viva como un derecho y un deber fundamental de la persona, que expresa y aumenta su dignidad”.

Concluyó su intervención con una oración a San José recitada por San Pablo VI en 1969, pidiendo la intercesión del santo para “proteger a los trabajadores en su dura existencia diaria” y defenderlos “del desánimo”.

Declaración introductoria del informe anual diocesano

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Queridos amigos en Cristo,

Estoy agradecido con el liderazgo de la Cancillería que ha elaborado este informe completo y legible que brinda una descripción general de la fiel corresponsabilidad de todos los que trabajan en el centro de nuestra diócesis.

 Les puedo asegurar que el jefe de cada departamento está comprometido con los ideales de colaboración, cooperación y comunicación que crean una cultura de transparencia y rendición de cuentas. Trabajando juntos como equipo, son mucho más capaces de cumplir su misión de servir a los ministerios diocesanos en colaboración con nuestro dedicado personal, voluntarios, ordenados, religiosos y laicos en más de 65 condados. Todos juntos nos esforzamos por edificar el Cuerpo de Cristo, por ir y hacer discípulos, y por edificar el Reino de Dios, de justicia y de paz.

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

Sería negligente si no mencionara que el período de tiempo cubierto de este informe anual ocurrió durante la pandemia, lo que redujo los viajes y las interacciones normales. Sin embargo, no disminuyó el celo por crear nuevas vías de participación y aliento por parte del liderazgo diocesano. Estoy muy agradecido que estén haciendo un esfuerzo adicional, incluso cuando no pueden salir de la oficina.

Que el Dios de la perseverancia y el aliento bendiga a nuestros niños y jóvenes, a nuestros padres y educadores, y a nuestros trabajadores de la salud que continúan enfrentando enormes desafíos a medida que la pandemia va y viene.

Sinceramente suyo en Cristo,

+Joseph R. Kopacz, obispo de Jackson

Informe Financiero – Oficina de la Cancillería de la Diócesis de Jackson

Carolyn M. Callahan – Directora, Departamento de Asuntos Temporales

El informe de auditoría completo de las finanzas de la oficina de la Cancillería de la Diócesis de Jackson está disponible en línea en https://jacksondiocese.org/offices/administration-finance/. Los gráficos circulares incluidos en este informe excluyen el activo neto restringido y las transacciones relacionadas de los ingresos de Sarullo Estate legados a la Diócesis, para el uso exclusivo y beneficio de la Iglesia Católica y Parroquia St. Joseph, Greenville MS, que son una parte requerida de los estados financieros auditados.

En los estados financieros auditados se incluyen el Fondo Corriente y el Fondo de Depósitos y Préstamos. El Fondo Actual representa los servicios prestados a las parroquias, escuelas y misiones por el obispo diocesano y sus representantes, incluidas las oficinas del obispo, vicario general, canciller, archivos, comunicación, educación, formación en la fe, liturgia, educación de seminaristas y vocaciones, Mayordomía y Desarrollo, y Asuntos Temporales. El fondo de Depósito y Préstamo representa los ahorros de todas las localidades parroquiales y escolares y la cartera de inversiones relacionada. Aparte de este informe están los ingresos y gastos de Caridades Católicas y la Fundación Católica.

Dos fuentes principales de ingresos para la oficina de la Cancillería son la Evaluación Cathedraticum anual y la Campaña del Servicio Católico. La Evaluación Cathedraticum es actualmente el 10,5% de los ingresos anuales de la parroquia menos ciertas exenciones para campañas de capital aprobadas y subsidios pagados a las escuelas. Los ingresos de esta evaluación anual financian los gastos de la oficina del obispo y su administración extendida, todos los costos de seguro médico y de jubilación de los sacerdotes, y los costos de educación, estipendios y beneficios de los seminaristas.

Carolyn Callahan

El salario y los beneficios del personal, los beneficios y la asistencia del clero y la educación de los seminaristas representan los principales gastos de la administración del obispo. Otros gastos de rutina incluyen talleres y conferencias celebradas y asistidas, viajes, costos de impresión y distribución de periódicos, y subvenciones otorgadas a parroquias y escuelas.

Las funciones y mejoras significativas dentro de la oficina de Asuntos Temporales (finanzas) durante los últimos tres años incluyen, entre otras, las siguientes:

• Presentar 79 solicitudes del Plan de Protección de Cheques de Pago para todas las parroquias y escuelas dentro de la Diócesis por un total de $5,422,000. Estos fondos se distribuyeron a cada ubicación específica para compensar sus costos de nómina individuales. Los préstamos PPP se perdonaron por completo, excepto en tres ubicaciones que tenían un total PPP combinado de poco menos de $6,000. Se presentaron solicitudes de PPP de segunda ronda para cinco escuelas y tres parroquias.

• Consolidación de la cartera de inversiones de Depósitos y Préstamos para minimizar el riesgo, contratación de un consultor de inversiones experimentado que proporcione declaraciones regulares y transparentes, y revisión trimestral de la cartera por parte de un comité de inversiones independiente.

• Consejo de Finanzas activamente involucrado dirigido por un experto laico Presidente, asesor del obispo, incluidos varios comités activos como el comité de presupuesto, el comité de auditoría y el comité de inversión.

• Colaboración con el gobierno federal para mejorar las mejores prácticas generales con respecto a la ética, la comunicación y las finanzas de las parroquias y la oficina de la cancillería.

• Sólida relación de trabajo con firma de auditoría independiente y cumplimiento de GAAP.

• Mejora de los procesos internos de información financiera y planificación presupuestaria.

• Simplificación de procedimientos utilizando recursos externos para mejorar los controles y procesos internos con menos empleados del departamento.

• Colaboración fortalecida con Caridades Católicas con respecto a las finanzas.

• Estabilización de las primas médicas y los costos generales del plan de salud al trabajar con el recién formado Departamento de Recursos Humanos para cambiar de proveedor.

Los planes para el futuro incluyen pero no se limitan a:

• Incorporación separada del fondo de Depósitos y Préstamos administrado por una junta compuesta por el obispo y una selección de sacerdotes, ministros eclesiales laicos, directores de escuelas y laicos expertos.

• Revisión del actual plan diocesano de jubilación para laicos.

• Implementación del programa de Auditoría Interna para parroquias.

• Creación de la Guía de Mejores Prácticas de Finanzas Escolares.

Las preguntas relacionadas con las finanzas diocesanas pueden enviarse a Carolyn Callahan, Directora del Departamento de Asuntos Temporales por correo electrónico a Cathy Pendleton a cathy.pendleton@jacksondiocese.org.

Estadísticas 2020

Población Católica 42,746

Número de Parroquias 72

Número de misiones 19

Personal

Sacerdotes diocesanos activos 29

Sacerdote Diocesano Fuera de la Diócesis 2

Sacerdotes jubilados 20

Orden Religiosa 20

Sacerdotes Externos en la Diócesis 12

Sacerdotes totales 83

Diáconos permanentes 7

hermanos 4

hermanas 40

Seminaristas 6

Ministros eclesiales laicos 9

sacramentos

Bautismos 576

Bautismos de adultos 54

Recibido en la plena comunión 101

Primera Eucaristía 415

Confirmaciones 236

Matrimonios 183

Muertes 379

Educación Católica

Escuelas secundarias 4

Escuelas Primarias 12

Centros de Aprendizaje Temprano 3

Profesores de tiempo completo 360

Número de alumnos 3.411

Protección infantil

Verificación de antecedentes para el Programa de Protección Infantil 1,532

Número total de verificaciones de antecedentes 17,000+

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‘Hope Rising’: Campaña ‘Esperanza Creciente’, corazón del Servicio Católico de 2022

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JACKSON – Mientras la Diócesis de Jackson inicia la Campaña del Servicio Católico (CSA) de 2022, Rebecca Harris hizo una pausa para recordar todo lo que ha cambiado nuestro mundo y nuestras vidas durante los últimos 24 meses.

“Recordemos que nuestra fe católica ha estado ahí en todos estos tiempos difíciles y encontremos consuelo en la Eucaristía, sabiendo que Jesús nos está guiando a cada uno de nosotros. Él ha sido nuestra ‘ creciente esperanza’,” dijo Harris.

Cada año, en enero, el obispo Joseph Kopacz envía cartas a todos los feligreses de la diócesis invitando al apoyo de 11 ministerios que son vitales para la fe católica. “Cuando haces una donación, te conviertes en la ‘esperanza creciente’ para aquellos a quienes la apelación ayuda,” dice Harris.

La comunidad católica puede convertirse en la esperanza para aquellos atendidos por estos ministerios: Educación de Seminaristas, Escuelas Católicas, Sacerdotes Jubilados, Caridades Católicas, Ministerio Universitario, Ministerio de Formación y Educación Religiosa, Ministerio Intercultural, Evangelización y Comunicación, Ministerio Familiar, Ministerio Juvenil y Parroquias. Para obtener información detallada sobre cada uno de estos ministerios, los feligreses pueden visitar el sitio web csa.jacksondiocese.org.

Harris dice que los simpatizantes también encontrarán historias de personas que han sido apoyadas por la Campaña del Servicio Católico. “Este año, relataremos historias que muestren cómo una pequeña parte de las donaciones a la CSA llegan a tener un gran impacto.”

Los feligreses pueden hacer clic en la página “Voices-Voces” para ver cómo las donaciones apoyaron a Izzy, del programa de Menores Refugiados No Acompañados, de Caridades Católicas, o aprender cómo el Retiro del Ministerio Pastoral apoya a Letty Ruiz como catequista en su parroquia.

Los visitantes del sitio también pueden escuchar cómo el ministerio de vocaciones apoyó a Kathleen McMullan mientras respondía al llamado de Dios, y descubrir cómo se apoya al Padre P.J. Curley a través de donaciones a sacerdotes jubilados. Y, por último, lea cómo el ministerio juvenil apoya a Carrie Lambert y a los jóvenes de su parroquia en la Basílica de Santa María en Natchez.

“Reflexionemos, recordemos y renovemos a todos aquellos a quienes sirven los ministerios apoyados por la Campaña del Servicio Católico. Con su donación, usted es nuestra ‘Esperanza Creciente’,” dice el obispo Joseph Kopacz.

Hay varias formas de donar a la Campaña del Servicio Católico de 2022:

 Las tarjetas de compromiso se pueden enviar por correo postal a PO Box 22723; Jackson, MS 39225; se puede visitar csa.jacksondiocese.org para donar en línea, o enviar un mensaje de texto al 601-706-5858; También se pueden hacer donaciones de acciones bursátiles para apoyar a la CSA.

(Para obtener más información sobre la CSA, comuníquese con Rebecca Harris al (601) 960-8477.)