Cognia Accreditation visit for Diocesan Catholic Schools
Editor’s note: On Wednesday April 9, diocesan schools in the metro Jackson area received on-site visits from Cognia Accreditation. Accreditation by Cognia ensures that a school meets rigorous educational standards and is committed to continuous improvement, providing credibility and quality assurance for students, parents and educators.
MADISON – (Top) Dr. Michael Bratcher of Cognia observes Patricia Holder’s classroom at St. Anthony School. (Right) Thomas Caskey chats with Dr. Bratcher about how much he loves St. Anthony School. (Photos by Joanna Puddister King)
JACKSON – St. Richard Principal, Russ Nelson and Dr. Michael Bratcher enter into a STEM class taught by Melissa Muñoz. (Photo by Tereza Ma)MADISON – Dr. Bratcher conducted interviews with students at each area school. Pictured is his interview with middle and high-school students at St. Joseph School. (Photo by Madelyn Johnson)
JACKSON – (Above) Sister Thea Bowman School fifth grade students, Khamari Stevenson and Harry Chia greet Dr. Michael Bratcher before they took him on an informative tour of the school. (Right) All students pointed to the state of Kentucky where Dr. Bratcher is from. (Photos by Tereza Ma)
JACKSON – St. Richard students, Jonah Grant, Levi Ward, Jones Carr, Marilee Nelson, Raegan White and classmates observe chemical reactions during a science experiment. Students put the scientific principle that oil and water don’t mix to the test. (Photo by Mrs. Foggo)PEARL – Several youth assisted in leading a Palm Sunday procession at St. Jude parish. Pictured: Mary Rose Wolf, Abbygale Roberts, Mary Lynn Brannon and Alex Tucker, with Deacons Mark Bowden and John McGregor and Father Cesar Sanchez following. (Photo by Tereza Ma)PEARL – The youth group at St. Jude in Pearl led the Stations of Cross on Friday, April 4. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
All of our seminarians were in parishes and/or at the Cathedral during parts of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. It was a lot of fun to get their perspective on things as they worked through the rigor of preparing and executing all the beautiful liturgies that the church offers during this sacred time of year. It has become tradition that on Spy Wednesday (the Wednesday of Holy Week), several seminarians and I celebrate Mass for the student body at St. Joseph in Madison. This year we were blessed to have all four of our St. Joe alumni seminarians along with Francisco Maldonado and Father Tristan Stovall was available to concelebrate! It was inspiring to the students, the faculty and staff, and myself to see those guys come back home and witness all those in attendance. Great thanks to Dr. Dena Kinsey, Charlene Papali and all those involved at St. Joe for inviting us again this year.
Father Nick Adam
We are suddenly nearing the end of the seminary school year and a few of our men are nearing some important milestones. Joe Pearson will be graduating with his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary College on Friday, May 9. Joe is also about to complete the ‘discipleship stage’ of his formation. This stage is focused on becoming a more devoted disciple of Jesus before focusing specifically on discerning being a priest of Jesus Christ in the ‘configurative stage’ of formation. We will move toward that stage of formation with Joe with his admission to candidacy on May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Peter. Joe will affirm that he continues to feel called to serious discernment of the priesthood and he will publicly begin wearing the roman collar. This will help him, and other candidates at this stage, to begin ‘trying on’ priesthood in a more concrete way. The fact is, when someone is wearing a collar, this says something about them. People being to approach you and ask you questions. They may have a positive, or a negative, view of the clergy, and one has to be prepared to be a messenger of Christ to them no matter what their perspective.
Will Foggo, meanwhile, is finishing his final full year of seminary formation. He will spend one final semester in the fall at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and then be ordained a deacon in December, and then he’ll have a six-month assignment in a parish prior to his ordination to the priesthood in the spring or summer of 2026. It has been a pleasure to work with Will thus far and I know he’ll be a great asset to the brotherhood of priests in our diocese.
We keep moving forward with preparations for the upcoming school year. We have one new seminarian on board already, with several more applications still in progress. Please keep all those who are considering entering formation in your prayers, and pray for our vocations committee, myself, Bishop Kopacz, and all those who are involved in discerning with these applicants whether now is the time to enter into priestly formation. Happy Easter to all! Alleluia!
(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)
FROM THE HERMITAGE By sister alies therese A little research goes a long way. As we approached Palm Sunday, I started looking up vines, branches, palms, trees and their unique flavors and how they have been used in parables and fables to teach us. Using a guide like The Jerome Biblical Commentary (or other commentaries) and a book like Herbert Lockyer’s All the Parables of the Bible will land you just where you want to go … or find something new you hadn’t thought of! The footnotes of your study Bible are also very important.
Trees take us back as far as the Garden of Eden and the opening of the Hebrew Bible, where we discover the Tree of Good and Evil. “God commanded the man, ‘You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.’” (Peterson, The Message, Genesis 2:16). Seemed quite clear – one has to wonder what went wrong!
Somewhere between the death of Joshua and the rise of Saul (6th century B.C.) some interesting characters appear in the story of Israel becoming a people. The age dominated by Moses was declining, and David was still far off.
The great question of the Book of Judges is: How can Israel live without a great leader? And the answer was that it lived, but not so well (JBC, Judges, p. 132). There was no king in Israel, as in the pagan communities around them. The Book of Judges is not about court but rather refers to ruling. Who will rule and serve the people? As the story goes, Gideon refuses to rule even when they say, “Rule over us as you rescued us from the power of Midian.” “I shall not, nor my sons. The Lord must rule over you.” (Judges 8:22, NAB) Yahweh makes Gideon (who has 70 sons and a concubine who bears him Abimelech) a success, and the Israelites mistake that for a sign that he should rule them. Gideon declined and made an ephod of gold to be worshipped (rather than Yahweh) in the city of Ophrah, and this brought about the downfall of his family. (Judges 9:27, NAB)
Gideon dies, and the Israelites go back to worshipping the Baals, forgetting the Lord. They were not grateful for all the good Gideon had done for Israel. His illegitimate son, Abimelech, seizes kingly rank after talking to his mother’s people in Shechem, where his kinsmen sympathize with him. He then “hired shiftless men and ruffians as his followers … he slew his brothers and became king …” (Judges 9:5-6, NAB), though Jether and Jotham, the youngest, live … hiding away as this brother stands by the oak and is crowned king.
All this was reported to Jotham, who “went to the top of Mount Gerizim and cried out in a loud voice … ‘Hear me, citizens of Shechem, that God may hear you!’” (Judges 9:8, NAB). And he proceeded to tell the wonderful Parable of the Trees.
Already mentioned is the Tree in the Garden, and throughout the Scriptures, we have many stories, parables and fables featuring trees and vines. The very first parable, however, recorded in the form of a fable, is that of the trees choosing for themselves a king (Judges 9, NAB). Lockyer points out, “Jotham used this fable in order to convince the inhabitants of Shechem of the folly of having elected so vile a man as Abimelech for their king” (Parables, p. 10). You will find other parables – a favored teaching technique in the East and one of Jesus’ favorites – in Isaiah, the Parable of the Vineyard; Ezekiel, the Parable of the Vine Branch; Daniel, the Parable of the Great Tree; Zechariah, the Parable of the Horses and Myrtle Trees; Matthew, the Parable of the Tree and Fruit, the Mustard Tree and the Fig Tree; Luke, the Barren Fig Tree; and John’s True Vine. And that’s not all … what will you explore?
The wonderful Parable of the Trees makes the middle of Judges (9:7-15) so delightful and informative. Here we have the opportunity to consider those things that surround us and what they might symbolize. Jotham was the youngest son who came out from hiding and pronounced the story. Low-growing trees were invited, writes Lockyer, “olive, fig, vine and bramble, to wave to and fro over the loftier trees such as the cedar.” The olive tree is fat with the most valuable oil and food; the fig tree is sweet and provides shelter. The cedar is the tallest, with a brilliant quality of wood; the vine cheers with grapes and wine; the bramble, however, has no fruit, no shelter, only good for the fire. The people still did not repent, and Abimelech ruled for another three years. Ugh.
Did you know the Lord was crucified upon a dogwood tree? They did not want Him to rule either. “We will not have this man reign over us! Crucify Him!” The bramble brings fire and great tribulation. The fire will devour them. Lockyer writes, “And then (when the Lord comes back) the fatness, the sweetness and the cheer of the trees will bless Israel and make her a blessing; through the One who died on the cursed Tree” (p. 36).
Blessings.
(sister alies therese is a canonical hermit who prays and writes.)
By Nicole Olea WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Thirty-five years after her death, the witness of Sister Thea Bowman – a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, scholar, cultural advocate and joyful daughter of the church – continues to inspire a growing movement calling for her canonization.
Through keynote addresses, panel conversations, music and moving testimony, attendees at the Sister Thea Bowman Conference March 29 at The Catholic University of America in Washington reflected on how her life calls every member of the church to live boldly, faithfully and freely in Christ, and how her legacy challenges Catholics today to embrace a fuller, more inclusive vision of holiness.
Redemptorist Father Maurice Nutt opened the conference with a keynote titled “Servant of God, Sister Doctor Thea Bowman, FSPA: Unapologetically and Unabashedly Faithful and Free,” echoing the name of his 2019 biography of his former teacher.
Father Nutt described Sister Thea as a woman of “holy boldness” – captivating, anointed, joyful and radically committed to truth.
Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, gestures as she speaks during a panel discussion at the Sister Thea Bowman Conference hosted by The Catholic University of America on March 29, 2025. The all-day conference on the life and legacy of Sister Thea, a candidate for sainthood. From left to right are Javier Bustamante, director of the university’s Center for Cultural Engagement, who moderated the panel discussion; Sister Sue Ernster, president of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Sister Thea’s order; Kathleen Dorsey Bellow; and Father Michael Barth of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. (OSV News photo/Nicole Olea, Catholic Standard)
Born in Canton, Mississippi, Sister Thea became a Catholic as a child after being inspired by the witness of the Franciscan Sisters and the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. At age 15, she entered religious life, becoming the only Black member of her congregation.
“Her father warned her, ‘Baby, they may not like you up there in Wisconsin,’” Father Nutt recalled. “But ever persistent, she retorted, ‘Daddy, I’m gonna make ‘em like me.’”
She would go on to earn a doctorate and teach at every academic level. Her time attending The Catholic University of America and earning a doctorate in English there, he said, was transformational – both academically and spiritually. Among her students and colleagues, Sister Thea was known for her attentiveness and empathy.
Father Nutt highlighted Sister Thea’s contributions to Catholic life during and after the Second Vatican Council. She embraced liturgical reform and integrated African American culture, music and spirituality into Catholic worship.
“She could love her friends and challenge her friends. She could love her church and challenge her church,” he said.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984, Sister Thea continued traveling and speaking until her death in 1990.
“Donning her customary African garb, she would arrive in a wheelchair … but always with a joyful disposition,” Father Nutt said.
He recounted her now-famous 1989 address to the U.S. Catholic bishops, where she spoke about being both Black and Catholic, and challenged the Church to greater inclusion.
“She told the bishops she was trying to find her way back home, asking them to help her find her way back home to this Catholic Church,” Father Nutt said. “And then she invited them – yes, those bishops in all their dignity – to link arms and sing: ‘We Shall Overcome.’”
In her final days, Sister Thea was surrounded by prayer and care in her childhood home. “She died where she had been born,” Father Nutt said. “She wanted her tombstone to read: ‘I tried. I tried to love the Lord, and I tried to love them. I tried to tell their story.’”
Following the keynote, Father Nutt joined Catholic University’s president, Peter K. Kilpatrick, for a moderated conversation on Sister Thea’s enduring impact and the church’s ongoing call to racial justice and reconciliation.
Father Nutt urged Catholic institutions to move beyond symbolic gestures. “We need Black faculty – not just working in the cafeteria or sweeping the floors. We have scholars. You need more Black professors. You need Black faculty in your campus ministry, a place of welcome for Black students, to allow them to use their gifts and share with the whole university.”
During the Q&A, Sister Oralisa Martin, a theologian and former student of Sister Thea, stood to address the urgency of the moment. Founder and president of the ORACLE Religious Association based in Washington, Sister Oralisa in 1995 took private vows, accepted by the late Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton.
Sister Thea, she said, “possessed a spirituality that, frankly, the church still needs to catch up to.”
Calling for collective renewal, she added, “We need a … real movement. We don’t yet know our collective power. But when we do – when we gather in the power of the Holy Spirit – we will rise.” “Why do we want her canonized?” she asked. “Because her life – before, during, and after canonization – shows us how to be the church.”
Sister Thea was given the title “Servant of God” when her sainthood cause was officially opened in November 2018. She is one of seven Black Catholics from the United States being considered for sainthood.
Among speakers on the first panel of the conference exploring the formative role of key religious communities and institutions in shaping the spirituality and leadership of Sister Thea was Sister Sue Ernster, president of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
She reflected on Sister Thea’s entry into religious life during the 1950s and the challenges she faced as the only Black woman in a predominantly white, Midwestern community.
“She came during segregation. She wasn’t allowed to ride with the white sister taking her to Wisconsin. But the sisters made arrangements so she could,” Sister Sue said, adding that Sister Thea endured that “because she felt called to serve.”
Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University, the nation’s Catholic historically Black college, described Sister Thea’s influence on generations of Black Catholic leaders.
“She helped form ministers. She loved Black children and taught them, ‘Black is good. It’s God’s gift to you,’” Bellow said. “She jumped in and did all she could. And now we have to do the work.”
Father Michael Barth, the former general custodian of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, recounted Sister Thea’s formation at Holy Child Jesus Parish in Canton. There, he said, she experienced firsthand the power of a faith community committed to justice and solidarity.
The second panel of the conference, titled “Personal Encounters: Testimony from Students and Colleagues,” reflected on Sister Thea’s impact on individuals who knew her as a teacher, mentor and friend.
“She became my unofficial seminary,” said Mgr. Raymond East, pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Washington. He was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington in 1981. “She helped form many of us in what I call a beloved community.”
Ronny Lancaster, who studied under Sister Thea in 1971 at Catholic University, described her as a magnetic, fearless educator.
Sister Thea, he said, was a rare combination of joy and power, preparation and presence. She could disarm students with a smile – then break into song mid-lecture to drive a point home. “She made you feel OK. That was the power of her presence,” he said.
The final panel of the day examined how Sister Thea Bowman’s life offers a model for holiness and a call to recognize the witness of Black Catholics in the church.
“We always need more saints,” said Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr.. “Sister Thea’s life shows us this. She opened her heart, her mind, and her soul to the faith. She prayed with every fiber of her being. And she loved – with joy and boldness.”
Panelist Jeannine Marino, secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington, concluded with a call to action: “We can do our part by continuing to tell Sister Thea’s story, promoting her holiness, and praying for her cause. Every effort counts.”
(Nicole Olea writes for the Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington.)
Pope Francis meets briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and his translator, in the papal residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, at the Vatican April 20, 2025. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
NATION WASHINGTON (OSV News) – President Donald Trump, officials in his administration, and other U.S. political leaders issued statements expressing condolences for Pope Francis after the pontiff’s death April 21 at age 88. “Rest in Peace Pope Francis!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!” Trump also ordered flags be flown at half-staff in memory of Pope Francis at public buildings, military posts, naval stations and ships, and embassies. The pontiff’s death followed his stay in Rome’s Gemelli hospital earlier this year while he recovered from respiratory infections. The day before his death, Pope Francis gave his Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the world). He also held a meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, who also shared his condolences over the social media platform X on April 21. Former President Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, said on X: “Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him.” Pope Francis made his first – and only – trip in his life to the United States in September 2015.
DENVER (OSV News) – Organizers of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage announced April 10 that public events are posted and registration is open for stops along the Drexel Route. The route begins May 18 in Indianapolis and spans over 3,300 miles to Los Angeles, arriving June 22. Eight young adult “perpetual pilgrims” will accompany the Eucharist through 10 states, 20 dioceses, and four Eastern Catholic eparchies, with events centered on prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and hope and healing. Named for St. Katharine Drexel, the pilgrimage aligns with the church’s 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope and offers a plenary indulgence to participants. Stops include a Missouri school founded by St. Katharine Drexel, a Tulsa hospice and a Texas prison. Special events will also honor victims of national tragedies. Organizers are anticipating over 10,000 attendees at the concluding Corpus Christi celebration in Los Angeles. Registration is free but required for most events. “We’re excited about continuing to start the fire of evangelization and mission that’s been so much of the heart of the Eucharistic Revival, this encounter and mission,” said Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., which is based in Denver.
WORLD LOURDES, France (OSV News) – A 72nd miracle has been confirmed at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, with the announcement bringing joy after a recitation of the rosary on the April 16 feast day of St. Bernadette Soubirous. The miracle involves Antonietta Raco, an Italian woman who suffered from Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS), a severe motor neuron disease. In 2009, during her pilgrimage to Lourdes, she experienced a miraculous healing after bathing in the waters of the sanctuary’s pools. Raco began moving independently, with symptoms of PLS disappearing entirely. Bishop Vincenzo Carmine Orofino of Tursi-Lagonegro officially declared the healing a miracle after extensive medical investigation. The International Medical Committee of Lourdes confirmed the healing as scientifically unexplained. This miracle comes just months after the 71st miracle, involving a British soldier from World War I. Lourdes, a site of pilgrimage for millions, has a rigorous process for recognizing miracles, and has over 7,000 reported cases of healing.
KYIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – Catholic and other religious leaders are condemning a Palm Sunday attack by Russia on a Ukrainian city that killed 34 – including two children – and injured 119. Two ballistic missiles launched by Russia earlier that same day struck the center of Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine located some 15 miles from the Russian border. “When we celebrate the feast of life, the enemy wishes to inflict its feast of death on us,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in an April 13 statement. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, the largest organization of religious leaders in Ukraine, also condemned the strikes, which took place amid both the Jewish holiday of Passover (April 12-20, 2025) and the Christian observance of Holy Week. Multiple world leaders also deplored the Palm Sunday attack. Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelenskyy called for a global response to the strikes, which followed a similar April 4 attack by Russia on a playground in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih. Nine children were among the 19 killed in that strike. “It is crucial that the world does not stay silent or indifferent,” said Zelenskyy in an April 13 post on X.cal Survey’s estimates. In neighboring Thailand, Bangkok city authorities said so far six people had been found dead, 26 injured and 47 were still missing, according to The Guardian. The tremor, followed by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock, caused buildings to collapse, including a historic bridge in the region. The earthquake’s impact was felt across neighboring countries, including Thailand and Bangladesh. Pope Francis expressed his sorrow, offering prayers for the victims and emergency responders in Myanmar and Thailand. Meanwhile, relief efforts are hindered by Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, with few resources reaching affected areas. Catholic churches in Mandalay and beyond were also damaged, with St. Michael’s Church among the hardest hit. In some regions, local communities are organizing relief efforts as state response remains limited.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (OSV News) – In Nicaragua, Catholics celebrated Palm Sunday under intense government scrutiny, as police and paramilitaries surrounded Managua’s cathedral and restricted Holy Week activities to church grounds. The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has banned public religious processions for the third straight year – allowing exceptions only for clergy aligned with the government. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua led Mass inside the cathedral, focusing his homily on forgiveness despite the visible intimidation. Meanwhile, exiled Bishop Silvio Báez assured the faithful online that the government “cannot prevent the crucified one from revealing his victory” through acts of justice and solidarity. Church leaders report increasing harassment: clergy are monitored, muzzled, and even spied on during Mass. Some priests now avoid preaching altogether to evade arrest. Over 220 religious have been exiled or blocked from returning. Despite the crackdown, observers say the regime remains fearful of the church’s moral authority – and the enduring faith of the Nicaraguan people.
By Kate Scanlon WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. bishops on April 10 told congressional lawmakers they support bipartisan legislation that would ease some immigration restrictions on religious workers from other countries, allowing them to stay in the U.S. while they wait for permanent residency.
The legislation, titled the Religious Workforce Protection Act, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and in the House by Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, and Richard Neal, D-Mass.
If signed into law, it would permit religious workers already in the U.S. on temporary R-1 status with pending EB-4 applications to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency, Collins’ office said. All five of those members are Catholic.
“When Maine parishes where I attend mass started losing their priests, I saw this issue creating a real crisis in our state,” Collins said in an April 8 statement. “Recently, three Catholic parishes in rural Maine – Saint Agatha, Bucksport, and Greenville – were left without priests for months because their R-1 visas expired while their EB-4 applications were still pending.”
Father Charles Gnanapragasam, a priest from India, chats with well-wishers following a “Keep Our Priests” rosary rally at St. Mary Church in East Islip, N.Y., April 29, 2024. The U.S. bishops on April 10, 2025, told congressional lawmakers they support bipartisan legislation, the Religious Workforce Protection Act, that would ease some immigration restrictions on religious workers from other countries, allowing them to stay in the U.S. while they wait for permanent residency. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
The National Study of Catholic Priests – released in 2022 by The Catholic University of America’s Catholic Project – indicated 24% of priests serving in the U.S. are foreign-born. A majority of these were ordained outside the U.S., while others are foreign-born priests who came to the U.S. as seminarians, were ordained in the U.S. and are also subject to visa renewals.
“Our bill would help religious workers of all faith traditions continue to live and serve here in the United States while their applications for permanent residency are being fully processed,” Collins said. “Many Mainers and Americans cannot imagine their lives without the sense of community and services their local religious organizations provide – with this legislation, I hope they never have to.” Kaine likewise said in a statement, “I first started hearing about churches losing trusted priests through my Parish, St. Elizabeth’s in Richmond, where we have had priests who were immigrants, and often have visiting priests, some of whom are immigrants as well.”
“But as it turns out, this problem is not unique to Virginia – it’s impacting religious congregations of many faiths, all across the country,” he said.
Bishops Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, James T. Ruggieri of Portland, Maine, and Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, were among the religious leaders who offered statements of support for the bill in press releases from Collins and Kaine’s offices, alongside representatives of evangelical Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu organizations.
In an April 10 letter to members of Congress, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, as well as Bishop Seitz, who is chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, urged lawmakers to pass the legislation to “to ensure communities across our nation can continue to enjoy the essential contributions of foreign-born religious workers who lawfully entered the United States on a nonimmigrant religious worker (R-1) visa.”
They said that there are many Catholic priests, women religious, and laypersons working in Catholic ministries in that category.
“Some parishes, especially those in rural or isolated areas, would go without regular access to the sacraments, if not for these religious workers,” the bishops said. “Additionally, dioceses with large immigrant populations rely on foreign-born religious workers for their linguistic and cultural expertise. We would not be able to serve our diverse flocks, which reflect the rich tapestry of our society overall, without the faithful men and women who come to serve through the Religious Worker Visa Program.” They said, “Simply put, an increasing number of American families will be unable to practice the basic tenets of their faith if this situation is not addressed soon. Likewise, hospitals will go without chaplains, schools will go without teachers, and seminaries will go without instructors.”
The bishops urged lawmakers to cosponsor “this vital measure and to work toward its immediate passage, thereby furthering the free exercise of religion in our country for the benefit of all Americans.”
(Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.)
I am sure many of you are familiar with the TV series about the life of Jesus called The Chosen. It was launched in 2019, has been in theaters and on streaming platforms since, and now has more than 200 million viewers. It has been translated into 50 languages and has 13 million social media followers, with about 30 percent of its audience being non-Christian.
It was created and produced by Dallas Jenkins, an Evangelical Christian with wide ecumenical and interfaith sympathies. Jonathan Roumie, a devout Roman Catholic, plays the role of Jesus, and the Jesus he portrays in The Chosen comes through as somewhat different from, and more relatable to, than the Jesus we have generally seen in other movies and portrayals of him. And this has had an interesting impact.
Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
What’s the impact? Joe Hoover, a Jesuit priest writing in a recent issue of America magazine, makes this comment: “I have been a baptized Christian for 53 years, attended a Catholic Christian grade school and for more than two decades have been a member of a religious order that bears the name of Jesus … and ‘The Chosen’ television series had done things for my understanding and engagement with the life of Christ and his disciples that nothing else has. No sermon, no theological exhortation, no master’s degree, no class on John or Mark or Luke, no spirituality workshop, no 30-day biblically based retreat has brought the Gospels home and made Christ and his people real and relatable to me in quite the way ‘The Chosen’ has.”
That speaks for me as well. The Chosen has had a similar effect on me. Like Joe Hoover, I was baptized as an infant, raised a Roman Catholic, am a member of a religious order, have degrees in theology, have been to every kind of spirituality workshop, and have studied the Gospels under the guidance of some world class scholars, and yet this TV series has given a face to Jesus that I didn’t quite receive in all that past learning and has helped me in my prayer and my relationship to Christ.
In essence, this is what The Chosen has done for me. It has presented a Jesus whom I actually want to be with. Shouldn’t we always want to be with Jesus? Yes, but the Jesus who is often presented to us is not someone, if we are honest with ourselves, we would want to spend a lot of one-on-one time with, with whom we could be at ease and comfortable without affectations.
For instance, the Jesus who has often been presented to us in movies is generally lacking in human warmth, is distant, stern, other-worldly, over pious, and whose very gaze makes you feel guilty because your sin caused his crucifixion. That Jesus is also humorless, doesn’t ever seem to bring God’s smile to the world, and never brings any lightness into a room. He is not a Jesus with whom you are at ease.
Unfortunately, that is often the Jesus who has been presented to us in our preaching, catechesis, Sunday schools, theological classes and in popular spirituality. The Jesus we meet there, for all the truth and revelation he brings into the world, is generally still too divine and overly pious for us to be at ease with humanly. He is a Jesus we admire, perhaps even adore, and whom we trust enough to commit our lives to (no small thing). But he is also a Jesus with whom we are not much at ease, whom we wouldn’t pick to sit next to at table, with whom we wouldn’t pick to go on vacation, and who is so distant and distinct from us that it is easier for us to have him as an admired teacher than as an intimate friend, let alone as a lover to whom we want to bear our soul.
This is not a plea to humanize Jesus (as is sometimes in fashion today) by making him just a nice man who preaches love but doesn’t at the same time radiate God’s non-negotiable truth. This is not what The Chosen does. Far from it.
The Chosen presents us with a Jesus whose divinity you never doubt, even as he appears as warm and attractive, with a humanity that puts you at ease in his presence; indeed, it lures you into his presence. Watching The Chosen, one never doubts for an instant that Jesus is specially and inextricably linked to his Father and that he brings us God’s truth and revelation without compromise. But this Jesus also brings God’s smile, God’s warmth and God’s blessing upon our lives which too often suffer from a lack of these. The great mystic Julian of Norwich once described God is this way: God sits in heaven, completely relaxed, his face looking like a marvelous symphony.
Among other things, The Chosen shows us this relaxed face of God, which to our own detriment we too seldom see.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)
By Justin McLellan VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With his death April 21, Pope Francis marked yet another first in the history of the Catholic Church: he became the first pope to open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica without living to close it.
The pope opened the Holy Door Dec. 24, 2024, marking the beginning of the Holy Year 2025, a tradition normally celebrated in the church every 25 years as a time of spiritual renewal and pilgrimage. His death four months later means the Holy Door will be sealed by his successor – an unprecedented moment in the modern history of Jubilee celebrations.
Only once before had a Jubilee begun under one pope and concluded by another. In 1700, Pope Innocent XII, already gravely ill, gave his blessing for the start of the Jubilee he had declared in 1699 but was unable to preside at the opening of the Holy Door. He died in September 1700 and it fell to Pope Clement XI, elected later that year, to close the Holy Door and conclude the Jubilee.
Pope Francis pauses in prayer on the threshold of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2024, after he opened it and inaugurated the Holy Year 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
There have been other instances in which a Jubilee was proclaimed by one pontiff and carried out by another.
In 1389, Pope Urban VI declared the following year to be a holy year by changing the cycle of Jubilee celebrations to be observed every 33 years. His death that year meant the Holy Year 1390 was presided over by Pope Boniface IX.
A similar situation occurred when Pope Paul II proclaimed the Holy Year 1475 and laid out the requirement of visiting Rome’s four major basilicas, but he died before the Jubilee began and it was presided over by Pope Sixtus IV.
Pope Julius III presided over the Holy Year 1550 proclaimed by his predecessor, Pope Paul III, and Pope Pius VI presided over the Holy Year 1775 proclaimed by his predecessor Pope Clement XIV.
Yet Pope Francis became the only pope to personally open the Holy Door to inaugurate a holy year without closing it himself.
He previously opened and closed the Holy Door of the basilica during the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy he called in 2015. The pope was also the first to open a holy door outside the Vatican, opening the Holy Door of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Bangui, Central African Republic, that year.
In December 2024, he opened the Holy Door at the church in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex as a sign of hope to incarcerated people.
A few days before Pope Francis was elected in March 2013, he told his fellow cardinals, “I have the impression that Jesus is locked inside the church and that he is knocking because he wants to get out!” Among his last gestures as pope, he left the door to the world’s largest church wide open.
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D. The following words of the prophet Isaiah resonate throughout the Easter season from the Sunday of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from through to Pentecost. ““Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? (43:19)
Sometimes it is difficult to perceive the hand of Providence in our lives because God also said through the prophet, that “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Let’s revisit the essential narratives of our Catholic faith. Something new was springing forth at the Last Supper when the Lord did the unthinkable in the washing of his disciples’ feet, followed by the unimaginable in his pronouncement that the bread and wine at the Passover Meal would forever be his body and blood at the Eucharist. Of course, they were unable to perceive it, nor comprehend it, and this was just the beginning of what would be a nightmare to follow. The suffering, torture, and crucifixion of the one who loved them with the heart of God shattered the foundations of their lives and scattered them to the four winds.
For them it was dreadfully obvious that it was the end of an amazing three-year run. Let’s go fishing. Wait! Another shoot from the stump of Jesse was about to break forth. Could they not perceive that God was doing something radically new?
Of course not, at least not at the entrance of an empty tomb. They were still numb, incredulous, non-believing, and afraid for their lives. Then the unexpected began to happen in the Lord’s resurrection appearances. Over time, the apostles and the company of disciples, women and men, became the new creations that God had intended when the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. We have 50 days to savor this miracle and mystery in the beloved appearances to the apostles huddled in fear in the upper room, to Mary Magdalene in the garden, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to the apostles gone fishing, or on the road back to Galilee, etc.
With the resurrection of the Lord time and eternity embrace. In this divine union Sacred Scriptures proclaim that “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2Peter 3:8) It’s a blessing to consider that we are only at the beginning of the third day since the crucifixion and resurrection, and that Easter 2025 is as charged with the grandeur of God in the risen Lord as was that first morning.
God is constantly at work on behalf of our salvation inviting us to go from countless shades of shadows and darkness into his own marvelous light. We are called to be pilgrims of hope during this Jubilee Year and the risen Lord seeks to roll away the stone and enter through the locked doors of our minds and hearts in order to be the community of believers God desires. During his time on earth, Pope Francis reminded us that patience and perseverance are the handmaids of hope, especially during difficult times when suffering darkens our senses and spirit. Although the hand of Providence is all around us, we may not perceive the invitation to new life because the seeds have fallen on rocky ground or on the busy footpath or among the thorns that choke the young shoots of faith and hope. Pope Francis reminded that our God is the God of encouragement and perseverance on behalf of our salvation.
On this weekend of Divine Mercy, the culmination of the Easter Octave, praying with and for one another, let us proclaim in Easter faith and hope, Jesus, I trust in you!
