VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Anti-personnel mines are “devious” weapons that continue to kill innocent civilians and children long after a conflict has ended, Pope Francis said.
“I thank all those who offer their help to assist victims and clean up contaminated areas,” he said at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall Feb. 28.
“Their work is a concrete response to the universal call to be peacemakers, taking care of our brothers and sisters,” he said.
A graphic, entitled “The Persistent Scourge of Landmines,” shows the global number of mine/explosive remnants of war casualties per year. Copyrighted work created by Statista available under Creative Commons attribution only license CC by 4.0 (CNS photo/Statista, CC by 4.0)
The pope, who was still dealing with a cold, read aloud his remarks about landmines after having aides read his lengthier catechesis and greetings during the audience.
March 1 marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and mandates assisting victims, clearing minefields and destroying stockpiles.
Anti-personnel mines, the pope said, “continue to target innocent civilians, particularly children, even many years after the end of hostilities.”
“I express my closeness to the many victims of these devious devices, which remind us of the dramatic cruelty of war and the price civilian populations are forced to pay,” he said.
At least 4,710 casualties of mines and explosive remnants of war were recorded in 2022, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said in its 2023 report. Civilians made up 85% of all recorded casualties in places where the military or civilian status was known, and children accounted for half of all civilian casualties, where ages were recorded.
Anti-personnel landmines were used by Ukraine, Myanmar and Russia during 2022 and the first half of 2023, the report by the global coalition of non-governmental organizations said.
“Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in Ukraine since invading the country in February 2022, resulting in an unprecedented situation in which a country that is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty is using the weapon on the territory of a state party,” it wrote.
Non-state armed groups used anti-personnel mines in at least five countries in 2022: Colombia, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Tunisia and countries in or bordering the Sahel region of Africa, it added.
At least 60 countries and other areas are contaminated by anti-personnel mines.
Eighty percent of the world’s nations have joined the mine ban treaty, and while 33 states remain outside of the treaty, most of them do not use or produce antipersonnel mines, it said.
A small number of countries are actively producing anti-personnel landmines and they are likely to include India, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and Russia, The biggest stockpiles are held by Russia, Pakistan, India, China and the United States.
A graphic, entitled “Where are the Landmines?”, shows global landmine contamination statuses as of 2022. Copyrighted work created by Statista available under Creative Commons attribution only license CC by 4.0 (CNS photo/Statista, CC by 4.0)
KRAKOW, Poland (OSV News) – A group of women from a little village between Kharkiv and Izium in eastern Ukraine decided they were fed up with landmine danger in their village, preventing residents from living their lives in some normality amid war.
So with materials as simple as a plank and a long string, they constructed their own equipment and demined a part of the village.
“They really show the incredible resilience of this country!” Father Leszek Kryza told OSV News. Father Kryza travels to Ukraine at least once a month, especially to the devastated eastern regions. In January, he visited the “mine-blowing” women not only because of their sheer bravado, but because the Polish bishops’ Office for Helping the Church in the East led by Father Kryza equipped them with sewing machines so that – despite ongoing war – they have a job.
Once the war started, the women sheltered with the Orionine sisters in Korotych and it was the sisters who signaled Father Kryza, who then alerted his friends in the church in Italy, and that’s how supplies and sewing machines eventually landed in eastern Ukraine.
“It has worked like that since Feb. 24, 2022,” he told OSV News, referring to the start of a full- scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a constant chain of good hearts,” he said.
Entering the third year of war several church institutions wrapped their aid effort in “two years of war” reports, showing that millions of people have been saved thanks to the Catholic Church.
A million people – whether Ukrainian refugees in Poland or those inside Ukraine – have been helped by Caritas Poland. In 2023 alone, the aid was worth $37 million.
Another 1.6 million have been helped by the Knights of Columbus, with $22.3 million raised for Ukraine since 2022.
CNEWA, or Catholic Near East Welfare Association, rushed $5,8 million in emergency funds over the past year to church-led relief efforts in Ukraine and in neighboring countries receiving those fleeing the missiles.
The Vatican sent 240 trucks with supplies to Ukraine over the past two years, with $2.2 million of its charity funds dedicated to Ukraine just in 2022.
Asked what percentage of help for 17 million Ukrainians, including 5 million of those internally displaced, comes from the Catholic Church, Father Kryza said, “I tried to calculate it once, but it’s impossible! Because it’s not that you’ll gather data from Caritas, Knights of Columbus, the Vatican and other ‘big actors.’ It’s the orders, female and male congregations, individual priests, volunteers spread across Ukraine, it’s just one big church on the front lines.”
Father Luca Bovio, an Italian Consolata Missionary who works next door to Father Kryza in Warsaw, in the Polish branch of Pontifical Mission Societies, told OSV News that it’s an “incredible international chain” of aid. “When the war started, people from Africa, Canada and several European countries called me, and said, ‘We want to help, where do we send the funds or supplies?’ So I knocked on my neighbor’s door – Father Leszek, for whom Ukraine is another home, and that’s how since his first trip after February 24, we’re in this together!”
If numbers hide the concrete faces of people aided by the church, Polish Dominican Sister Mateusza Trynda, who is working in the western Ukraine city of Zhovkva, has plenty to talk about.
Sister Mateusza was on front pages of Polish media when the war started, pictured with a ladle and huge pot of soup, standing in the middle of a field next to the road leading to the Ukrainian border with Poland.
Now she said the help looks different – but the needs are just as great.
“We distributed aid packages to 700 people in February, but in the war’s peak moment we handed aid to a group of 2,500 internally displaced people regularly,” she told OSV News.
“We distribute everything that is needed for life. So there’s food, clothing, furniture, mattresses, pillows, quilts, dishes, heaters, irons,” she said.
All is needed – a sentence repeated over and over again from Kyiv to the Vatican.
“In one of our trucks we had thousands of jeans. One was full of chairs. And in one we sent hundreds of electric shavers,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and papal almoner, told OSV News.
“The war is not ending. The needs are huge. I am told by Ukrainians all the time, ‘We need everything.’ Everything,” he said, adding that the shavers were sent to soldiers and that he recently received a picture of a female sergeant cutting the hair of her colleagues somewhere on the front line.
Cardinal Krajewski visited Ukraine seven times since the start of the full-scale invasion, including Zaporozhzhia, where had to escape gunfire in September 2022.
In the eastern Ukraine city, the Albertine brothers still distribute 1,500 meals a week. Their bakery is operated by the homeless they shelter on a daily basis.
Russian occupation authorities banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and other Catholic ministries, including Caritas and the Knights of Columbus in December 2023 in occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
“That ban shows how important the role of the church is, and under what circumstances we can and must act to help those most in need,” said Szymon Czyszek, the Knights of Columbus’ director of international growth in Europe.
The organization delivered aid to the besieged town of Avdiivka before it fell to the Russian forces in mid-February.
“It must be said that such actions involve the risk of loss of life. A bomb exploded in front of the car with the Knights driving with help,” he said. “They were lucky to survive,” he added.
From establishing border Mercy Centers at the beginning of the war, to distributing 250,000 care packages with 7.7 million pounds of food and supplies, and thousands of warm coats to Ukrainian children in addition to running programs deactivating landmines, the Knights will continue to help, said Czyszek.
“No matter how tense the political situation over Ukraine will be, we won’t stop. Because Ukraine is the embodiment of the suffering Christ – we cannot be indifferent,” he said.
“We can’t be bored by this war,” Father Marcin Izycki, director of Caritas Poland, told journalists ahead of the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Father Bovio added that “the situation is as bad as it was at the beginning of the invasion, it’s sad, but that’s the reality.”
Cardinal Krajewski emphasized that the church won’t stop helping as it’s the “pure Gospel” to stand with those that suffer, but that discussions in the West regarding whether to send or not to send aid to Ukraine are worrying him the most.
“Being divided never helps, it doesn’t help any country, it doesn’t help any church, and it doesn’t help Ukraine,” he said.
“I know so many people who still dedicate all their free time of the year to go to Ukraine and distribute help as volunteers – the world needs to learn how to be compassionate from them,” he said.
“It’s so that hope doesn’t die,” Sister Mateusza told OSV News. “I met people with damaged houses that have nothing at all. But they still had hope. Because if hope dies, that’s really the end.”
Sister Mateusza said psychological help is urgently needed for people tired of war, and desperate for it to end, widows and orphaned children, but also those internally displaced and over 6 million Ukrainians living abroad as refugees.
She said everyone can help with prayer, too. “It’s crucial. None of us in Zhovkva, and there are four of us sisters there, won’t go to bed without saying a rosary for soldiers. We added those prayers to our daily order routine. Please pray, Ukrainians need you.”
Basilian Sister Lucia Murashko talks with volunteers Denys Kuprikov, left, and Ivan Smyglia, far right, in Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine Feb. 7, 2023, where they planned to distribute humanitarian aid along the front in Russia’s war against Ukraine. (OSV News photo/Konstantin Chernichkin, CNEWA)
(Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @Guzik_Paulina)
NATION MONTGOMERY, Ala. (OSV News) – Alabama lawmakers in both the state’s House and Senate Feb. 29 passed similar bills to implement legal protections to in vitro fertilization clinics following a ruling by that state’s Supreme Court that frozen embryos qualify as children under the state law’s wrongful death law. IVF is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other concerns. Both chambers passed similar bills, but they must reconcile their pieces of legislation before sending one to the governor’s desk. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has signaled her support for protecting IVF in law. The ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court found that embryos are children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, a statute that allows parents of a deceased child to recover punitive damages for their child’s death. That ruling came in response to appeals brought by couples whose embryos were destroyed in 2020, when a hospital patient improperly removed frozen embryos from storage equipment, which they argued constituted a wrongful death. The judges found that under the law, parents’ ability to sue over the wrongful death of a minor child applies to unborn children, without an exception for “extrauterine children.” Though limited in scope, the ruling has created complex legal questions about what it entailed for IVF treatments in the state.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (OSV News) – A candidate for sainthood is inspiring Catholic Scouts in Illinois to earn a new patch while deepening their relationship with Christ in the Eucharist. The Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Springfield has announced the creation of the Venerable Father Augustine Tolton Activity Patch, which honors the first recognized Black priest in the U.S. Requirements for the patch include learning about Tolton’s life, visiting a seminary or religious community to better understand vocational discernment, modeling Father Tolton’s patient disposition and engaging in prayer. Kyle Holtgrave, the diocese’s director for catechesis, said the inspiration for the Tolton patch came from the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress, set to take place in Indianapolis July 17-21 as the culmination of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, a grassroots effort by the U.S. bishops to rekindle devotion to the Real Presence. Father Tolton, who persisted in his faith despite systemic racism and rejection, exemplified a love for the Eucharist – one that speaks to a new generation, said Holtgrave.
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The ability of Catholic and other faith-based groups to “meet migrants’ basic human needs” at the U.S.-Mexico border is a religious liberty issue and must be defended, U.S. bishops said in recent statements. In a Feb. 26 statement issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso serving migrants, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, expressed solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants. He noted the “strong tradition of religious liberty” in the U.S. “allows us to live out our faith in full,” and said that as “the tragic situation along our border with Mexico increasingly poses challenges for American communities and vulnerable persons alike, we must especially preserve the freedom of Catholics and other people of faith to assist their communities and meet migrants’ basic human needs.” Paxton’s suit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House comes as some Republicans have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, particularly Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Bishop Rhoades’ statement followed the Texas bishops’ Feb. 23 statement, which he praised for “expressing solidarity with those seeking simply to fulfill the fundamental biblical call: ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
An image taken with the near-infrared camera from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the Ring Nebula Aug. 21, 2023. (CNS photo/courtesy ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow, N. Cox, R. Wesson)
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Orbiting the sun nearly 1 million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is reshaping the way scientists understand the universe and its origins, a number of astronomers said at a Vatican-sponsored meeting. “The telescope is able to see things that prior telescopes just could not see,” Jonathan Lunine, a professor of astronomy and department chair at Cornell University, told Catholic News Service Feb. 28. It has such unprecedented power in terms of its sensitivity, wavelength range and image sharpness that it is “doing revolutionary things” and leading to exciting new discoveries in multiple fields, he said. Lunine, who is a planetary scientist and physicist, was one of nearly 50 experts in the field of astronomy attending a Feb. 27-29 workshop organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to discuss the newest results from the Webb telescope. Launched Dec. 25, 2021, NASA’s latest space science observatory is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. It began sending full-color images and data back to Earth after it became fully operational in July 2022. NASA said on its Webb.nasa.gov page, “Telescopes show us how things were – not how they are right now,” which helps humanity “understand the origins of the universe.” “Webb is so sensitive it could theoretically detect the heat signature of a bumblebee at the distance of the Moon,” it said.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Crying out to God and demanding answers when one’s child dies is anything but a sign of a lack of faith, Pope Francis told a group of grieving Italian parents. “There is nothing worse than silencing pain, putting a silencer on suffering, removing traumas without facing them, as our world often encourages in its rush and numbness,” the pope said in a speech written for members of the “Talità Kum” Association from Vicenza, Italy. While the pope had an aide read his speech March 2 because he was suffering from bronchitis, he personally greeted each member of the group. In the text, the pope said he wanted to “offer a caress to your heart, broken and pierced like that of Jesus on the cross: a heart that is bleeding, a heart bathed in tears and torn apart by a heavy sense of emptiness.” The loss of a child is “an experience that defies theoretical descriptions and rejects the triviality of religious or sentimental words” or “sterile encouragements,” the text said. Recognizing that too often the pious phrases Christians offer to grieving parents do nothing to help and may just add to the pain, the pope said that the best response is “to imitate the emotion and compassion of Jesus in the face of pain,” not trying to minimize it, but to share it.
WORLD PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – As the wave of violence torments gang-decimated Haiti, six male religious, a lay teacher and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents Feb. 23 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The six members of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart were abducted on their way to the John XXIII School, which is run by the order. A teacher who was with them was also taken, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need confirmed. “In view of this painful event, the John XXIII institution is closing its doors until further notice. The other institutions of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart throughout the country will continue the work of raising awareness among the new generation of the values of living together in harmony, with a view to the emergence of a new society that is more humane, more caring, and more united,” said the congregation in a statement sent to ACN. Only a few hours later, a priest was also kidnapped in Port-au-Prince. He was taken from his parish church, alongside some of the faithful, soon after celebrating morning Mass. Despite the tireless work of the church, clergy and religious have not been spared the violence of armed gangs.
DORI, Burkina Faso (OSV News) – At least 15 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on Catholics gathered for Sunday Mass in a Burkina Faso village Feb. 25, according to multiple news reports. Twelve Catholics were dead at the scene in the village of Essakane, with another three dying while being treated at a health center, and two others wounded, according to a statement from Bishop Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré of the Diocese of Dori in Northern Burkina Faso, which includes Essakane. “In these painful circumstances, we invite you to pray for the eternal rest of those who have died in the faith, for the healing of the wounded and for the consolation of sorrowful hearts,” the bishop said in the statement. “We also pray for the conversion of those who continue to sow death and desolation in our country. May our efforts of penance and prayer during this period of Lent bring peace and security to our country, Burkina Faso,” the bishop said. According to AP, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but jihadis who have perpetuated similar violence are suspected of carrying it out. Christians in Burkina Faso have been increasingly targeted in recent years by terrorist groups amid political and social upheaval.
LONG BEACH – Director of Catholic Education for the diocese, Karla Luke was bestowed the Dr. Keith Shaffer Memorial Educational Leadership Award by Cognia at their Annual Spring Continuous Improvement Institute on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Cognia is a global accrediting agency that strengthens school performance by centering efforts on school improvement. Luke was described as “a shining example of servant leadership.” (Photo courtesy of Bridget Martin)
PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Easter Egg Hunt and Photos, Sunday, March 31 following 9 a.m. Mass. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.
FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 24 after 10:30 a.m. Mass. Details: church office (601) 992-9547.
HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 24 at 11:45 a.m. Hunts by age group (0-3; 4-6; 7-10). Lunch provided and prizes awarded. Details: church office (662) 429-7851.
JACKSON – St. Richard, Bereavement group, “The River of Grief,” Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. in the Mercy room. Speaker: Claudia Addison. Details: Nancy at (601) 942-2078 or email ncmcghee@bellsouth.net.
St. Richard School, Flight to the Finish 5k and Fun Run, Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m. Details: Visit website for more info and to register at https://runsignup.com/Race/MS/Jackson/FlighttotheFinish.
JACKSON – Sister Thea Bowman School, Annual Draw Down, Saturday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose building. Grand prize $5,000; tickets $100 (admits 2), second chance insurance $20. Enjoy great food, entertainment, silent auction, door prizes and more. Casual attire. Details: contact Shae at (601) 351-5197 or stbdrawdown@gmail.com.
MADISON – St. Francis, Luella and Floyd Q. Doolittle Golf Tournament, Saturday, April 15 at Whisper Lake Country Club. Information and registration form available at https://stfrancismadison.org/knights-of-columbus. Details: Tunney at (601) 622-4145 or tunneyv1@icloud.com.
NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, St. Patrick’s Parade, Saturday, March 16, gather at 5:30 p.m. at Memorial Park, walking parade begins at 6 p.m. Details: email kreweofkillarney@gmail.com.
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m. Details: church office (662) 895-5007.
STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, Spring Trivia Night, Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $20/person or $10/student (college undergrad or under) Details: email ben.bachman@gmail.com for reservations. Tables seat up to 8 participants.
VICKSBURG – VCS Annual Alumni banquet, Saturday, April 6, 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Michael, with 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. banquet at the Levee Street Warehouse. Honorary classes include Class of 1974 and 2024. Guest Speaker: George Valadie. Details: register to attend at https://www.vicksburgcatholic.org/apps/page/alumni.
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Lenten Parish Mission, Wednesday, March 20 and 21, with dinner from 5-5:45 p.m. and Mission at 6 p.m. Details: church office (662) 563-2273.
BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Parish Lenten Mission, March 18 and 19 from 6-8 p.m. Gifts of the Holy Spirit presented by Father Bill Henry. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.
GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Revival with Father Anthony Bozeman, SSJ, April 8-9 at 6 p.m. Details: church office (662) 453-0623.
NATCHEZ – 2nd annual Believe Conference, April 19-21, 2024. Featured speakers are Anne Trufant, Catholic speaker and founder of The Mission on the Mountain; Barbara Heil, founder of From His Heart Ministries; and Joanne Moody, minister author, and founder of Agape Freedom Fighters. Cost: $100 for weekend; $50 for students. Lunch included on Saturday. Details: visit https://www.themissiononthemountain.com.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” Thursdays, April 4, 18, 25; 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.
Christ the King, Lenten Lunch and Learn, Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. Topic: Conversations Overheard by the Cross. RSVP by Sunday, March 10. Details: church office (662) 693-1321. TUPELO – St. James, Lenten Parish Mission – “How Faith Changes Us,” March 17-19 with Father Xavier Raj. Details: church office (662) 842-4881.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. – Women’s Morning of Spirituality, Saturday, April 13 at Catholic Church of the Incarnation (360 Bray Station Road). Continental breakfast in the gym at 7:15 a.m; Program begins in Sanctuary at 8:15 a.m.; Mass at 12:15 p.m. Opportunities for Adoration, Reconciliation, Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet. Details: church office (901) 441-6157.
JOB OPENING JACKSON – The Department of Faith Formation is looking for a full-time administrative assistant. The successful candidate will provide administrative assistance exercising quality pastoral skills for those in pastoral and formational ministry in the Diocese of Jackson. Details: 3-5 years’ experience in an administrative role providing direct support to a multicultural intergenerational department. Understanding basic accounting a plus. High school diploma or GED required; completion of college degree in business preferred. Contact fran.lavelle@jacksondiocese.org with questions or for full job description. Send a cover letter and resume no later than March 11, 2024.
TRAVEL “SPIRIT OF IRELAND AND SCOTLAND” WITH FATHER O’CONNOR – Join Father David O’Connor on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, June 8-17. Itinerary includes: flight to Dublin, two nights in Belfast, ferry to Scotland, two nights in Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh and return flight from Edinburg. Travel in a luxury coach from arrival time until departure, a professional driver/guide, 4-star hotels. Tour highlights include City of Belfast, Titanic, historic and architectural sites, wonderful landscapes and lakes of the Scottish highlands, Scottish food and entertainment. Cost: $4,955 (per person sharing) or $5,950 single. Only a few spots left! For more information/reservations contact Cara Group Travel at (617) 639-0273 or email bookings@caragrouptravel.com.
IRELAND AND SCOTLAND WITH FATHER AUGUSTINE – Join Father Augustine on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, Sept. 6-18. Trip includes stops in Galway, Our Lady of Knock, Cliffs of Moher, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Dublin, Edinburgh and St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Cost: $5,499 – all inclusive, including airfare. To register, contact Proximo Travel at (855) 842-8001 or visit www.proximotravel.com.
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D. The American Catholic experience has been blessed far and wide from the outset by the sacrifice and dedication of religious women and men who arrived with their immigrant communities or came soon after to live and serve among them. At times, God had to raise up these dedicated servants from within to respond to the glaring needs of marginalized and persecuted populations in our country.
In our southern and western regions Sister Katherine Drexel, a native-born Philadelphian, (PA) and the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament come to mind who served Black and Indigenous Americans since their founding in 1891. Our own Sister Amelia Breton who serves as the coordinator of Intercultural Ministry, is a member of this religious community.
Cristiana Dell’Anna stars in a scene from the movie “Cabrini.” The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (OSV News photo/Angel Studios)
At the beginning of the 19th century Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809, the first American Religious Sisters congregation. She was deeply committed to education and is recognized as the foundress of Catholic school education in the United States. Members of her community came to Natchez in 1847 at the behest of Bishop John Joseph Chanche, S.S. to begin the legacy of Catholic education in our diocese. This religious community maintained a presence in Natchez until the early 2000s. Furthermore, God raised up our own Sister Thea Bowman from among the African American population in Canton to become a prophetic messenger of hope for Black Catholics and for all who are marginalized. Her cause for canonization is underway.
In theaters on March 8 across our nation, “Cabrini” is scheduled for release. It is the story of Frances Xavier Cabrini who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Italy in the second half of the 19th century. The name of her community and her chosen middle name in honor of St. Francis Xavier, co-patron of the Missions, declare the purpose of her life and the charism of her community to bring the Gospel in its fulness to the nations. It is a compelling production, exceptional in its content and acting.
In one of the decisive scenes, Mother Cabrini and Pope Leo XIII are having tea and discussing possibilities. She is trying to convince him to give her order permission to venture east to China as she explains, “my mission is bigger than this world.” He calmly and clearly responds: “In that case it doesn’t matter where you begin.” He directed her to go west to New York to serve among the Italian immigrants who came in large numbers to the east coast between 1850 and 1910. The movie proceeds to realistically portray the harsh conditions for immigrants in the church and in society in the late 19th and early 20th century in New York.
On a personal note, it was around 1910 that my maternal grandparents who were from southern Italy passed through Ellis Island and began a new life with the clothes on their backs and a dream in their hearts. The movie is a gem that illustrates the plight, the vulnerability and determination of the immigrant population in ways that are true from one generation to the next. Against all odds Mother Cabrini succeeded in gaining a foothold in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, and from there fulfilled her mission around the globe, a mission that was “bigger than this world.”
The movie never missed a beat in capturing her heroic virtue and perseverance. This story of religious life that passed from the margins of church and society to the mainstream of both, will be a catechetical and evangelizing tool for generations to come. Kudos to all who had a hand in its development and production.
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Moreover, the story of Mother Cabrini can challenge our Catholic communities and all people of good will to respond to the challenges, and at times crises, of immigration through the lens of the Gospel imperative to “welcome the stranger” and the ideals that are forever inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. The following is from the second of two stanzas: “Give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, send these the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
In our times, many religious are serving the immigrant population at our borders and in many corners of our nation. Often, they are as heroic as Mother Cabrini because some are pressuring to shut them down, and extremists are even advocating that they be shot. The current reality of immigration with its blessings and its burdens challenges us to go beyond the political posturing and invective that too often dominate the public narrative. In the time ahead we will add our voice to the public domain.
Hampton Derivaux, St. Paul Vicksburg Andrew Doherty, St. Richard Jackson Jaime Mendoza, Jr., Holy Family Jackson Greta Nalker, Immaculate Conception Raymond Jeremy Napoles, Christ the King Southaven Travis Ross, St. Joseph Meridian Menelik Rozelle, St. Alphonsus McComb Elese Serio, St. Joseph Greenville Benjamin Sylve, Jr., St. Joseph Gluckstadt Agatha Taquino, St. Joseph Starkville Madalyn Weisenberger, Holy Savior Clinton Anna Williams, St. Francis Madison Loria Williams, St. Francis Madison Grace Windham, St. Francis Madison
Around our schools
JACKSON – St. Richard School students are presented with “Cool 2B Kind” awards by John Dorsa for earning the highest points in their houses for virtuous and honorable deeds. (Photo by Chelsea Dillon)
COLUMBUS – Annunciation school recently held a Robotics Pep Rally. (Photo by Jacque Hince)
YAZOO CITY – Youth at St. Mary’s Church celebrated Valentine’s Day with treats and bingo. (Photo by Babs McMaster)
JACKSON – St. Richard School students learn to type with “Keyboarding Without Tears.” (Photo by Chelsea Dillon)
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The ability of Catholic and other faith-based groups to “meet migrants’ basic human needs” at the U.S.-Mexico border is a religious liberty issue and must be defended, U.S. bishops said in recent statements.
In a Feb. 26 statement issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso serving migrants, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, expressed solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants.
Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, attends a march to demand an end to the immigration policy called “Title 42” and to support the rights of migrants coming to the border in downtown El Paso, Texas, Jan. 7, 2023. (OSV News photo/Paul Ratje, Reuters)
“It is hard to imagine what our country would look like without the good works that people of faith carry out in the public square,” Bishop Rhoades said. “For this, we can thank our strong tradition of religious liberty, which allows us to live out our faith in full.”
Paxton’s suit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House comes as some Republicans have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, particularly Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bishop Rhoades said that as “the tragic situation along our border with Mexico increasingly poses challenges for American communities and vulnerable persons alike, we must especially preserve the freedom of Catholics and other people of faith to assist their communities and meet migrants’ basic human needs.”
Paxton’s office alleged Annunciation House’s efforts amount to “facilitating illegal entry to the United States” and “human smuggling.”
“The chaos at the southern border has created an environment where NGOs, funded with taxpayer money from the Biden Administration, facilitate astonishing horrors including human smuggling,” Paxton said in a statement. “While the federal government perpetuates the lawlessness destroying this country, my office works day in and day out to hold these organizations responsible for worsening illegal immigration.”
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., is pictured during World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 2, 2023. Bishop Rhoades, chair of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty committee, joined in solidarity with Texas’ bishops in support for Catholic and other faith-driven ministries whose religious liberty to serve migrants in obedience to the Gospel is under increasing attack. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Catholic and local leaders in El Paso condemned that effort, including the city’s Bishop Mark J. Seitz, who pledged his diocese and the wider church will “vigorously defend the freedom of people of faith and goodwill to put deeply held religious convictions into practice” and “will not be intimidated in our work to serve Jesus Christ in our sisters and brothers fleeing danger and seeking to keep their families together.”
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops said in a Feb. 23 statement that the state’s bishops “join Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso in expressing solidarity with ministry volunteers and people of faith who seek only to serve vulnerable migrants as our nation and state continue to pursue failed migration and border security policies.”
“Our border ministries are intended to be a stabilizing presence that protects both citizens and migrants,” their statement said. “The Catholic Church in Texas remains committed to praying and working for a secure border, to protect the vulnerable and for just immigration solutions to protect all human life.”
Bishop Rhoades commended the Texas bishops for “expressing solidarity with those seeking simply to fulfill the fundamental biblical call: ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'”
(Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @kgscanlon.)
JACKSON – La Diócesis de Jackson comenzó un proceso de reinvención pastoral de un año de duración en Pentecostés de 2023 y espera concluir en Pentecostés de este año.
Este proceso diocesano se inició como resultado del Sínodo sobre Sinodalidad en 2021.
Durante el proceso del Sínodo se articularon tres prioridades en toda la diócesis que incluyeron todos los datos demográficos (edad, género, raza, etc.). Estas prioridades eran un llamado a la sanación y la unidad; una mayor catequesis en todos los niveles; y una comprensión más profunda de las Escrituras.
El proceso de reinvención se extiende a lo largo de cinco fases principales. La primera fase se desarrolló desde Pentecostés hasta principios de septiembre de 2023, en la que cada pastor o ministro eclesial laico (LEM) estableció un comité de reinvención pastoral y hizo que el comité viera cuatro sesiones de videos de eclesiología y respondiera una serie de preguntas diseñadas para guiar la conversación sobre quiénes somos. como iglesia.
NATCHEZ – El obispo Joseph Kopacz habla sobre el proceso de reimaginación pastoral a sacerdotes, diáconos y LEM de toda la diócesis el martes 20 de febrero en un evento de convocatoria en el Centro de Vida Familiar de la Basílica de Santa María. (Foto de Joanna King)
El obispo Kopacz dijo que la primera fase “prepara la mesa para recordarnos lo que significa ser una iglesia y lo que nuestra identidad como católicos requiere de nosotros en el mundo. Nuestro deseo era crear un entendimiento común a partir del cual desarrollar una visión para la Diócesis de Jackson”.
“En otras palabras, fomentar un sentido de unidad subrayado por las cuatro marcas de la iglesia”.
A las parroquias se les dio hasta finales de enero de este año para completar la fase dos, y cada parroquia realizó una evaluación parroquial que incluyó la situación actual en la parroquia local: los bordes en crecimiento; las áreas que están disminuyendo; y las oportunidades de colaboración con otras parroquias de la zona y otras realidades locales.
El obispo Kopacz declaró anteriormente que en la fase dos, “reimaginaremos las responsabilidades de cada parroquia y misión para fomentar un sentido de unidad, subrayado por las cuatro marcas de la iglesia y basado en datos”, dijo el obispo Kopacz.
Esta fase también incluyó un informe detallado sobre la demografía diocesana elaborado por el Centro de Investigación Aplicada en el Apostolado (CARA) de la Universidad de Georgetown. El informe resume la demografía general de la diócesis, así como un perfil de la población católica que vive en los límites de la diócesis.
“Después de analizar los datos demográficos, a las parroquias se les dio la oportunidad de consultar el informe en busca de áreas de crecimiento; evaluar los ministerios y evaluar los desafíos que podrían abordarse”, dijo Fran Lavelle, director de formación en la fe de la diócesis y miembro del equipo central que trabaja en el proceso de reinvención.
NATCHEZ – El Padre Tim Murphy y Fran Lavelle comparten información con uno de los participantes en el proceso de reimaginación pastoral a sacerdotes, diáconos y LEM de toda la diócesis el martes 20 de febrero en un evento de convocatoria en el Centro de Vida Familiar de la Basílica de Santa María. (Foto de Joanna King)
En una convocatoria para sacerdotes, diáconos y LEM celebrada en Natchez durante febrero, el obispo Kopacz y Lavelle cubrieron los hallazgos de la fase dos del informe CARA y dieron una descripción general a los reunidos en la fase tres del proceso de reinvención.
El informe indicó que durante COVID, como se esperaba, hubo una disminución del 50% en todos los sacramentos dentro de la diócesis, con la excepción de los bautismos y confirmaciones infantiles, que experimentaron cada uno una disminución del 39%.
El obispo Kopacz informó en la convocatoria que la investigación de CARA indica que la asistencia a misa a nivel nacional ahora está solo un 2% por debajo de los niveles anteriores a COVID.
Parte del informe CARA destacó el Estudio del panorama religioso de Pew de 2014, en el que el 4% de los adultos encuestados que viven dentro de la Diócesis de Jackson se identificaron como católicos. Con una población actual reportada de 2.138.154 dentro de la diócesis, las estimaciones basadas en encuestas asumirían que hay 85.513 católicos dentro de la diócesis, informó el obispo Kopacz.
En 2021, los católicos registrados en las parroquias ascendieron a 42.850. “Por lo tanto, se puede suponer que hay aproximadamente 42.663 católicos autoidentificados en la diócesis que no asisten a misa ni están activos en una parroquia de ninguna otra manera”, dijo el obispo Kopacz a los reunidos en la convocatoria.
“Entonces, hay muchos que podrían ser bienvenidos y evangelizados”.
Si las tendencias actuales continúan, se espera que la población católica de la diócesis crezca a casi 54.000 para 2030; y a casi 56.000 para 2040.
El obispo Kopacz también destacó la creciente población hispana y planteó la pregunta a considerar: ¿cómo les servimos fiel y eficazmente?
En la reunión estuvieron presentes sacerdotes que sirven a las poblaciones Afroamericanas e Hispanas. (i-d) Jesuraj Xavier, quien administra St Francis Assisi New Albany y St. Matthew Ripley y Alexis Zúñiga, ST, Misionero Trinitario que sirve en Sacred Heart Candem, Holy Child Jesus Canton y St. Anne Carthage, además de ser asesor espiritual del Movimiento Familiar Católico Cristianos, delegación Jackson- Alabama
“Estoy agradecido con varias de nuestras parroquias que se han abierto para invitar a la población hispana a través de misa y liturgia. Es simplemente asombroso ver el crecimiento”.
El obispo Kopacz informó que algunas parroquias, como el Sagrado Corazón en Cantón, están considerando agregar segundas misas en español para acomodar el número de asistentes, ya que a veces solo queda espacio disponible para estar de pie.
La síntesis de los informes parroquiales de la fase dos del proceso de reimaginación mostró áreas de oportunidades, como la creciente población hispana, el alcance a diferentes grupos étnicos dentro de la diócesis y el desarrollo económico en varias áreas de la diócesis. La creciente población hispana también fue señalada como uno de los tres desafíos dentro de la Diócesis de Jackson, específicamente en cómo evangelizar a la población. Los otros dos desafíos incluyen el envejecimiento de la población y la migración de adultos jóvenes fuera del estado.
En el evento de convocatoria, cada sacerdote dentro de sus respectivos decanatos recibió los informes que cada uno completó en la fase dos con el análisis de datos que completaron, al ingresar a la fase tres del proceso de reinvención. “Cada parroquia ha identificado su realidad y lo que es importante… como explorar oportunidades de crecimiento en general, como llegar a la creciente población hispana”, dijo el obispo Kopacz.
También les recordó a cada uno que recordara el tema del sínodo para alcanzar un nivel más profundo de “Comunión, Participación y Misión” cuando se reúnan para examinar sus respectivos decanatos y parroquias.
Este mes, la tercera fase del proceso de reinvención consistirá en sesiones guiadas y facilitadas para que cada uno de los seis decanatos de la Diócesis de Jackson trabaje en los desafíos, tanto en las áreas crecientes como en las áreas decrecientes del ministerio a nivel local y dentro del decanato.
“El objetivo de la fase tres es obtener una perspectiva realista de la salud y el bienestar del decanato dentro del entorno de cada parroquia individual; y analizar áreas de redundancia y áreas potenciales para compartir recursos”, compartió Lavelle.
En cuanto a los informes compilados de casi todas las parroquias, Lavelle dijo que el material “es muy poderoso y que se ha realizado un trabajo realmente bueno y reflexivo a nivel parroquial para analizar los desafíos, las ventajas crecientes y saber qué es lo que está sucediendo”. Necesitamos seguir haciendo crecer nuestras parroquias”.
Lavelle también señaló que no se trata sólo de que los sacerdotes o religiosos hagan cambios en sus respectivas parroquias. “Tenemos que empezar a pensar en quiénes ocupan nuestros bancos los fines de semana e involucrarlos y empoderarlos para que hagan el trabajo con nosotros”.
En abril, el obispo Kopacz visitará cada decanato para celebrar una Misa de Acción de Gracias y reunirse con las personas clave que trabajaron en la reinvención pastoral de cada parroquia.
El Papa Francisco, a través del proceso del sínodo, pidió a los obispos que involucraran más a sus respectivas diócesis. El obispo Kopacz dijo que a través de las visitas al decanato y de participar en “una conversación eucarística de Acción de Gracias”, la diócesis está haciendo precisamente eso a través del proceso de reimaginación a través del diálogo fructífero, el discernimiento y la apertura al Espíritu Santo.
La cuarta fase del proceso de reinvención incluirá un período de discernimiento sobre los informes de los seis decanatos de la diócesis y una carta pastoral del obispo Kopacz, que describirá el hallazgo en cada decanato y establecerá parámetros para la implementación de una visión diocesana general.
“Creo que fiel al espíritu de sinodalidad y a todo lo que puede surgir de ello a través del poder del Espíritu Santo… este es un buen proceso que dará frutos en el futuro”, dijo el obispo Kopacz.
