Last Sunday was the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis has recognized that this time is marked by a pandemic and by the suffering of our older generations in every part of the world. The fact that many elderly people have had to die alone and then not be able to have a funeral has been a source of deep pain in the Church. It has certainly been a source of deep pain here in the parish. This was one of the crosses of our time that came to mind during the Way of the Cross led by Pope Francis on Good Friday this year. During that solemn time of prayer one person reported the following: “People jumped out of the ambulance dressed like astronauts, wearing protective suits, gloves, masks, and face shield. They took away my grandfather who had been having difficulty breathing. That was the last time that I saw my grandfather. He died a few days later in hospital. I think of how lonely he must have felt. I couldn’t be near him physically to say goodbye and comfort him.”

I was at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas from July 14-18 for a conference. One of the things to which I look forward to on such an occasion is meeting other people attending the conference as they are often from all over the country. I was not disappointed in this regard. While I was there I met a priest from the Diocese of Tulsa and the Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas. With both of them I had a conversation about the recently beatified Blessed Stanley Rother who had been a priest from Oklahoma and volunteered to be a missionary in Guatemala. Blessed Stanley was murdered because he did not want to abandon the indigenous people in his parish. His parishioners were being tortured and murdered by soldiers and paramilitary squads. When Stanley spoke out against this, he learned that he had been put on a list of people to be tortured and murdered. He was killed on July 28, 1981.

I am continuing the presentation of General Principles that are covered by the Catholic Bishops of the United States in their 1996 statement on “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care.” I’ll discuss two of these General Principles today.

Often priests of the Archdiocese of Washington are asked to undertake other responsibilities in addition to their parish duties. Three years ago I was asked to become the Chaplain to the Courage Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Washington. Courage offers support for Catholic men and women who experience same-sex attraction and desire to live chaste lives following the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. In the course of my work in the Courage, I have found a document issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2006 to be of enormous help in understanding the issues involved with this pastoral situation. Today I am going to present the introduction to this document and one of the general principles to bear in mind when considering this issue.

Today we celebrate Independence Day, the anniversary of our country’s founding. We should appreciate our freedom to worship as we desire, while we aspire to build a more perfect union, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare. It is important for us to see where we need to keep working and persevere in that task. Let’s talk about something that has been talked about in the papers and on social media.

An item that has been in the news lately is the discovery of the remains of over 200 children at a former indigenous residential school in Canada. Both Canadian bishops and indigenous leaders are pushing for a papal apology because this particular Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, which was founded in 1890, was run by both the local Catholic Church and the Canadian government until it closed in 1978. Calls are being increased for Pope Francis to make a formal public apology for the crimes and abuses committed against indigenous children at the schools on behalf of the Catholic Church. Since similar schools were run in the United States, it is timely that we look at racism and the experience of Native Americans. The information that I am presenting on this comes from a background sheet entitled “Racism and the Native American Experience.” Here is the link for this background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-native-american-experience.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of people of a different race. It does not reflect the inner life of God—the Triune unity of three-in-one-that we are called to imitate. Racism manifests itself in sinful individual actions, which contribute to structures of sin that perpetuate division and inequality, as has been seen throughout our nation’s history and into the present. One such structure in need of conversion is the criminal justice system. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and the Criminal Justice System” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-criminal-justice.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of people of different ethnic backgrounds. It does not reflect the love of neighbor that the Lord calls us to have. It denies the diversity of God’s plan. Racism manifests itself in sinful individual actions, which contribute to structures of sin that perpetuate division and inequality. One area where racism has become evident is in the way that the United States has approached the issue of migration, historically, and even today. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and Migration in the United States” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-migration.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last month, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism can be individual, when persons fail to recognize certain groups as created in the image of God and equal in dignity, or it can be systemic, where practices and policies treat certain groups of people unjustly. One area of systemic racism is lack of access to equal employment opportunities for many persons of color. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and Employment” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the backgrounder for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-employment.pdf (usccb.org)

Over the last three weeks we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018 in which they call all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. The Bishops point out that racism can be individual, when people fail to recognize certain groups as being created in the image of God and equal in dignity. Racism can also be systemic, where practices or policies treat certain groups of people unjustly. One area of systemic racism is lack of access to quality education for persons of color. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a very good background sheet on “Racism and Education” that will be my source of information for this column. Here is the link for the backgrounder for those of you who would want to consult it directly: Racism and Education | USCCB.

One of the Bible stories that I recall today is the story of the tower of Babel. People scatter all over the earth because they can no longer understand each other. At Pentecost (which we are celebrating today), the Holy Spirit leads people from all over the world together as one because now they can all understand the apostles even if each speaks a different language. On this Pentecost Day let’s strive to overcome divisiveness by seeking understanding among people who come from different places, who seemingly speak different languages.

Happy Solemnity of the Ascension! This is a special feast day in the history of the Church. On the day that Jesus ascended to heaven to remain with his Father he commanded his disciples to carry on the task to proclaim the good news to the whole world. Now, two thousand years later, we are the disciples who must carry out this task to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.

Recently Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chair of the U. S. Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Committee on Migration expressed disappointment that the number for the fiscal year will continue to be at a historic low but appreciation that a number of persecuted refugee families who could not previously travel will finally be permitted resettlement in the United States. Here is his statement:

I have been very struck by the address that Pope Francis gave on Easter Monday just before he prayed the Regina Caeli in the Library of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. As we are still in the Easter season for a few more weeks, I wanted us to have an opportunity to review his words again today.

Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, celebrated a noon Mass on April 21 which was live streamed online in observance of April as National Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention Month. Cardinal Gregory encourages us that “[a]s we work together to bring this darkness in our community to light, let us continue to embrace those who are suffering with such pain and respond in a way that supports healing, comfort and peace.”

I was reading a report from the Vatican News Service about recent developments in Haiti. Five Haitian and two French religious, as well as three laypersons, were kidnapped in Haiti on Sunday, April 11, as they were preparing to attend a ceremony for the installation of a new parish priest in the municipality of Croix-des-Bouquet, northeast of Haiti’s capital. Reports indicate that the kidnappers, suspected to have been part of an armed gang, have demanded a ransom for the release of the people in their custody. The local bishop, the Most Reverend Pierre-André Dumas of Mirogoâne, made the following comment after learning of the kidnapping, “This is too much. The time has come for these inhumane acts to stop.” The Haitian Conference of Religious (HCR) has expressed its deep sorrow, but also its anger at the situation. HCR noted that this kind of illegal activity has been going on for over a decade.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter and also Divine Mercy Sunday. The feast of Divine Mercy is based on the devotion to the Divine Mercy that Saint Faustina Kowalska reported as part of her encounter with Jesus.

The Lord has risen as he said, Alleluia!

On this Palm Sunday I think that it would be good to remember twenty missionaries who experienced a violent death in mission lands in 2020. These priests, seminarians, religious, lay women, and lay men were witnesses to the passion and love of the heart of Jesus. Let me list the names of these twenty missionaries, their country of origin, and the country in which they were killed:

With the availability of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been asked for guidance by a number of parishioners about the morality of taking one of the vaccines. Even though I wrote about this several weeks ago, I am going to do it again because I think that there is a need to do so. Let me begin by quoting a statement that the Maryland Catholic Conference posted on March 9, 2021.