On Sunday, October 13, 2019, the Holy Father celebrated Mass and presided at the Rite of Canonization of five Blesseds: John Henry Newman (1801-90), Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, Founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England; Josephine Vannini (1859-1911), Foundress of the Daughters of Saint Camillus; Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876-1926), Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family; Dulce Lopes Pontes (1914-92), professed religious of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God; Marguerite Bays (1815-1879), lay woman and Secular Franciscan.

Recently I was stopped by a parishioner after Mass who wanted to ask me a question. The parishioner had heard in a news report that the Holy Father had changed the text of the Our Father. The parishioner continued by asking me when I was going to follow suit and have us start praying the Our Father according to the change that the Pope had ordered. I had not seen this news report, but I promised the parishioner that I would research this and let the parish know what was going on with this.

I was looking forward to the presentation by our former parochial vicar, Fr. Robert Boxie, on racism. Unfortunately, Fr. Boxie was not able to deliver his talk yesterday owing to a conflict that had developed in his schedule. We are hoping to reschedule his talk soon. He had planned to offer some more reflections on a recently issued pastoral letter by our bishops on racism.

Last Sunday the Church celebrated World Mission Sunday. This celebration goes all the way back to 1926 when Pope Pius XI instituted this commemoration. The first worldwide Mission Sunday collection actually took place in October 1927. Often this collection has been taken up on the next to the last Sunday in October—but this year it was celebrated on the second Sunday of October. The day is celebrated in all local Catholic churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity, so that Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.

This month, during Respect Life month, the Church remembers in a particular way victims of domestic violence. I thought that it would be useful to include in today’s column some pastoral guidelines in response to abusers.

October is a special time for us to pray for life. A few weeks ago now Archbishop Gregory wrote to the priests of the Archdiocese about Respect Life Sunday, which Catholic Churches in the United States are observing today. Let me quote two paragraphs from his letter for you now:

Today marks the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019. I want to devote the next two columns to Pope’s Francis Message for this occasion.

On September 13, 2019 Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a statement in anticipation of the reported recommendation of Administration officials to the White House that the number of refugee admissions for the next year be fewer than 30,000 refugees.

As I write this column Hurricane Dorian has hit the Atlantic Maritime Provinces of Canada (notably Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) on Sunday afternoon (September 8). By Sunday evening it should have blown out to sea. Several days ago Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement about Hurricane Dorian that left at least fifty people dead in its path. Here is part of Cardinal DiNardo’s statement: “…we are extremely mindful of the dire need faced by the community in the Bahamas so devastated by this catastrophic storm. We pray for all affected and invite Catholics and all people of goodwill to donate to Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.”

On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, I received the sad news that Sr. Marcella Marie Missar, SND, who turned 92 on April 7, 2019, had died at the Notre Dame Health Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 9, 2019. Sr. Marcella had been in religious life for seventy-six years.

I am writing this column after having returned from my brief visit to Butler, Pennsylvania to visit family and friends. While I was in Butler I saw clear evidence of the opioid epidemic that has plagued various parts of the country, particularly Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. A priest ministering in Pennsylvania said that he saw the impact of the opioid crisis in people walking the streets, high all day, and being so blatant to the point that they are shooting up in public and not even trying to hide it. When I was in Butler, I talked with a long-standing acquaintance about the impact of the opioid crisis in my hometown. He expressed the frustration of many who want to be compassionate but become angry and frustrated when they see addicts passed out or stealing from people to get money to purchase more drugs.

On August 13, 2019 bishops from two committees at the United States Conference at Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed their strong opposition to a final rule on public charge put forth by the Department of Homeland Security. A rule on public charge would deny green cards to immigrants who receive public assistance, including food stamps, Medicaid, and housing vouchers. The rule was published on August 12, 2019 and would take effect sixty days after publication.

On August 8, 2019, Bishops from three committees at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed deep concern about racism and xenophobia has apparently motivated the massacre in El Paso and that have motivated numerous other mass shootings in the United States. The Chairmen called on our elected officials to exert leadership in seeking to heal the wounds that these shootings have caused and to deal with the scourges of racism, xenophobia, and religious bigotry, including refraining from hurtful, painful, and divisive rhetoric that dehumanizes and polarizes people on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.

I often write my column for the bulletin at least a week before it appears in the bulletin. I am sitting on a computer on Sunday afternoon (August 4) very sad because of the outbreak of violence that has happened in the last week or so. The sadness is compounded by the shootings that occurred yesterday (August 3) in El Paso, Texas and very early this morning (August 4) in Dayton, Ohio.

On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, the Holy See announced that the Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, an auxiliary bishop in Baltimore, had been named the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. Bishop Brennan is well known to many in the parish, particularly since he was the Pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, when he was named to be an auxiliary bishop in Baltimore.

I have been watching the activities of Bishop Edward Malesic, fifth bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg, PA, since his installation as the Bishop of Greensburg in 2015. Some of this would be hometown interest. The county immediately to the East of Butler County is Armstrong County, which is located in the Greensburg Diocese.

Recently someone asked me when our parish church was dedicated. I actually have the answer to that question hanging on one of the walls in my office in the rectory: a letter from William Cardinal Baum, former Archbishop of Washington, to our founding pastor, the Reverend John P. Stack. Let me quote from this important letter for our parish history.

Our beloved Fr. Ralph Kuehner was a tireless advocate for affordable housing for vulnerable populations. He advocated for this in the various Maryland counties in which the Archdiocese of Washington is located as well as before the DC government and in Annapolis whenever the need for this arose. I think that he would heartily endorse statements by two Bishops on a proposed rule that would lead to family separation and housing instability.

Both Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of Austin and Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a joint statement in which they called on the federal government to hear the cry of the poor and vulnerable. I am transcribing their statement here. It can be found online at http://www.usccb.org/news/2019/19-125.cfm.

When I was reading through the news on the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) website, I was pleased to see that several MCC legislative priorities were signed into law by Governor Hogan. Let me summarize what these priorities were.