On November 20, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security announced termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. TPS is a temporary, renewable, and humanitarian program authorized by statute that permits individuals to remain and work lawfully in the U.S. during a period in which it is deemed unsafe for nationals of that country to return home. There are an estimated 50,000 Haitian TPS recipients living in the U.S.

Earlier this month Cardinal Wuerl issued a pastoral letter, The Challenge of Racism Today. In writing the pastoral letter Cardinal Wuerl hopes that all of us in the Archdiocese of Washington might join in a renewed effort to confront what continues to be a grave evil and sin in our society, and to drive it and other intolerance out of hearts, our lives and our community.

Last week I devoted this column to an interview that was published in the Catholic Standard about Cardinal Wuerl’s recently released pastoral letter, The Challenge of Racism Today. I want to continue our reflections on this pastoral letter this week as this pastoral letter is very timely, particularly with events occurring in our country at the present time.

On November 1, 2017, priests of the Archdiocese of Washington received an email from Bishop Knestout announcing that Cardinal Wuerl was releasing a Pastoral Letter entitled, “The Challenge of Racism Today.” Cardinal Wuerl’s letter is not intended to serve as the final word but as a call to rededicating the efforts of each one of us in addressing racism in our midst and bringing reconciliation and healing to our communities.

Pope Francis remarked that the best description of the saints is found in the Beatitudes. He also said that Christ’s followers today are called to confront the troubles and anxieties of our age with the spirit and love of Jesus, as Christian saints have done throughout the ages. Because our new situations require new energy and new commitment, Pope Francis offered a new list of Beatitudes for modern Christians:

I want to continue the discussion on Catholic considerations for our earthly passing that I began last week. I am going to present some more questions and answers from a document entitled “Comfort & Consolation: Q &A.” This is a supplement to the Pastoral Letter Comfort and Consolation from the Catholic Bishops of Maryland. This is a very timely topic in this Respect Life month.

Fr. Ralph’s death is a reminder of one of the themes of Respect Life month that many of us don’t like think about. But it really is something that we have to bear in mind. These are Catholic considerations for our earthly passing. I am going to present some questions and answers from a document entitled “Comfort & Consolation: Q &A.”

Pope Francis launched the “Share the Journey” Migration Campaign on September 27, 2017. Last week the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA began a two-year campaign to support migrants around the world.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For that reason I want to devote my column to this very timely topic. I am going to base this column on a statement issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is entitled “When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence against Women.”

Today is Respect Life Sunday. The Catholic Bishops of the United States initiated Respect Life Sunday in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States through their decision Roe v. Wade. The theme featured for this year (from October 2017 through September 2018) is “Be Not Afraid.”

I want to devote this column to a statement recently made by Cardinal Wuerl in light of the decision by the Trump administration to end the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program in its current form. Cardinal Wuerl issued the following statement on September 15, 2017 and addressed it to the priests of the Archdiocese:

On May 4, 2017 Pope Francis announced that Father Solanus Casey, a beloved Capuchin friar who had ministered for many years in Detroit would be named “blessed.” The beatification will take place during a Mass in Detroit on November 18, 2017.

During the latter part of this year we will see two men born in the United States declared Blessed by the Church. The first one to be beatified will be Fr. Stanley Rother (1935-81). His beatification will take place in Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017. I will write about Fr. Rother in this week’s column. The second American to be beatified this year is Fr. Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap. He will be beatified in Detroit on November 18, 2017. I will write about him in next week’s column.

I am back at my desk after having been away for ten days on vacation. This little break gave me the opportunity to visit with several old friends and family members whom I only get to see when I am in Western Pennsylvania. A highlight for me was attending a dinner on Saturday night (August 26) with about 200 classmates from the 1967 Senior Class of Butler Area Senior High School.

On August 12, 2017, a young man from Ohio slammed his car into a crowd of protestors and onlookers at Charlottesville, VA. A young woman died and many more people suffered serious injuries. On the same day two state troopers were killed when their helicopter accidentally crashed while assisting in law enforcement efforts.

Today I conclude my reporting of an address to the Napa Institute that Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles gave earlier this year. Archbishop Gomez encouraged his audience to recognize the great mission to America that was inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe and to realize that mission was still continuing. To this purpose Archbishop presented a spiritual interpretation of the Guadalupe story in light of the present situation in our country.

We will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption on Tuesday of this week. I saw a report of a talk that Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles recently gave at the Napa Institute. His remarks are very timely as we prepare to gather for Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption.

In last week’s column I proposed that we look at practicing the works of mercy as way to answer the following question. In a world divided by economics and education, social status and political opinions, race and religion, what can I do this week to bring people together? I want to continue that conversation in this week’s column. Let’s look at some works of mercy and some concrete ways to practice them as suggested by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

We regularly feature a question of the week in the bulletin. The question for this week is this: In a world divided by economics and education, social status and political opinions, race and religion, what can I do this week to bring people together? An answer that I want to propose today for all of us is to be attentive to practicing the works of mercy.

The recent death of my mother has led to conversations in which a number of people asked me about the church’s position on the burial of deceased. Some of these people asked questions because they heard about a recent document from the Holy See.