Author Archives: Tereza Ma

U.S. Attorney announces indictment of Catholic priest and deferred prosecution agreement with Diocese of Jackson

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OXFORD – U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar of the Northern District of Mississippi announced that a Mississippi Catholic priest has been indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, a Mississippi non-profit corporation.

The case stems from an investigation initiated by Homeland Security Investigations into the activities of Father Lenin Vargas, the prior pastor of St. Joseph Catholic parish, Starkville, Mississippi and Corpus Christi Catholic Mission, Macon, Mississippi. The investigation led to the indictment of Vargas on ten counts of wire fraud based on alleged fraudulent fundraising activities, in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 1343. During the ongoing investigation but prior to the grand jury’s return of an indictment, Vargas fled to his home country of Mexico.

In addition, the United States Attorney’s Office and the Catholic Diocese of Jackson have entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. The deferred prosecution agreement is based on the alleged inaction of the Diocese, which allegedly contributed to parishioners continuing to donate money to Vargas, as more fully set forth the criminal complaint and affidavit. The deferred prosecution agreement, which is to be in effect for twelve months, includes a number of remedial measures designed to help ensure that there are no future violations such as those alleged in the affidavit. Upon successful completion of the deferred prosecution agreement, all charges against the Catholic Diocese of Jackson will be dismissed. The Diocese has reimbursed identified victims of the alleged fraudulent scheme.

The public is reminded that a deferred prosecution agreement and the indictment are not evidence of guilt and that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Perla de sabiduría

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Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Las lecturas de las Escrituras para el domingo pasado mostraban la oración del joven Salomón tomando las riendas de su padre David como el rey de Israel. La tarea que tenía por delante era desalentadora y, en su encuentro con Dios en un sueño, se inspiró para rezar con humildad y honestidad. “Dame, pues, un corazón atento para gobernar a tu pueblo, y para distinguir entre lo bueno y lo malo; porque ¿quién hay capaz de gobernar a este pueblo tuyo tan numeroso?”

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

En las escrituras hebreas, el Antiguo Testamento, hay un grupo de literatura que se clasifica como Literatura de la Sabiduría. Estos fascinantes libros de la Biblia fueron escritos durante cientos de años en la era posterior al exilio. El Libro de la Sabiduría presenta una oración atribuida a Salomón que revela su corazón y mente y su dependencia de Dios, al menos en los primeros años de su reinado. “Dios de mis antepasados, Señor misericordioso, que por tu palabra has hecho todas las cosas, que con tu sabiduría has formado al hombre para que domine sobre toda tu creación, para que gobierne el mundo con santidad y rectitud y administre justicia con recto corazón … Contigo está la sabiduría, que conoce tus obras y que estaba presente cuando hiciste el mundo; ella sabe lo que te agraday lo que está de acuerdo con tus mandamientos … Ella, que todo lo conoce y lo comprende, me guiará con prudencia en todas mis acciones y me protegerá con su gloria … porque, ¿qué hombre conoce los planes de Dios? ¿Quién puede imaginar lo que el Señor quiere?” (Sabiduría 9)
La sabiduría de Salomón, anclada en la oración, es un camino para todos los que toman decisiones que afectan la vida de los demás durante estos días agonizantes de pandemia. Esto incluye a casi todos, nuestros funcionarios electos, todos los que prestan servicios de atención médica, propietarios de negocios en todos los frentes, educadores y estudiantes, líderes de la iglesia y padres y cuidadores que deciden en nombre de sus hijos.
En el pasaje del evangelio el fin de semana pasado escuchamos las palabras del Señor al final de la sección sobre las parábolas del Evangelio de Mateo.” Cuando un maestro de la ley se instruye acerca del reino de los cielos, se parece al dueño de una casa, que de lo que tiene guardado sabe sacar cosas nuevas y cosas viejas.” (Mateo 13:52)
Debemos profundizar en el depósito de nuestra fe y experiencia para recurrir a la sabiduría probada por el tiempo para negociar todo lo que es nuevo, espiritual, mental y materialmente. El mundo no ha visto una pandemia de este tipo en más de 100 años, y estas son aguas desconocidas donde la próxima curva en los rápidos podría presentar riesgos inesperados. Caminamos, de hecho, por fe.
El uso de la sabiduría, la piedra angular de los dones del Espíritu Santo, no se trata solo de elegir sabiamente. La literatura de sabiduría es vasta, como es evidente en los libros de Job, Proverbios, Eclesiastés, Eclesiástico, Sabiduría, los Salmos y el Cantar de los Cantares. Los temas de estas obras inspiradas tienen su origen en las alegrías y tristezas de la vida, los triunfos y las tragedias, y en la realidad de la muerte.
El libro de Job lucha con la agonizante cuestión del sufrimiento, especialmente cuando aflige a una persona inocente. Siempre y como parte de la vida, hoy somos testigos de un sufrimiento y ansiedad generalizados. Para todos los discípulos, la sabiduría en el Libro de Job se cumple en el sufrimiento y la muerte de Jesucristo en la Cruz, y en su resurrección de entre los muertos. Que todos los que sufren sufran una fuerza y esperanza renovadas en el Dios de nuestro Señor Jesucristo para esta vida y la próxima.
En el Evangelio del domingo pasado, Jesús habla de la perla de gran precio y del tesoro enterrado en un campo. Cuando San Mateo construyó su Evangelio, supo que había encontrado esta perla y este tesoro cuando el Señor lo miró con amorosa misericordia y lo llamó a abandonar su estilo de vida para proclamar un tesoro escondido hasta ese momento. El que anteriormente había oprimido a su pueblo con el libro mayor ahora estaba proporcionando luz y esperanza con la Palabra viva de Dios. En medio de esta crisis mundial, que la mirada amorosa del Señor Jesús nos capacite para responder con sabiduría y convicción a lo que la vida nos está sirviendo.
San Pablo nos regaló una perla de gran valor y sabiduría en la segunda lectura del domingo pasado. “Sabemos que Dios dispone todas las cosas para el bien de quienes lo aman”. (Romanos 8:28) Por la gracia de Dios, podemos profundizar nuestra fe, esperanza y amor durante este tiempo de crisis, una oportunidad para valorar las cosas que realmente importan.

Migrants seeking new life end up instead in ‘hell’ of detention

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By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Decrying the unimaginable “hell” migrants experience in detention centers, Pope Francis urged all Christians to examine how they do or don’t help – as Jesus commanded – the people God has placed in their path.
Christians must always seek the face of the Lord, who can be found in the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned and foreigners, the pope said on the anniversary of his first pastoral visit as pope to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Jesus warned everyone, “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” and Christians today must look at their actions every day and see if they have even tried to see Christ in others, the pope said in his homily during Mass July 8.
“Such a personal encounter with Jesus Christ is possible also for us, disciples of the third millennium,” he said.
The Mass, held in the chapel of the pope’s residence, marked the seventh anniversary of his first apostolic journey to an island that has been a major destination point for migrants seeking a new life in Europe.
However, since 2014, at least 19,000 people have died, drowning in the Mediterranean Sea during those boat crossings. Pope Francis mourned their deaths during his 2013 visit with prayers and tossing a floral wreath into the rippling water.
In his homily at the Vatican chapel July 8, he remembered those who are trapped in Libya, subjected to terrible abuse and violence and held in detention centers that are more like a “lager,” the German word for a concentration camp. He said his thoughts were with all migrants, those embarking on a “voyage of hope,” those who are rescued and those who are pushed back.
“Whatever you did, you did for me,” he said, repeating Jesus’ warning.
The pope then took a moment to tell the small congregation – all wearing masks and sitting at a distance from one another – what had struck him about listening to the migrants that day in Lampedusa and their harrowing journeys.
He said he thought it strange how one man spoke at great length in his native language, but the interpreter translated it to the pope in just a few words.
An Ethiopian woman, who had witnessed the encounter, later told the pope that the interpreter hadn’t even translated “a quarter” of what was said about the torture and suffering they had experienced.
“They gave me the ‘distilled’ version,” the pope said.
“This happens today with Libya, they give us a ‘distilled’ version. War. Yes, it is terrible, we know that, but you cannot imagine the hell that they live there,” in those detention camps, he said.
And all these people did was try to cross the sea with nothing but hope, he said.
“Whatever you did … for better or for worse! This is a burning issue today,” the pope said.
The ultimate goal for a Christian is an encounter with God, he said, and always seeking the face of God is how Christians make sure they are on the right path toward the Lord.
The day’s first reading from the Book of Hosea described how the people of Israel had lost their way, wandering instead in a “desert of inequity,” seeking abundance and prosperity with hearts filled with “falsehood and injustice,” he said.
“It is a sin, from which even we, modern Christians, are not immune,” he added.
The prophet Hosea’s words call everyone to conversion, “to turn our eyes to the Lord and see his face,” Pope Francis said.
“As we undertake to seek the face of the Lord, we may recognize him in the face of the poor, the sick, the abandoned, and the foreigners whom God places on our way. And this encounter becomes for us a time of grace and salvation, as it bestows on us the same mission entrusted to the apostles,” he said.
Christ himself said “it is he who knocks on our door, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, seeking an encounter with us and requesting our assistance,” the pope said.
The pope ended his homily by asking Our Lady, the solace of migrants, “help us discover the face of her son in all our brothers and sisters who are forced to flee from their homeland because of the many injustices that still afflict our world today.”

Prayerful ponderings of a pregnant lady

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GUEST COLUMN
By Meg Ferguson
In the grand sea of types and styles of prayers, I’ve found myself at home in

Meg Ferguson

prayerful ponderings. I love to take a virtue (like gratitude) or a specific topic (like suffering) and investigate it from all sides in hopes of clarifying how I can better live out this virtue or gaining some deeper insight into the topic. I could look at Scripture passages or writings of saints that relate to that theme, try to imagine what their lives were like, ask questions, and see what new insights speak to my heart. Usually, I will ponder one topic over days or weeks mulling the idea repeatedly in my head asking for the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. Recently, I’ve been meditating on pregnancy and the mystery of creating new life, and I would like to share my small insights with each of you.
Since I am currently pregnant with my first child, it’s no surprise why the topic of pregnancy has been weighing on my heart lately. My husband and I got married this past December, and we are so blessed to be able to start a family right away! Our little one is due in October, and we just found out it’s a boy. The joy and anticipation that fills this chapter of my life can hardly be put into words!
In my prayers, I find myself focusing on two passages in Scripture over and over again: Psalm 139:13-14 and 1 Kings 19:11-13. In Psalm 139, the psalmist is praising God for his greatness and all-knowing, all-powerful nature saying, “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!” (Psalm 139:13-14). This passage makes me feel elated and, indeed, wonderfully made, and a little confused. I can’t help but get stuck reading the metaphor of being ‘knit in a mother’s womb.’ I thought to myself as I read, is God like a master knitter? Somehow, the image of God the Father sitting in an old-fashioned wooden rocking chair intently focused on a knitting project made me smile (and laugh a little). But on a more serious note, God is like a knitter who meticulously crafts something beautiful. In Psalm 139:13-14, the beautiful creation God is so focused on is a child in utero. And in this metaphor, the mother is the one supplying God with the yarn, so to speak. That is, a mother provided the raw materials for God to create a new unique and truly awe-inspiring tiny human. God could have chosen to create new life another way, without the contributions of human men or women, but He chooses to work with us. How amazing is that!?! In all pregnant mothers, God, the Creator of All Life, is at work in a special way. But it’s not just pregnant mothers who work with God, fathers, too, are co-operating with God’s creative action.
In thinking about this brief Bible passage, I am reminded that God is not a God who is faraway uninterested in human life, like a divine watchmaker who winds the watch and lets go. God is actively involved in our lives every day! Every breath we take is a gift God personally hands us like a flower picked for a special gift.
In 1 Kings 19:11-13, Elijah recognizes God’s presence in his life. God tells Elijah that he will be passing by, and Elijah diligently waits. A tornado-like wind sweeps by, an earthquake shakes the mountain where he is, and a fire rages on, but Elijah knows God is not present in those destructive powers. Rather, when he hears “a light silent sound,” Elijah recognizes the Lord. When I read this passage, I connect the small gentle sound to the little baby kicks I have only recently started experiencing. God is present in the tiniest wiggle of my little one, and I am filled with joy! I ask myself, ‘How often do I miss the other tiny moments when God makes Himself present in my life (like a phone call or text from a friend, or the kind act of a stranger)?’ ‘How often to I forget to thank God for all that I’ve been given?’ I hope and pray we all strive to see God’s presence working in the everyday moments of our lives.

(Meg Ferguson is the director of campus ministry at St. Joseph Starkville.)

Imago dei

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From the hermitage
By Sister alies therese
It is heaving I mean fierce good ‘ole tropical summer Southern Mississippi rain and I imagine God weeping over us. Weeping and weeping, weeping over Jerusalem because we just don’t get it. What is ‘it’? Well, we are made in the image of God, each one of us, not just the privileged. Do we experience our God gazing with love at us and mourning, almost saying, ‘after all that trouble My Jesus went to…?’

Sister alies therese

The band-aid has been ripped off some of the cancerous wound. Can we be cleansed? I find that difficult. You? I am reminded that our systems advantage one and clearly disadvantage another. (Consider Frederick Douglass’ speech on July 4, 1852.) Or worse, I suppose, is that ‘I know’ and ‘have known’ all along but have done nothing, or very little. Why does change only come when there is murder, anxiety, systemic racism, death penalty, abortion, virus, disease, abuse, hatred, hopelessness and brutality? They all sound very death-dealing to me. None very pro-life! Right. Death to them all! Easier said than done.
I suppose the Gospels would inform my conscience and practice more if I’d dare to read them wanting to change (like wearing a mask) … but since I am advantaged I’d prefer, perhaps, to read them as a way of comforting myself rather than accepting Martin Luther King’s challenge: “Let us be dissatisfied.” (MLK, 1967, SCLC speech) We know some of things he was dissatisfied with: racial injustice, economic inequality, hunger and war. All those boiled down to his bottom line: he was satisfied with nothing short of the Kingdom of God, the Beloved Community, the Kindom of acceptance, of love in practice. I’m not sure I want to work that hard. You? At the heart of all this is reconciliation, not necessarily integration or assimilation or whatever the fashionable buzz-word is. In that same speech he reminded us: “I am personally the victim of deferred dreams, of blasted hopes.”
Racism is particularly ugly and over the years has been worth writing about. In 1989 the Pontifical Commission ‘Iustitia Et Pax’ produced ‘The Church and Racism. Towards a More Fraternal Society.’ (pub. CTS, 1989). This always makes me think:
“Harboring racist thoughts and entertaining racist attitudes is a sin against the specific message of Christ from whom one’s ‘neighbor’ is not only a person from my tribe, my milieu, my religion, or my nation: it is every person that I meet along the way.” (page 34)
That sin hasn’t changed. Have I? How have I begun to be an ally? What am I willing to give up? How do I understand the anguish of another and stand with them? Is each person another Christ?
The Venerable Dorothy Day twigged a similar awareness as she sat in jail: “I am the mother whose child has been raped and slain. I was the mother who had borne the monster who had done it. I was even that monster, feeling in my own heart every abomination.” (Day, From Union Square, 1938)
Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation (1961), offered this:
“If people really wanted peace they would sincerely ask God for it and God would give it to them. But why should God give the world peace it does not really desire? The peace the world pretends to desire is satisfaction of animal appetites for comfort and pleasure … really no peace at all … so instead of loving what you think is peace, love other people and love God above all. And instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed – but hate these things in yourself, not in another.” (page 121-22)
Langston Hughes in his ever-famous poem proposed a question we still need to answer:
“What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like as a sore — And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over
— like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?” (Langston Hughes Reader, 1958)
We have seen a few explosions (the many murders, brutality and ‘the-19’) and in these days we have had some wonderful peaceful protests. We have seen some changes (like the Mississippi state flag). Maybe we are able together to fully turn our hearts toward God and learn how prayer and action need to match. That would be a clear delivery of the mercy of God and we could show forth we are indeed, created in God’s image, all of us.
“Love your neighbor like something which you yourself are.” (Shmelke of Nikolsburg, from Buber’s Early Masters, 1947)

(Sister alies therese is a vowed Catholic solitary who lives an eremitical life. Her days are formed around prayer, art and writing.)

Farewell letter from the Missionary Guadalupana of the Holy Spirit in Mississippi

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Dear parishioners,

Our sixteen-year presence in the Diocese of Jackson marked our lives, as individuals, as community, as a province, and as a congregation. Today we say thank you for all the gifts and love expressions that we have received. We are grateful for what we have offered, the seeds that we have planted and the fruits that we have reaped spread now beyond Mississippi.
The sisters who finish the Mississippi’s mission are María Eugenia Moreno, Obdulia Olivar and María Josefa García. Without a doubt, the communities where they worked, St. Therese Jackson, St. Michael Forest, and St. Martín Porres Morton were hit hard by the massive immigration raids in Aug. 2019 and now by COVID-19. The Forest and Morton communities, where Sisters Obdulia and María Eugenia operated were severely affected. Scott County was one of the hardest hit affecting many Hispanic families, who fought two enemies at the same time.
The churches became gathering places, national and local aid, moral and economic support. The sisters became mothers, counselors, bridges, resources, and all together with them they mourned their losses and advocated for them. Almost in a year the community that they helped to build for years has literally fallen apart. Many families moved out of the state and the church as a mother had been trying to pick up what had fallen, and the sister along with it.
With our gratitude we tell them that they will always be in our hearts, in our prayer and will be part of our life as a congregation. We say goodbye with Psalm 126:

When the Lord restored the captives of Zion,
We thought we were dreaming.
Then our mouths were filled with laughter;
our tongues sang for joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord had done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us;
Oh, how happy we were!
Restore our captives, Lord,
like the dry stream beds of the Negeb
Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
Those who go forth weeping,
carrying sacks of seed,
Will return with cries of joy,
carrying their bundled sheaves.

We too are crying, carrying the sheaves of so many wonderful people who accompanied and grew up with us around the entire Diocese of Jackson.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ana Gabriela Castro, Yesenia Fernández, Gabriela Ramírez, María Josefa García, María Eugenia Moreno, Obdulia Olivar, Magdalena Carrillo, María Elena Méndez and all Sisters of the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit.

Q&A with Missionary Guadalupana of the Holy Spirit

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Sister María Elena Mendez, MGSpS answered questions, after closing a Missionary chapter of her congregation in Mississippi after 16 years, sharing their history and experiences.

Q: How and why the Guadalupana Mission came to Mississippi?
A: Sisters Ana Gabriela Castro, Yesenia Fernández and Gabriela Ramírez arrived in Forest, Mississippi on Aug. 17, 2004, invited by Father Richard Smith, who was in charge of St. Michael parish. They arrived excited and eager to mission through these lands, they came loaded with accumulated experiences from various parts of the country and abroad, varied types of apostolates and with several boxes of possible tools to be used in the new mission. At the beginning, there was only Yesenia and Ana Gabriela in Forest and Gabriela María in the Hispanic ministry within the chancery, but during the course of time, some sisters arrived and others left both for work in Forest and from the Hispanic ministry office.

Q: What are the fruits and challenges you had?
A: In Forest, the work of Gaby Castro and Yesenia was exceptional, but set the path for all of us later. They walked with the people in their needs, they went to the hospital, to the Mexican consulate, to jail when some were detained in the constant immigration checkpoints or took them out of there. English was required for all these details, since there was almost no place for translators and almost nobody had a driver’s license, only God’s. They looked for ways to train the community through small workshops, retreats and home visits to empower them personally, but the constant mobility left them often frustrated to start again when these leaders moved out to another place in search for work. But just as some left, others came and to continue. The missionary motivation did not end because of that.

Q: What are your most memorable experiences?
A: First, all the wonderful people we met. In the mission, we slept on the ground, listening to the whistle and the intense movement of the rails before the thunderous passage of the train, experiencing up close the loneliness and depression that many people live in the distance from their homeland, family and friends, tired physically and mentally for the work that absorbs them. We traveled the length and breadth of the 37,629 thousand square miles the diocese encompasses to find us in our path, valuable, brave, and struggling people who are making their way through the arduous lands of the southern state of Mississippi.

Q: What is Mississippi for you all?
A: Mississippi, made us realize that the mission is here, even in these moments; it is a mission land, first-generation migrants and very different from those we already knew in other places for years. We had to realize, from the constant frustrations and experiences that we were acquiring, that our job was to accompany, be present in their joys and difficulties, walk with them, go out to meet their needs and give them training to enhance leadership in the community, as the Virgin of Guadalupe did, from our Guadalupano priestly-charism and our personal charisms.

Archbishop Lipscomb dies; was ‘good bishop’ who ‘loved Mobile, its people’

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By Catholic News Service
MOBILE, Ala – Retired Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb, who was ordained the first archbishop of Mobile, died the morning of July 15 at the Little Sisters of the Poor residence in Mobile after a lengthy period of physical decline. He was 88.

Retired Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala., is seen in this undated photo. He died July 15, 2020, at the age of 88. (CNS photo/courtesy The Catholic Week)

Due to the coronavirus, his funeral Mass was private. It was celebrated July 21 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile. Entombment followed in the crypt at the cathedral.
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile was the celebrant of the Mass, and Msgr. Michael Farmer, former vicar general of the archdiocese and current pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Auburn, Alabama, was the homilist. The Mass was livestreamed on Facebook.com/TheCatholicWeek and aired on Archangel Radio.
Archbishop Lipscomb was a Mobile native and served all of his priestly ministry in Mobile, including 28 years as archbishop. He was ordained the first archbishop of Mobile in 1980 after the Vatican established the Province of Mobile and raised the diocese to the Archdiocese of Mobile.
“Archbishop Lipscomb loved Mobile and its people,” Archbishop Rodi said. “As a native of the city, he devoted his life to bringing God’s love to many. He made an indelible mark in our archdiocese as a man of God, a good priest and a good bishop.”
During his tenure as archbishop, Archbishop Lipscomb served on various committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, numerous college and seminary boards, and the board of directors of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
He also served on national and international Catholic committees, including the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, the Catholic Health Association Committee on Ethics and Values, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the Southeast Regional Office for Hispanic Affairs and Vox Clara, the committee that advises the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments on liturgical translations in English.
Oscar Hugh Lipscomb was born Sept. 21, 1931, to Oscar H. Lipscomb Sr. and Margaret Antoinette Saunders Lipscomb. He attended St. Patrick Parochial School and McGill Institute in Mobile before studying at St. Bernard College in Cullman, Alabama, and the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood July 15, 1956, in Rome for what was then the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham.

Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala., is seen with Pope Benedict XVI in this undated photo. He died July 15, 2020, at the age of 88. (CNS photo/courtesy The Catholic Week)

Upon returning to Mobile, he served at St. Mary Parish and taught at McGill Institute and Spring Hill College. He was appointed vice chancellor of the diocese in 1963 and chancellor in 1966.
He also served as pastor of his childhood parish, St. Patrick in Mobile, from 1966 to 1971 as well as assistant pastor at St. Matthew Parish in Mobile and Cathedral Parish. After 28 years of ministry as the archbishop of Mobile, at age 76, Archbishop Lipscomb’s request for retirement was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
Archbishop Lipscomb continued to remain active in Mobile, attending Masses and Catholic events throughout the archdiocese. He also loved McGill-Toolen Catholic High School athletics and rarely missed a Friday night football game. In 2008, the athletic complex at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School was dedicated as Lipscomb Field.
Archbishop Lipscomb was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Margaret Joyce Bolton, and her husband, Joseph. He is survived by his nephew, Joseph M. Bolton Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Daphne, Alabama; his cousin, Mrs. Raye White of Houston; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Regis Philbin dies; Catholic TV host logged 17,000-plus hours on tube’

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By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON – Regis Philbin, the Catholic talk- and game-show host whose career in television spanned six decades, died July 24 at age 88 of cardiovascular disease at a hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he lived.

Regis Philbin smiles during the Television Critics Association media tour in Pasadena, Calif., July 21, 2006. The popular TV host died July 24, 2020. He was 88. (CNS photo/Mario Anzuoni, Reuters)

Philbin is credited by Guinness World Records as having been on air more than anyone else on TV, putting the figure at more than 17,000 hours.
Philbin was a 1953 graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and an avid supporter of his alma mater. He also graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in New York, and was a generous benefactor there as well.
“Regis regaled millions on air through the years, oftentimes sharing a passionate love for his alma mater with viewers,” said Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, in a July 25 statement.
“He will be remembered at Notre Dame for his unfailing support for the university and its mission, including the Philbin Studio Theater in our performing arts center. … Our prayers are with his wife, Joy, and their daughters and Notre Dame alumnae Joanna and J.J.”
But Philbin’s greatest success may have been hosting the U.S. version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” for ABC for three years. Upon its debut, it became a phenomenon, lifting ABC to first place in the ratings race – and the Walt Disney Co.’s stock price in the process. “Millionaire,” while a game show, also is credited with spawning the “reality TV” genre that continues on network TV.
In 2007, Philbin won $175,000 on the Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” and announced on the air that he would donate his winnings to Cardinal Hayes High School. The year before, he gave the school his $50,000 prize from winning “Celebrity Jeopardy” on another special episode for celebrities to win for their favorite charity.
“I think everything I am is the result of 16 years of Catholic education,” Philbin said in a 1996 interview. “The values that you learn as a kid stay with you the rest of your life. Certainly, those nuns and brothers and priests drummed enough of those values into us that it helped us tremendously.”
Funeral plans were not announced by press time, but in the same interview, Philbin addressed rumors that he wanted his ashes to be scattered over the Notre Dame campus when he dies. “That’s right,” he said. “I want to be there forever.”

Calendar of events

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, Assisi prayer chain is available to all those in need. Details: Call (601) 850-3432 or (601) 291-4373 between 5-7 p.m.
MAGNOLIA St. James Mission, you are invited to embark on a journey towards faith and racial healing sometime in the first week of Sept. via Zoom meetings. It is an opportunity to further and deepen our desire to follow the way of Jesus. This program is not specifically Catholic. It is universal. All are welcome. The program is not about religion; it is about human dignity and respect. If you are interested, please call or email. Details: Chris Ingrassia (301) 266-0433, gracie_eddie@yahoo.com. Website is: https://justfaith.org/faith-and-racial-healing/.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS

CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, Mass for farmers, Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Adoration will be at 5 p.m. Also, if you would like Father Raju to bless your farms and gardens, contact the office. Details: (662) 624-4301.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories, Valerie Antici, Family Nurse Practitioner, has volunteered to teach Natural Family Planning at the parish. For no cost, the parish offers Valerie’s expertise to teach couples and offer them individualized follow up. You can find some good articles on the website by non-Catholics and even secular non-believers. Details: contact Valerie at (601) 597-6560 or olvcleveland.com/nfp.
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, Cajun Fest 2020 cancelled. After careful consideration, of present COVID-19 uncertainties, it has been decided to cancel Cajun Fest this year. However, they will still have the raffle and live-stream on Sunday, Oct. 4 (Feast day of St. Francis of Assisi). Mark on your calendar for next year, May 2, 2021. Details: church office (601) 856-5556.
NATCHEZ Grace United Methodist Church, 2 Fatherland Road in the Fellowship Hall, “Grief and Loss Support Group”, Second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Next meeting: Monday, August 10. Meet with Masks and Social Distancing. Details: (210) 737-4759.

YOUTH BRIEFS

CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, Sunday School Teachers needed for grades 1-6. We will soon begin a new Sunday School time and program and are including these grades; however, we need teachers. Please call if interested. Details: (662) 624-4301.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, The CYO still plans to hold a Garage Sale (date to be determined by COVID). Details: call Carrie Lambert at the church office (601) 445-5616. Please hold onto your donations for the time being and let her know if you have nowhere to store donations.

SAVE THE DATE

JACKSON St. Richard School, Save the date Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, Krewe de Cardinal.
NATIONAL Virtual 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative, Oct. 1-2. The CIII seeks to understand, expand and strengthen the work of Catholic institutions with immigrant communities. Registration will open soon. To receive updates about registration, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/4gX2XS3enWoP9vAp9. Details: For details about the virtual conference visit https://cmsny.org/event/2020-catholic-immigrant-integration-initiative/

LIVE STREAMING

In person Masses are now open at many parishes within the Diocese of Jackson. Check with your local parish for details and follow guidelines in place for attendance.
Some parishes are still offering live streaming options via Facebook live and YouTube to be present to their faith communities and bring Mass to the faithful.
The obligation to attend Mass continues to be dispensed, so if you do not feel safe attending, or have an underlying health condition, or feel sick, please stay hope. Be safe and stay vigilant!