Category Archives: Diocesan News

Birthright adds confidential text service

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By Monica Walton
FLOWOOD – Birthright of Jackson has added a new option to connect young men and women to free, non-judgemental and confidential help with an unplanned pregnancy – texting. Birthright offers guidance toward lifegiving options, so the expectant mother can make the best decision for herself and her unborn child.
Anyone can text BRJXN to 41411 and get an immediate response from a Birthright of Jackson volunteer. Birthright has been helping girls and women across the state of Mississippi since 1983, before personal mobile phones were even a thing. “We felt we needed to update the way we make ourselves available to potential clients,” said Dennis Riecke, Birthright of Jackson board president. “One of our board members suggested a texting program since that is an easy and discreet way for a young woman to reach out for help. We all agreed,” he added.
“Texting is something common to most girls in their teens and twenties which is the typical age of our Birthright clients.” Most Birthright clients have a cell phone, even those without a car or a place to live. There are more cell phones than people in the U.S. People stay connected. For a good percentage of the population, a cell phone is the only phone they own.
There is much research supporting this. According to Pew Research Center, texting is the number one way all teens get in touch with their closest friends, and 80% of people older than 65 own a cell phone and send an average of ten texts a day. (Aug 2015) In May, 2017, the U.S. Center for Disease Control reported in their National Health Information Survey NHIS, “Adults living in poverty (66.3%) and near poverty (59.0%) were more likely than higher income adults (48.5%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones [cell phones].”
Birthright volunteers noticed that people text so much, it’s no big deal when the person sitting next to you pulls out their phone to send or read a text. Others scarcely notice, and discretion is vital to the work of Birthright.
Imagine this…17-year-old Gabrielle missed her period and she is worried that she might be pregnant. She’s thinking to herself: “How can this be? It was just one night. We went a little too far. Who hasn’t done that once or twice? Surely I’m not…
What can I do? I can’t be seen buying a pregnancy test. I can’t risk taking the test at home.” Gabrielle certainly does not want to make an actual phone call asking for help. Someone might hear her say she needs a pregnancy test. She can’t even bring herself to think the word “pregnant,” much let say it out loud.
So, rather than having to speak the words, “I think I might be pregnant,” a simple text – BRJXN – to this number – 41411 – will get Gabrielle help, answers and guidance to navigate this time of uncertainty. It is available to anyone, any time.
Gabrielle texts BRJXN to 41411. A reply comes immediately, “Hey there! Text or call me at 601- 421-1818 so we can set up a time to chat and get the info you need! — BRJXN” She breathes a sigh of relief. Help is a quick text away. When she is ready, Birthright is ready. She knows someone cares and Birthright is waiting and willing to help. Simple. Discreet.
Gabrielle, and anyone else who is struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, has a direct line to get the help she needs.
No counseling is done by text, but a local Birthright volunteer will be happy to chat on the phone or set up a time to meet at the Birthright Center. Birthright offers free pregnancy testing, emotional support, and all the resources a woman needs to follow through with her pregnancy.
(Monica Walton is the executive director of Birthright of Jackson.)

Catholic Charities’ renewed adoption program seeks visibility

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Catholic Charities’ Adoption program is going through a little rebirth of its own these days. A new director and a new case manager are taking the legacy of love and work from their predecessors and building on it. One of their first tasks is to spread the word that, “We are open and we are here for you,” said Stacy Pajak, who became program director a year ago. She works with Monica Mounger, who came to the office from Hope Haven, a crisis home for teens.
In addition to working with pregnant women who wish to give their babies up for adoption, the office can provide case management services for a private adoption, locate an available baby for parents seeking to adopt, perform home studies for adoptions and attempt to find birth parents for adopted children. Pajack said she and her partner are going back to state agencies and working with pregnancy crisis centers to renew and strengthen their relationships. Not only do they provide adoption, but they connect birth mothers and families to other needed services.

Birth mothers and adoptive families get counseling in addition to getting help navigating the system. “It’s hard on that birth-mama. I don’t ever want her to feel any shame that is associated with her choice because she gave that baby life and nurtured him or them and carried them. I have great admiration for birth moms,” said Pajak. Birth mothers are guaranteed services for life through Catholic Charities. Pajak added that many families seeking to adopt are grieving because of years of infertility so Catholic Charities works with them in that process as they start to consider foster care or adoption. The program has even added a text line for birth mothers who want to request help, 601-941-2814.
Pajak said she is working with the criminal justice system to offer counseling to pregnant women in jail. “We are trying to get in with social workers and case managers. We want to offer counseling to pregnant women. The law says that she can give a baby to a relative, sign it over to CPS (child protective services) or she can put it up for adoption, so we should be in there as an option,” she said.
When an adoptee wants to find his or her birth parents, Catholic Charities can try to help. The process is confidential, includes counseling and not too expensive. Mounger said she has conducted almost a dozen searches since she started a few short months ago. Sometimes an adoptee can only get a medical record. Other times, he or she will be reunited.
One way others can help is by wearing the message of adoption on their sleeves, or on their backs to be accurate. The adoption program is offering t-shirts and journals for sale. The shirts are purple with the Catholic Charities logo on the front. The back reads “Adoption isn’t about giving a child up. It is about giving a child more. More love, more family, more opportunities, just more.” The quote comes from Terra Coooper, a photographer who became an adoption advocate after becoming an adoptive mom.
“We started making a bulletin board and put a lot of adoption quotes on it so the families would see that when they come in and we just love that one,” explained Mounger. “We wanted to have a positive adoption wall so parents could see it – not only adoptive parents, but birth parents and we just took to that one so we put it on the shirt,” she added.
The shirts and journals are for the families who go through adoption, but Pajak said the staff decided the message should go farther than just those families. “We wanted to do the t-shirts for gifts but also proudly market what we do here at Catholic Charities. Our mission is to be a visible sign of Christ and adoption is a visible sign of Christ,” said Pajak. The journals are also purple and have the logo pressed into the front. Each shirt costs $15 and each journal costs $10. Those interested in purchasing should contact the office at 601-960-8649 or email Stacy at stacy.pajak@catholiccharitiesjackson.org.

Catholic Heart Work Camp makes lasting impression on Natchez teens

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Catholic Youth by the thousands attend Cathloic Heart Work camps across the nation every summer. This year, students from many parishes in the Diocese of Jackson went to camps from Florida and Tennessee all the way to Illinois. This year, a group from Natchez wrote reflections on their experiences at a Catholic Heart Work camp in Champaign Ill., June 18-24. Three of those teenagers wrote reflections on their experience. Here are excerpts from each of their reflections.

Olivia Waycaster, center, participates in one of the group exercizes at Catholic Heart Work Camp. In addition to volunteer work, the teens got a chance to pray and play together. (Photos courtesy Carrie Lambert)

Michael Roboski and two other volunteers load the dumpster as part of a renovation project at a school in Illinois. Several teens from a Natchez youth group spent part of ther summer at Catholic Heart Work camp.

Volunteer Chris Johnson helps with classroom renovations at Catholic Heart Work Camp. Young people from Natchez Cathedral Parish joined with volunteers from around the country for the volunteer experience in Illinois.

Gracie Bertelsen

I got encouraged by older members of my youth group to go to Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) five years ago, and I have made it a priority to go every summer since. Although I have been assigned a different work project and a different work group every year, I can always count on three things when I go to CHWC: having fun, growing closer in the relationships I have not only in my youth group but also with new friends, and most importantly, growing in my relationship with God.

            This year, our youth group chose to travel north to Champaign, Illinois where we stayed at St. Thomas Moore High School. I was assigned to a group that was working alongside two other groups. We helped a non-profit youth club called Mahomet Area Youth Club (MAYC) move locations. This youth club gave troubled kids, ranging from ages six to fifteen, a place to spend time during the summer. They provided free activities, field trips, educational programs, etc. to the children who attended the club. Among the three groups who were assigned to help MAYC, we packed their things from the old facility and moved it to their new facility, cleaned and organized the new facility, improved the landscaping around the new facility, built a privacy fence around the new backyard, and played with the kids while the moving was taking place.

            I was part of the group in charge of packing, unpacking, and organizing their things. After spending the whole week helping their employees with that task, we met the kids. They were brought over by one of the other work groups and we got to experience their reaction to seeing their new location for the first time. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the faces of the people who you’ve spent all week helping when they see the final project completed. The adults as well as the kids were so excited and grateful for what we had done to help them. In my opinion, that is the most satisfying part of CHWC. In those moments, all I can do is smile! Being able to spread the word of God and showing his love to others is the mission of Catholic Heart.

            Apart from going to the work sites, every day we got to go to mass, pray, spend time with friends, and sing praise and worship songs. The Catholic Heart staff that was with us in Champaign shared their testimonies with us a few nights out of the week. Throughout the week, we were given many opportunities to open ourselves up to the grace and love of God through prayer and worship during the evening programs. There were also many moments of laughter and times to just have fun.

            I have always left Catholic Heart Workcamp feeling happy and satisfied. It is an experience that every person should try to be a part of!

 

Nic Waycaster:

This summer, my St. Mary Basilica youth group traveled to Champaign, Illinois for Catholic Heart Workcamp.  Having been twice before–to Roanoke, Virginia and Pensacola, Florida–I thought I knew what to expect:  prayer, singing, painting houses.  My expectations this year were met with unexpected growth in faith, community, charity and as a disciple of Christ.

When we arrived we met some of the other youth groups. Groups hailing from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania warmly greeted us.  At our first meeting, we were divided into forty-six different groups of four to six people, all with different charitable tasks to fulfill throughout the community during the week.  Some groups were painting houses for the less fortunate, some were building fences, and some were doing yard work. My group of five was given the unique task of running a daycare in an apartment complex for underprivileged children.  We had no idea what to expect.

When we arrived at the daycare, we were in a small room with a refrigerator, an outdated microwave, and a small tile play area with toys strewn across the room.  There was a large concrete slab between apartments and an old playground.  When the children arrived at the daycare they could not have been happier.  Seeing new people in their favorite place to play was extraordinary in their eyes.  The kids never tired and played with a smile on their faces from the time they arrived at 9:00 a.m. until the time we left at 3:00 p.m.  

Although these children did not have many toys or nice tablets like so many other children, they were grateful for what they had.  They were truly filled with the joy of Christ.  While we ministered to these kids, they unknowingly ministered to us.   

During the week, I also grew closer with my group members, especially new friends from Kentucky and Pennsylvania.  The way Christ worked through their positive attitudes and tireless charity encouraged the rest of the group, leading the way for a great week for the the children as well as for each of us.  

Back at the high school where all of the youth groups were being housed for the week, we celebrated Mass daily and had a few hours of prayer and song each evening.  Our celebrant for the week was a priest from Pennsylvania.  He gave the best homilies!  Every every morning I left Mass with something to think about throughout the day.  

The motto for Catholic Heart Workcamp this year was “Rooted.”  This theme figured significantly during the week and continues to be important in my life today.  We are all rooted in Christ.  We have life because of His sacrifice. We are called to glorify him in all that we do.  My faith was definitively and permanently strengthened by the people that I met, the experiences that I had, and the message I received at Catholic Heart Workcamp.

While we all acted or spoke differently because of our regional backgrounds, our love for Christ and the strength of our faith was universal.  The community aspect of the camp made everyone’s faith stronger and rooted everyone in a deeper relationship with Christ and one another as his disciples.

 

Michael J. Roboski

From 2007-2009, I accompanied my youth group to Catholic Heart Workcamp for a week over the summer. During this time, I bonded with friends, and also deepened my faith through service. The experience was unlike anything I had before as a Catholic in the Protestant Bible Belt. Don’t get my wrong, my home church is beautiful with it’s 174 year old history, Gothic-Revival Architecture, and breathtaking stained-glass windows. However, not much had changed in our parish since the church was built. We still kept the communion rail up, even though Vatican II disbanded them in in 1959, and our pipe organ is so old that even “Ode to Joy” sounds like a funeral dirge when played through it. Catholic Heart showed me that the Catholic Church is alive and well today.

Flash forward ten years from my first experience and I now had the opportunity to chaperone a group of students to their first CHWC. Well, they initially asked my Dad to do it, but he only agreed to go if I went, and I was thrilled to return. Dad and I left ahead of the charter bus to meet them in St. Louis, Missouri where we explored Six Flags, Anheuser-Busch (on our own time), and enjoyed a few too many slices of Imo’s pizza.

The next day, we arrived at camp in Champaign, Illinois. Now, if you’ve never been to Champaign, Illinois, just close your eyes and imagine a school, a gas station, and corn as far as the eye can see. That’s about it. The CHWC staff greeted us with smiles, offered to help unpack, and took a group picture of us and then the camp officially started. As it turns out, we had been booked into a “Next Level” camp. I kept hearing the term tossed around, but thought they were just referring to it that way because it was a spiritual/service camp, and not a purely fun one like space camp. Nope. Next-Level referred to the seriousness of the camp in that Mass was held every morning, the attendees were a bit more founded in their faith, and the staff was all very experienced, and as a result, a little distant.

Overall, the benefits of attending this next-level CHWC greatly outweighed the disappointment of taking off the nostalgia glasses. The daily masses really helped to set the mood and remind us why we are truly there, and I left the week with a sense of completeness and warmth that I had not felt in a long time. During Adoration, I truly felt the Presence for the first time ever. For those non-Catholics reading this, Adoration is a quiet prayer time spend in front of a Monstrance, which is a golden spiked holder for a blessed Eucharist (which Catholics believe to be the true body of Christ). It was an experience that I was able to have alone in the crowded gym where we gathered and felt sorrow, repentance, joy, and hope all within the 30 minutes of quiet reflection time.

The best part of Catholic Heart Workcamp is called Four Corners. This is an event that even the basic camps host, and the next-level one made it all the better. The idea of Four Corners is that the room is split up into 5 areas. Just kidding, it’s four. One is a space where you offer up prayers and intentions through physically writing them down on paper, a rock, or something else. Two of the corners have the adults sitting down around the space with a candle in front of them signifying that you can approach them to talk or pray. I had two young people come up to me and my candle at one point and was able to talk them through some stuff they were worried about and offered prayers for clairvoyance and peace of mind. It was really a wonderful experience. The final corner though, is Reconciliation. One of the seven sacraments is offered as a private area is roped off and 18 priests were there to hear confessions and offer forgiveness. I was the first in line for this as it had been a while since I last went. I suffer from anxiety and mild-depression and the sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the few times that I can go to someone, unload all the guilt and worry from life, and leave truly happy with a burden lifted. The best part about CHWC’s Reconciliation though is that the priest and I did not know each other and are likely never to see each other again, so there are no holds barred and the sacrament can be completed in it’s purest form.

I left Catholic Heart Workcamp this year with a sense of worth. Not a selfish, or entitled sense of worth, but one that whispered at my heart and told me that I mattered, and that I was able to make a difference in someone’s life. That alone was worth the week of sleeping on a classroom floor, eating the scraps off the Sysco truck, and sitting on a bus full of teenagers for 13 hours. That, and the quality time I got to spend with my Dad was nice too. He and I have been adventure buddies for a long time, but that will be a post for another day. I hope that this post inspires you to seek something that will give you the same level of happiness and contentment that this experience provided me. God Bless.

 

Knights of Columbus planning to replace traditional uniform

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By Tony Gutierez
PHOENIX, Ariz. (CNS) – The Knights of Columbus, long associated with swords, capes and chapeaus, will be going through a significant uniform change.
The traditional regalia worn by fourth-degree Knights will be replaced, announced Supreme Knight Carl Anderson Aug. 1, during the international fraternal organization’s 135th annual Supreme Convention in St. Louis, which was livestreamed on EWTN.
Throughout the years, the regalia of the Knights’ fourth degree, known as the patriotic degree, has gone through changes, Anderson said, noting that when this degree was first established, the uniform included white ties, top hats and tails.
In place of a tuxedo with a black bow tie, members will be wearing a blue blazer, an official Knights of Columbus tie and a beret, all with the fourth-degree emblem on them, along with a white shirt and dark gray slacks. After the convention, Anderson said swords could still me used. Mississippi’s Supreme Knight, Philip Jabour, told Mississippi Catholic that in this state, knights always defer to the preference of their parish priest when it comes to using swords during events.
“The board of directors has decided that the time is right for a modernization of the fourth-degree uniform,” Anderson said. “On a limited basis, assemblies may choose to continue using the traditional cape and chapeau for color corps at public events and honor guards in liturgical processions. However, the preferred dress for the fourth degree, including color corps and honor guards, is the new uniform of jacket and beret.”
Robert Earl, a member of the Father Novatus Assembly 23, which serves Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Daniel the Prophet parishes in Scottsdale, welcomes the new changes.
“I feel it is significant that the order changes to respond to changing times. The new uniform evokes an image of elite military corpsmen in my mind, and I believe this is the intent behind the change,” Earl told The Catholic Sun, newspaper of the Diocese of Phoenix.
“Our former regalia was reminiscent of Navy officers and consistent with the nautical theme in the patriotic degree, but it perhaps did not have currency in the minds of the general public,” he added, noting that in addition to the tuxedo, the other items collectively could cost approximately $500. “I think the new uniform creates a positive and striking image of ‘soldiers for Christ,’ which is, after all, what we are meant to be.”
Many members are not as thrilled about the pending changes, which generated some controversy among the membership. Joseph Meyer from Msgr. Bernard G. Collins Assembly 2899, which serves St. Bridget and Christ the King parishes in Mesa, said the new uniforms lose a sense of the pageantry associated with the Knights’ fourth-degree level.
“I have been a fourth-degree Knight since 1978 and we have always had this regalia,” said Meyer, who was a color corps commander in Toledo, Ohio. for 13 years before moving to Arizona. “We all looked great in the fourth-degree outfits. These (new) outfits look bad.”
Meyer also expressed concern for members who own the current uniform and have to spend money on the new one.
“If we get a new uniform like this, you will see a lot of Knights leave the degree. A lot of your Knights are retired and don’t have over $500 to spend,” he said.
Paul Lee, a member of the Iowa delegation who spoke to The Catholic Sun from St. Louis, said the reaction on the ground was “mixed.”
“The largest concern is people don’t feel that they have answers for the question of why the need for the change. They want something beyond a more modern look,” said Lee.
Lee said many members he’s interacted with are excited about the changes because it brings the uniform “more in line with other military service organizations because it connects us as patriotic organizations.” There also are members who “don’t like change, so they’re already up in arms,” he added.
“Then you have the sect of folks that feel that their voice was not consulted, (that) this sort of change should have taken place as discussion at the state council level and then brought concerns to the Supreme level,” said Lee, who countered that notion by saying conversations have been happening at all levels of the order about the need for change.
Representatives of the Arizona State Council said it was too early to comment as program details and guidelines for implementing the new uniforms were still unavailable.
(Gutierrez is editor of The Catholic Sun, newspaper of the Diocese of Phoenix.)

Catholic Extension honors St. Gabriel Center

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Saint Gabriel Mercy Center in Mound Bayou is getting national recognition thanks to Catholic Extension. The center is one of eight finalists in the running for the Lumen Christi Award.
The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Chicago-based organization, the leading national supporter of missionary work in poor and remote parts of the United States. St. Gabriel fits that description perfectly. Situated in Mound Bayou, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the center offers hope and assistance to one of the poorest communities in the state.
Mound Bayou was once a thriving center for black commerce – founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The town boasted of cotton mills, manufacturing businesses, even a hospital that treated African-Americans from across the state. A National Public Radio report from March, 2017 told the history of the town. In the story, Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, said desegregation and the promise of better jobs lured away the population and led to the overall decline of the community. The mills closed, the hospital shut down. Empty properties began to fall apart. Once a town of 9,000, the population now hovers around 1,500.
The Catholic Church has been a presence in the community since St. Gabriel chapel opened in 1949. A school followed. As the years went by and the population dwindled, St. Gabriel had to re-invent itself. The school closed in 1990, but the Mercy Center opened to provide resources to the community. The parish closed in 2013.
Sisters of Mercy ran the operation until 2015 when a group of Franciscan Sisters of Charity took over administration. “In many ways, our St. Gabriel Mercy Center is a hub for outreach services that accommodate the people of Mound Bayou and the surrounding areas throughout Bolivar County,” said Sister Monica Mary DeQuardo, current executive director.
She works with a team of locals to anticipate and offer what the people in the community want and need. “Our services are professional, and delivered simply – completely dependent on volunteers, donations, grants and effective and efficient management. Thus, our present programs … offer a variety of adult educational services – at no expense to our patrons.
“We have a computer lab; General Education Diploma training, Parents as Teachers, senior outreach, a sewing program and the Delta Boutique,” she added. The staff offers emergency assistance for food and utilities and a thrift store.
Sister said there are signs of hope in the town once known as the “jewel of the Delta.” A clinic has opened to once again provide medical care. Most of the staff is from the town – in fact, several senior administrators at St. Gabriel have moved back to the town after living elsewhere.
The next project on the center’s list: adult education and tutoring. As the staff assisted parents they realized many adults in the community struggle with literacy.
When a youth group from the Diocese of Biloxi came to visit a couple summers ago, the board of directors set them to work converting the old church building into classrooms for an expanded adult literacy program. The work continued in April when a group from Maine came to offer service. “Though the edifice is still standing empty because we have not been able to secure a grant for furniture,” said Sister DeQuardo. If St. Gabriel wins the Lumen Christi Award, Catholic Extension will provide $25,000 to help with the effort.
The Latin phrase “Lumen Christi,” taken from the Easter Vigil, means “Light of Christ.” Since 1978, the award has honored individuals or groups who demonstrate how the power of faith can transform lives and communities. “Our Lumen Christi finalists have answered Pope Francis’ call to all Catholics to be ‘missionary disciples’ and are proclaiming and living the Gospel in America’s ‘peripheries,'” said Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension. “They are an example to all of us.”
Winners will be announced in the fall.

Bishop seeks candidates for permanent diaconate

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JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz has asked pastors for candidates for a new class of permanent deacons for the Diocese of Jackson.
A permanent deacon fulfils a ministry of service, proclaimng the word, visiting the sick, serving the poor and doing the work assigned him by the local bishop. Deacons are ordained, but do not act in the same capacity as priests. They can perform weddings, baptisms and funerals, but cannot offer Masses.
A permanent deacon can be married or single, but cannot enter into marriage once ordained. A married deacon will promise not to re-marry if he is widowed.
Preparation for the diaconate takes five years and includes both academic study and spiritual formation. If a candidate is married, his wife should be a supportive part of his ministry. Last year, six men were ordained deacons. Most serve at their home parishes. One, Deacon Denzil Lobo, serves as the ecclesial minister for Jackson Christ the King Parish.
Men interested in the ministry should speak to their pastors. A pastor must recommend someone for candidacy. The applications are lengthy and are due to the chancery by August 31.

BATESVILLE –St. Mary Parish welcomed new pastor, Father Pradeep Kumar Thirumalareddy, with a parish brunch after he celebrated his first Mass in the parish on June 11. Father Pradeep came from his home in India to serve in the Diocese of Jackson. The parish also celebrated his June 14 birthday. (Photo by Robin Ridge)

Seminarian Adolfo Suarez Pasillas admitted to candidacy for ordination

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CLEVELAND – Seminarian Adolfo Suarez Pasillas was admitted to candidacy for ordination on Saturday, May 20, at Our Lady of Victories Parish. Bishop Joseph Kopacz was in Cleveland for Confirmation so the parish was able to celebrate both vocational events on one day. Suarez will be ordained as a transitional deacon next spring. Admission is when he formally asks the bishop to consider him for ordination. (Photo courtesy of Jenifer Jenkins)

National Black Catholic Congress engages younger attendees

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By Gail DeGeorge
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) – A standing-room-only crowd of young black Catholics in a frank session that lasted more than two hours told bishops, priests and women and men religious why they stay in the church, what threatens to drive them away and that they want a stronger voice from church officials for the Black Lives Matter movement.
As the National Black Catholic Congress got underway in Orlando July 6 with more than 2,000 attendees, some 120 participants discussed ways to keep young adult black Catholics engaged in their parishes and the church – and raised criticism of, and an apology for, the church’s silence regarding the movement spawned by the killings of unarmed blacks by police.
Among the bishops attending Congress XII was Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
“How do we respond as people of faith to issues of race that have always been going on in society but especially in light of the Black Lives Matter movement? And in a lot of the police killings, a lot of people feel that the church has been almost silent in its response,” Stacy Allen, one of the facilitators, said toward the end of the session.
“The church is very vocal on a myriad of issues – immigration for instance – which are important,” Allen said. “But specifically on the issues of race, especially from the perspective of a young adult black Catholic, what should the Catholic response be?”
That prompted Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri III of New Orleans to stand. With a bow to those in the room, he said, “To the black youth, I apologize to you as a leader of the church because I feel we have abandoned you in the Black Lives Matter movement and I apologize.
“Partly, I didn’t understand it, and by the time I did understand it, it was too late – the moment was gone,” he said. “I’m very proud of you – you stood up and said enough is enough. As a leader, I want to say that to you – thank you.”
He then went on to tell of challenges in his own journey as a priest and a bishop, his outreach to bring young people, and starting choirs in parishes. “You’re going to struggle and you’re going to persevere,” he said. He counseled that young black adults reach out to each other and others within their parishes and church communities.
“No one knows how to best minister to you as young people – we’re all learning this together,” he said. “One of the reasons we have faltered when it comes to vocations from our community because when it comes to being church, we just don’t have the community working at it together and that’s the failure.”
Many at the session spoke of the need to address a lack of programs for young adults and meaningful engagement and leadership opportunities within parishes and the larger church. Young adults want more than to be tapped to set up tables, take out trash, run kids’ programs and generally do things that older parishioners don’t want to do, participants said.
Too many parishes have youth programs that end at high school – and nothing for those who come back after college with talents and skills and a willingness to get involved, participants said. A participant from New Orleans said the reason she stays Catholic is the strength of her parish community, she has encountered resistance in other parishes. “One reason young adults are leaving is that sometimes it feels like the church does not want us,” she said.
She said she’s tried to volunteer and has been told “no because of age, or no because they don’t say it, but because I’m a young adult, and they think I’m too young to know about that, or no because that’s ‘too black’ and that might be fine for your church in New Orleans but not here,” she said.
“We as young adults don’t want programs, we want a relationship,” said a participant. “We don’t want things to do – we have enough to do. We want a place to belong. Successful young adult ministries are where they feel invested to make change within their parishes.”

History of Saltillo mission focus of new book

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(Editor’s note: Msgr. Michael Flannery has penned a book, “Saltillo Mission,” detailing the history of collaboration between the Diocese of Jackson and the missions in Saltillo, Mexico. Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Madison St. Anthony school. Father Michael O’Brien offers the following review.)
By Father Michael O’Brien

The cover of Msgr. Michael Flannery’s book features Perpetual Help Church, the main parish for more than 30 years. While the Diocese of Jackson no longer sends pastors or youth groups to the missions, the church in Mississippi still takes up a collection and Bishop Joseph Kopacz has visited several times.

Inspired by the Second Vatican Council and the call for the “first world” to reach out to the “third world” and share their resources, Father Patrick Quinn was selected by then Bishop Joseph Brunini to open a mission for the diocese of Natchez-Jackson in Saltillo, Mexico. Msgr. Mike Flannery’s book chronicles the history of this mission since its inception in 1969 to the present day (2017). As a young priest Father Flannery spent three wonderful years (1971-1974) working with Father Quinn at the mission. His book captures the excitement, challenges, faith and creative spirit of this great mission and particularly the charisma and vision of Father Patrick Quinn. The mission in Saltillo was, in my opinion, the most significant and inspiring program ever undertaken by the Catholic community in Mississippi.
Father Patrick Quinn was truly an amazing priest. He made everyone feel special and loved. He particularly loved the poor. He loved America and especially Mississippi. He loved his native Ireland, but he laid down his life every day for the people of Saltillo, Mexico. He served as pastor of four churches in the city and approximately 50 mission churches in the surrounding mountain villages. He built 2,250 cinder block homes for poor families. He established the “Saltillo Summer Program” where high school and college youth from Mississippi and beyond were invited to spend a week at the mission. More than 20,000 youth participated in this program over a 40-year period. It was a life-changing experience for most of them as they experienced poverty, faith and the rich Mexican culture.
The mission inspired many vocations, both in Saltillo and at home in America. Father Serio Balderas from Saltillo is serving as pastor of St. Elizabeth parish in Ocean Springs. Father Quinn’s ministry continues through him in Mississippi. Many young priests from our diocese served with Father Quinn in Saltillo. They learned to speak Spanish and it has laid the foundation for our present outreach ministry to the Hispanic community in Mississippi.
Two years ago, a reporter from Saltillo, Jesus Salas Cortes wrote a book on the life of Father Quinn. Father Flannery’s book builds on this and compliments it nicely. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Father Quinn and 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the mission. Writing this book “Saltillo Mission” is a wonderful way to celebrate these occasions.
Finally, a personal story. I was at home in Ireland one summer about 30 years ago. I stopped at Father Quinn’s home in Ballaghlea, Co. Galway. Father Quinn was at the table working. I asked him later what he was doing. He told me he was writing Christmas cards (in July) to all the supporters of his mission in Saltillo. Even on his vacation in Ireland, when he should be visiting with family or playing golf, he was thinking about his poor parishioners at his mission in Mexico!
This book is filled with inspiring stories, life-changing stories, faith stories, and stories told by many of the priests and lay people who visited and worked at the mission in Saltillo, Mexico.
The book is available at the chancery office on Amite Street in Jackson, Madison St. Francis of Assisi Parish, the Carmelite Monastery gift shop on Terry Road in Jackson and Downtown Marketplace, Main Street, Yazoo City.
Father Flannery is also planning to bring the book to the Diocese of Bioxi later in the fall to offer at several parishes and the chancery office there. The cost is $15 plus shipping.
(Father Michael O’Brien is the pastor of Canton Sacred Heart Parish.)

Knights of Columbus offer sweet treat to Hope Haven

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Knights of Columbus throughout Mississippi hold Tootise Roll drives during the year to raise money for people with intellectual disabilities. It may seem like a small gesture, but when all the knights join forces, their work has a substantial impact.
On Tuesday, July 11, Jim McCraw, the past state deputy, presented a check to Hope Haven at Catholic Charities headquarters in Jackson. Hope Haven is a residential program for teens in crisis. It offers temporary shelter as well as counseling and a way for families to get back on track.
The donation could not have come at a more perfect time. “Each year Knights’ councils nation wide host fundraising drives for people with intellectual disabilities – the tootsie roll drive is kind of our mainstay — and the councils in Mississippi do the same thing,” said McCraw. “Seventy-five percent of what the council raises goes back to an agency of their choosing, but 25 percent of that money is pooled together collectively and the board of directors identifies 501c3 agencies throughout Mississippi that we fund,” said McCraw. “This year, with the budget cuts that have happened, particularly in the area of mental health we felt like this Hope Haven program is a very worthwhile thing to get some of that money so we set aside $2,500 to go to that,” he added.
Michelle Hamilton is the program director for Hope Haven. She explained that the service aims to be a turning point for young people and families facing mental health crises. “They stay for 14 days at a time. We are a crisis residential so they come and receive individual and group therapy and then they move on to a longer-term placement,” said Hamilton. In addition to treating the teens, counselors offer sessions with the parents while the teens are staying at Hope Haven. Once the 14 days are done, counselors don’t just release the teens, they work with the family on the next appropriate step. It might be a different in-patient program or out-patient counseling or perhaps a counselor will make home visits.
This way, the teens and their families have a new path forward.
This year has been hard for all Mississippi mental health programs because of drastic budgets cuts coming from the legislature. “General funding by Medicaid has been cut and it has greatly affected us. Currently we have seven residents, so we are full,” said Hamilton.
Hope Haven is just one of many programs at Catholic Charities facing steep cuts. Directors hope to maintain as many services as they can, but many of these programs are already working on lean budgets. “We don’t like to turn anyone away,” said Amy Turner, director for childrens’ services. Learn more about Catholic Charities programming on their website, www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org.