By Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The U.S. Catholic Church’s observance of October as Respect Life Month “is a time to focus on God’s precious gift of human life and our responsibility to care for, protect and defend the lives of our brothers and sisters,” said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee.
“Live the Gospel of Life” is this year’s theme for the month, prompted by commemorations of the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical “The Gospel of Life” (“Evangelium Vitae”), which was issued March 25, 1995.
“Pope John Paul’s masterfully articulated defense of the right to life for children in their mothers’ wombs, the elderly, persons with disabilities and the marginalized is more relevant today than ever before,” said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Respect Life Sunday fell on Oct. 4. New parish resources for the month’s observance have been developed around the theme of “Living the Gospel of Life” and are available at www.respectlife.org.
“‘The Gospel of Life’ provides a blueprint for building a culture of life and civilization of love,” the archbishop said in a Sept. 24 statement. “The important work of transforming our culture begins by allowing the Gospel of Christ to touch and transform our own hearts and the decisions we make.”
Archbishop Naumann noted that during their fall general assembly last November, “the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that ‘the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.'”
“While we noted not to ‘dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty,’ we renewed our commitment to protect the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to live,” he said.
Archbishop Naumann also recalled how in January of this year he “shared with Pope Francis that the bishops of the United States had been criticized by some for identifying the protection of the unborn as a preeminent priority.”
Their conversation came during the “ad limina” meeting of the bishops from Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska at the Vatican.
“The Holy Father expressed his support for our efforts observing that if we fail to protect life, no other rights matter. Pope Francis also said that abortion is not primarily a Catholic or even a religious issue, it is first and foremost a human rights issue,” the Kansas archbishop said in his Sept. 24 statement.
Later this January, the archbishop relayed that story to pro-lifers gathered for the Jan. 23 opening Mass of the National Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Pope Francis “has our backs” in the pro-life cause, he said in his homily.
“May we strive to imitate Christ and follow in his footsteps, caring for the most vulnerable among us,” he said Sept. 24. “Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may Our Lord grant us the grace to live courageously and faithfully his Gospel of life.

By Tricia Harris
MADISON – The Journalism Education Association at Kansas State University has named St. Joseph Catholic School teacher Terry Cassreino one of the nation’s top three high school broadcast journalism advisers for 2020.
The JEA named Cassreino a Special Recognition Advisor – part of the organization’s annual Broadcast Adviser of the Year Awards. The JEA, founded in 1924, is a national organization for high school print and broadcast journalism teachers.
“I can’t begin to say how honored I am that a successful high school journalism program at a small Catholic school in Mississippi has received this important national recognition,” Cassreino said. “This award reflects well on St. Joseph Catholic School as well as the hard-working, dedicated high school journalism students I have been lucky to teach over the years – some of whom have gone on to study journalism, accounting and law in college.”

Cassreino was one of three journalism teachers JEA honored. Jim McCarthy of Joseph A. Gregori High School in Modesto, Calif., was named Broadcast Advisor of the Year and Christina Insua of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami was named Distinguished Broadcast Adviser.
Journalism is one of several electives available for St. Joe students. Those who take the class publish a yearbook every fall, The Shield; maintain, write and edit stories for a news website, The Bear Facts; and produce a weekly video newscast, Bruin News Now.
Students also produce a weekly radio show and podcast, “The Bruin Buzz Live,” and produce live radio broadcasts and live video streaming coverage of Bruin sports. Radio productions air on WJXC Jackson, Mississippi Catholic Radio, 107.9, whose studio is in Cassreino’s classroom.
Cassreino’s students and their work have received state, national and even international recognition. Students have been named the state’s high school journalist of the year and received the prestigious Orley Hood Award for Excellence in High School Sports Journalism six of the seven years it has been given.
Bruin News Now has been named Mississippi’s best high school newscast twice and been a finalist three other times. This year, Quill & Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists awarded BNN second place in an international competition for best news show.
Cassreino is a four-time Mississippi high school journalism adviser of the year and has been recognized twice by the Dow Jones News Fund as one of the nation’s top print journalism teachers.
Cassreino is a former longtime journalist with more than 25 years of experience as a reporter, political columnist and editor at Mississippi newspapers. He is married to the former Pam Vance of Canton; they have two children and are members of St. Joseph Catholic Gluckstadt.
“We are so proud of Terry Cassreino’s work with students here at St. Joe,” Principal Dena Kinsey said. “Our journalism students are excited about what they do and work tirelessly to produce high-quality work.”

JACKSON – Whether it’s on the phone, through our social media page, from referral sources, family, friends, or from the woman herself; not a day goes by that Kelli Leo, program director of Born Free Primary Residential and New Beginnings Transititional Residential of Catholic Charities, doesn’t hear about someone in desperate need of treatment. Also, not just any treatment, but treatment specifically designed for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders. This unique place exists on the outskirts of Jackson in a beautiful wooded, secluded area where anyone visiting can feel the peace and serenity as soon as they step out of their vehicle. Born Free and New Beginnings, were the first programs designed in the state of Mississippi for pregnant and parenting women identifying with a substance use disorder. Born Free has identified its mission to provide a safe place and service for pregnant women to give birth and for parenting women to reunite and bond with their children as a way to interrupt the cycle of trauma and addiction. Born Free/New Beginnings strives to assist pregnant and parenting women in developing coping skills that will enable them to envelop a healthier lifestyle free of substance use for themselves and their children.

Addiction places two lives in jeopardy when a woman is pregnant – the mother and her baby. What would it be like for a pregnant woman to have access to a treatment facility made just for her and baby? A place where she is safe and protected and is able to get access to prenatal care? Born Free is that place developed specifically for her designed to help meet her needs and lower birth risks. Since the birth of Born Free in 1994, over 100 babies have been born substance free while their mothers received treatment. Another innovative aspect of Born Free/New Beginnings is that a young child can reside at the facility while his mother undergoes treatment which in turn, strengthens family bonding. Most mothers who complete the treatment program regain custody of their children which has resulted in the unification of families across the state.
Established in 1996, New Beginnings, is a long term transitional treatment program for women who are at least 18 years old, identified as chemically dependent, pregnant and/or parenting females bringing up to two small children under the age of five with them into the program. Many women in recovery are concerned about their ability to gain employment, find a suitable and safe place to live, identify child-care resources and many other obstacles when they are attempting to get back onto their feet. The focus of New Beginnings is to provide transitional treatment services to pregnant and parenting women who have successfully completed a 30 day primary treatment program. The transitional services include: group and individual counseling, recovery support, referral for employment services, educational /vocational referral, housing referrals, parenting education, life skills training, aftercare planning, and family counseling.
For additional information, please contact Kelli Leo, program director at 601-922-0026. To complete an intake, call 601-922-0026 and speak to any person answering the phone.

By Berta Mexidor
JACKSON – Health and economic hardships brought on by COVID-19 have been felt across the world. To help in the U.S., Catholic Extension launched the Sisters on the Frontlines alliance in late June in response to the pandemic, taking particular care to aid communities disproportionately afflicted by poverty and a lack of resources.
The goal of the initiative is to give 1,000 sisters, $1,000 each to provide rapid response to the poor and distressed. So far, five sisters in the Diocese of Jackson have received funds from through this special program – Sister Lael Niblick and Sister Mary Christine Fellerhoff of St. Helen Amory; Sister Nancy Schreck of Excel in Okalona; and Sister Maria Eugenia Moreno, MGSpS and Obdulia Olivar, MGSpS of St. Michael Forest.
According to Joe Boland, vice president of mission for Catholic Extension, the funds are unrestricted and the process to request and receive funds is simple.

“If they’re engaged in some ministry that is serving the poor — or have access to the poor — they determine how the money will be spent,” Boland said. “They know the ones in their communities, they know the names, the faces, the families. They will be able to deliver it or organize it in such a way that support goes to those who have the greatest need.”
Sister Obdulia, working with Hispanic families in Scott County affected by the ICE raids of Aug. 2019 and now impacted by COVID-19, said “Families to help are many, it was not difficult to identify them. We know what families were impacted by COVID and which ones were in most need of [this] help.”
Boland said that the sisters may serve anywhere, not just the 87 U.S. dioceses in Catholic Extension’s territory. Funding is released as it is raised, and Catholic Extension continues to seek donations to underwrite the program.
The Diocese of Jackson has been blessed by the service of many orders of sisters over the years: The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Agnes, – CSA; Missionaries Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit, MGSpS; School Sisters of Notre Dame, SSND; Sisters of Humility of Mary, CHM; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, RSM; Daughters of Charity, DC; Sisters of Charity of Halifax, SC; Franciscan Sisters, OSF; Sisters of the Living Word, SLW; Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns, OCD; Dominican Sisters of Springfield, OP; Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, FSPA; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, SCN School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee, WI – OSF; Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, SNJM; Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, S.H.Sp.; Union of the Sisters of the Presentation of the BVM, PBVM; and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province – CSJ.
Since the program began in June, 378 sisters have received support from the Sisters on the Frontline grant program and another 622 have requested funds.
Sisters who have received funding are asked to report back to Catholic Extension as to how the funds were used. Catholic Extension will be sharing the sisters’ stories as they are received. To learn more or to donate, visit https://www.catholicextension.org/sisters-on-the-frontlines/.

By Berta Mexidor
JACKSON – Health and economic hardships brought on by COVID-19 have been felt across the world. To help in the U.S., Catholic Extension launched the Sisters on the Frontlines alliance in late June in response to the pandemic, taking particular care to aid communities disproportionately afflicted by poverty and a lack of resources.
The goal of the initiative is to give 1,000 sisters, $1,000 each to provide rapid response to the poor and distressed. So far, five sisters in the Diocese of Jackson have received funds from through this special program – Sister Lael Niblick and Sister Mary Christine Fellerhoff of St. Helen Amory; Sister Nancy Schreck of Excel in Okalona; and Sister Maria Eugenia Moreno, MGSpS and Obdulia Olivar, MGSpS of St. Michael Forest.
According to Joe Boland, vice president of mission for Catholic Extension, the funds are unrestricted and the process to request and receive funds is simple.

“If they’re engaged in some ministry that is serving the poor — or have access to the poor — they determine how the money will be spent,” Boland said. “They know the ones in their communities, they know the names, the faces, the families. They will be able to deliver it or organize it in such a way that support goes to those who have the greatest need.”
Sister Obdulia, working with Hispanic families in Scott County affected by the ICE raids of Aug. 2019 and now impacted by COVID-19, said “Families to help are many, it was not difficult to identify them. We know what families were impacted by COVID and which ones were in most need of [this] help.”
Boland said that the sisters may serve anywhere, not just the 87 U.S. dioceses in Catholic Extension’s territory. Funding is released as it is raised, and Catholic Extension continues to seek donations to underwrite the program.
The Diocese of Jackson has been blessed by the service of many orders of sisters over the years: The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Agnes, – CSA; Missionaries Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit, MGSpS; School Sisters of Notre Dame, SSND; Sisters of Humility of Mary, CHM; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, RSM; Daughters of Charity, DC; Sisters of Charity of Halifax, SC; Franciscan Sisters, OSF; Sisters of the Living Word, SLW; Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns, OCD; Dominican Sisters of Springfield, OP; Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, FSPA; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, SCN School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee, WI – OSF; Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, SNJM; Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, S.H.Sp.; Union of the Sisters of the Presentation of the BVM, PBVM; and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province – CSJ.
Since the program began in June, 378 sisters have received support from the Sisters on the Frontline grant program and another 622 have requested funds.
Sisters who have received funding are asked to report back to Catholic Extension as to how the funds were used. Catholic Extension will be sharing the sisters’ stories as they are received. To learn more or to donate, visit https://www.catholicextension.org/sisters-on-the-frontlines/.