Category Archives: Diocesan News

McCarrick removed from priesthood, convicted of abuse

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has confirmed the removal from the priesthood of Theodore E. McCarrick, the 88-year-old former cardinal and archbishop of Washington.
The Vatican announced the decision Feb. 16, saying he was found guilty of “solicitation in the sacrament of confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”
A panel of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith found him guilty Jan. 11, the Vatican said. McCarrick appealed the decision, but the appeal was rejected Feb. 13 by the congregation itself. McCarrick was informed of the decision Feb. 15 and Pope Francis “recognized the definitive nature of this decision made in accord with law,” making a further appeal impossible.

Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, arrives for the Jan. 1, 2017, installation Mass of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J. On Feb. 16, 2019, Pope Francis confirmed the removal from the priesthood of McCarrick. Even though the decision was not unexpected, the news cast a somber mood over the faith communities in the dioceses and archdioceses where he had served. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

By ordering McCarrick’s “dismissal from the clerical state,” the decision means that McCarrick loses all rights and duties associated with being a priest, cannot present himself as a priest and is forbidden to celebrate the sacraments, except to grant absolution for sins to a person in imminent danger of death.
The only church penalty that is more severe is excommunication, which would have banned him from receiving the sacraments. The other possible punishment was to sentence him to a “life of prayer and penance,” a penalty often imposed on elderly clerics; the penalty is similar to house arrest and usually includes banning the person from public ministry, limiting his interactions with others and restricting his ability to leave the place he is assigned to live.
McCarrick’s punishment is the toughest meted out to a cardinal by the Vatican in modern times.
McCarrick’s initial suspension from ministry and removal from the College of Cardinals in 2018 came after a man alleged that McCarrick began sexually abusing him in 1971 when he was a 16-year-old altar server in New York; the Archdiocese of New York found the allegation “credible and substantiated” and turned the case over to the Vatican.
At that point, in June, then-Cardinal McCarrick said he would no longer exercise any public ministry “in obedience” to the Vatican, although he maintained he was innocent.
In late July, the pope accepted McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals and ordered him to maintain “a life of prayer and penance” until the accusation that he had sexually abused a minor could be examined by a Vatican court.
In the weeks that followed the initial announcement, another man came forward claiming he was abused as a child by McCarrick, and several former seminarians spoke out about being sexually harassed by the cardinal at a beach house he had in New Jersey.
Since September, McCarrick has been living in a Capuchin friary in rural Kansas.
The allegations against McCarrick, including what appeared to be years of sexual harassment of seminarians, also led to serious questions about who may have known about his activities and how he was able to rise to the level of cardinal.
At least two former seminarians reported the sexual misconduct of McCarrick to their local bishops as far back as the 1990s. The Archdiocese of Newark and the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton made a settlement with one man in 2005, and the Diocese of Metuchen settled with the other man in 2007.
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Metuchen told Catholic News Service in August that both settlements were reported to the Vatican nuncio in Washington. The two archbishops who held the position of nuncio in 2004 and 2006 have since died.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who served as nuncio in Washington from 2011-2016, made headlines in mid-August when he called for Pope Francis to resign, claiming the pope had known of allegations against McCarrick and had lifted sanctions imposed on McCarrick by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI.
The former nuncio later clarified that Pope Benedict issued the sanctions “privately” perhaps “due to the fact that he (McCarrick) was already retired, maybe due to the fact that he (Pope Benedict) was thinking he was ready to obey.”
In an open letter to Archbishop Vigano released in October, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops since 2010, said that in 2011, “I told you verbally of the situation of the bishop emeritus (McCarrick) who was to observe certain conditions and restrictions because of rumors about his behavior in the past.”
Then-Cardinal McCarrick “was strongly exhorted not to travel and not to appear in public so as not to provoke further rumors,” Cardinal Ouellet said, but “it is false to present these measures taken in his regard as ‘sanctions’ decreed by Pope Benedict XVI and annulled by Pope Francis. After re-examining the archives, I certify that there are no such documents signed by either pope.”
Cardinal Ouellet’s letter was published a few days after the Vatican issued a statement saying that it would, “in due course, make known the conclusions of the matter regarding Archbishop McCarrick.”
In addition, Pope Francis ordered “a further thorough study of the entire documentation present in the archives of the dicasteries and offices of the Holy See regarding the former Cardinal McCarrick in order to ascertain all the relevant facts, to place them in their historical context and to evaluate them objectively.”
The Vatican statement said it is aware “that, from the examination of the facts and of the circumstances, it may emerge that choices were made that would not be consonant with a contemporary approach to such issues. However, as Pope Francis has said: ‘We will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead.’ Both abuse and its cover-up can no longer be tolerated, and a different treatment for bishops who have committed or covered up abuse, in fact, represents a form of clericalism that is no longer acceptable.”
McCarrick had been ordained to the priesthood in 1958 for the Archdiocese of New York. James, the first child he baptized after ordination, claimed that from the time he was 11 years old and for some 20 years, McCarrick sexually abused him.
In 1977, McCarrick was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York and, in 1981, St. John Paul II named him the first bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. Five years later, he became the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, and in November 2000 St. John Paul named him archbishop of Washington, D.C., and made him a cardinal early in 2001. McCarrick retired in 2006.
At least three other cardinals have been accused of sexual abuse or impropriety in the past 25 years. In the 1990s Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer was forced to step down as archbishop of Vienna and eventually to relinquish all public ministry after allegations of the sexual abuse and harassment of seminarians and priests; he died in 2003 without having undergone a canonical trial.
Pope Benedict XVI forced Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien to step down as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh in early 2013; after an investigation, Pope Francis withdrew his “rights and duties” as a cardinal, although he retained the title until his death in March 2018.
Australian Cardinal George Pell, facing charges of abusing minors, has been on leave from his post as head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy since mid-2017; he reportedly was found guilty of some charges in December, but the court has imposed an injunction on press coverage of the trial. Pope Francis told reporters he would not speak about the case until the court proceedings have run their course.

Great expectations: Vatican abuse summit has key, realistic goals

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By Carol Glatz (CNS)
VATICAN CITY – All eyes and ears will be on the Vatican during an unprecedented gathering set for Feb. 21-24 to discuss the protection of minors in the Catholic Church.
When Pope Francis announced the international meeting in September, it sparked an optimistic note that the global problem of abuse finally would be tackled with a concerted, coordinated, global effort.
The breadth of the potential impact seemed to be reflected in the list of those convoked to the meeting: the presidents of all the world’s bishops’ conferences, the heads of the Eastern Catholic churches, representatives of the leadership groups of men’s and women’s religious orders and the heads of major Vatican offices.
But the pope tried to dial down what he saw as “inflated expectations” for the meeting, telling reporters in January that “the problem of abuse will continue. It’s a human problem” that exists everywhere.
Many survivors and experts, too, have cautioned that it was unrealistic to assume such a brief meeting could deliver a panacea for abuse and its cover-up.
So, what should people expect from the four-day meeting? The following five points hit the highlights:
1. It will be first and foremost about raising awareness, including that the scandal of abuse is not a “Western” problem, but happens in every country.
To make that point clear, the organizing committee asked every participating bishop to sit down with a survivor of abuse before coming to Rome and hear that “Me, too,” from a person of his own country, culture and language.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who is moderating the meeting, said there would be between 160 and 180 participants. He told reporters Feb. 12 to expect the presidents of about 115 bishops’ conferences, a dozen heads of Eastern churches, prefects of Vatican congregations directly involved with Vatican norms regarding abuse and negligence, eight delegates from the men’s Union of Superiors General, 10 delegates from the women’s International Union of Superiors General, three members of the pope’s Council of Cardinals who are not presidents of their bishops’ conference and four members of the organizing committee.
Everyone invited will be expected to learn what his or her responsibilities are as a leader or a bishop and to know the church laws and procedures that already exist to protect the young.
2. Organizers hope that by listening to victims and leaders who have learned things the hard way, participants will be inspired to adopt a culture of accountability and transparency.
Hearing what abuse and negligence have done to people has the power to transform the listener, “to truly open the mind and heart,” Jesuit Father Hans Zollner told reporters Feb. 12.
Just to be sure those voices are heard, the meeting will also feature testimonies from survivors from countries where the reality of abuse is still largely ignored, said the priest, an abuse expert who is part of the meeting’s organizing committee.
He said the word “accountability” doesn’t even exist in many languages, which often means that culture might lack a clear or coherent understanding of this key concept.
For that reason, the summit will devote a day to discussing accountability and “what structures, procedures and methods are effective” and viable in the Catholic Church, he said.
Church leaders must know what the norms are, he said, but the meeting also will stress that the procedures themselves “will not magically solve a problem.”
For example, he said, it was “a source of delusion” for U.S. Catholics when the 2002 Dallas Charter did not fix everything.
In fact, the meeting will not be about producing any documents, but pushing people to take the needed steps toward greater transparency and accountability, Father Lombardi said.
Those steps already are spelled out, he said, in Pope Francis’ 2016 document, “As a Loving Mother,” on the accountability of bishops and religious superiors.
“It must be put into practice effectively,” he said, adding that he was “convinced and firmly hope that this meeting will give a push in that direction.”
3. There will be a kind of “parallel assembly” as large numbers of survivors and advocacy groups converge on Rome to call for greater accountability, action and reform.
A variety of events are planned, including an evening “Vigil for Justice” near the Vatican and a “March for Zero Tolerance” to St. Peter’s Square, but a major focus will be media outreach and getting the voice and recommendations of laypeople and victims – many who had gone unheard for years – listened to.
4. Pope Francis will be present throughout the meeting, which will include plenary sessions, working groups, prayer, a penitential liturgy and a closing Mass.
In letters to the bishops of Chile and the United States, Pope Francis has made clear what he thinks the church needs to do to respond to the abuse crisis.
Administrative solutions involving new policies and norms are not enough, he has said.
He told Chile’s bishops that abuse and its cover-up “are indicators that something is bad in the church body.”
Therefore, they must not only “address the concrete cases,” but also “discover the dynamics that made it possible for such attitudes and evils to occur.”
Those attitudes are driven by the temptation “to save ourselves, to save our reputation,” he told the Chilean bishops.
In his letter to the U.S. bishops, he warned against the tendency to play the victim, to scold, discredit, disparage others and point fingers.
5. Expect the meeting to be one critical step along a very long journey that began decades ago and must continue.
Further measures will be taken after the meeting, Father Zollner has said. For instance, a task force made up of child protection experts “will probably be instituted in the various continents” to help bishops create, strengthen and implement guidelines.
The different “teams” of the task force should be able to help “for years to come to measure the success of this exercise of realizing own’s own responsibility, even on the global level, in the face of public expectations,” he told the Vatican newspaper in January.
Even though the church is well aware of larger, related problems of abuses of power, conscience and abuse and violence against seminarians, religious women and other adults, the meeting will focus exclusively on protecting minors from abuse, Fathers Zollner and Lombardi said.
The idea is that the attitude and spirit needed to protect the most vulnerable of the church’s members are the same that will protect and promote respect for the integrity and dignity of everyone.
In fact, Father Lombardi said, “I see this as a test of the profundity of the reform” of the church called for by Pope Francis.
In other words, the pope wants people “to examine how we live out our mission, with what coherence and how we can convert our attitudes, both in regard to our attention and compassion for those who suffer, as well as our consistent witness to the dignity of children, of women, and so on.”

(Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden in Rome.)

Abuse prevention expert offers training

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By Maureen Smith
MADISON – Dr. Monica Applewhite, an internationally recognized expert in abuse prevention, offered a day-long training to teachers, principals and diocesan employees on Monday, Jan 4 at St. Joseph High School. The following two days she was set to offer workshops to the priests and lay ministers.
Applewhite has spent 25 years studying how organizations can prevent child abuse and train their employees to create safer environments for young people and vulnerable populations.

MADISON – Monica Applewhite answers questions from local broadcast media during a break in her presentation.

During Monday’s workshops she told the history of child abuse prevention law and cultural attitude. She also spoke about the different kinds of abusers in society. The afternoon focused on peer-to-peer abuse.
The training was too close to deadline for full coverage, but look for an expanded story on Appewhite in an April edition of Mississippi Catholic dedicated to Child Abuse Prevention Month.

MADISON – Almost 500 teachers, administrators and support staff from schools across the Diocese of Jackson joined diocesan staff and employees Monday, Feb. 4, at St. Joseph School for a da-long workshop on child abuse prevention. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

 

Catholic School students join national celebration

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Catholic Schools across the Diocese of Jackson celebrated national Catholic Schools Week Jan. 27 – Feb. 1. Each school community hosted celebrations of their own – but they all connected to the national theme: “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” A winter storm forced two schools, Columbus Annunciation and Natchez Cathedral, to close for a day, but most were able to celebrate with their communities.
One of the largest events of the week was a rally held at the state capitol. Students from Jackson and Madison attended the rally to show off the impact Catholic schools have on the state of Mississippi. Speakers included Bishop Joseph Kopacz, School Superintendent Catherine Cook, Father Nick Adam, parochial vicar at St. Richard Parish and Father John Bohn, who is the canonical supervisor of Jackson St. Richard and Madison St. Joseph Schools.

JACKSON – Senator Walter Michel (R) Ridgeland, reads the Catholic Schools Week proclamation from Governor Phil Bryant on the steps of the state Capitol Thursday, Jan 31. The Madison St. Joseph band provided music and students from Jackson and Madison attended the rally. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

At Capitol, Jackson

VICKSBURG – Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Catherine Cook, superintendent of Catholic Schools, joined administrators at Vicksburg Catholic School and retired Father PJ Curley for a ceremony to rename the library after retired pastor Father Tom Lalor (center). (Photo by Mary Margaret Halford)

Vicksburg

Vicksburg

COLUMBUS – Patrick Doumit, a seventh-grader at Annunication School, boxes lunches as part of a massive service project. Annunication partnered with soup kitchen, Loaves and Fishes, to pack and deliver sack lunches for their lunches-to-go program to be distributed on the weekends when the soup kitchen is not open. Each bag included a pasta meal, bottle of water and breakfast bar. Each student donated and packed five bags each for a total of 1,004 bags. According to Loaves and Fishes president, Pam Rhea, this is the largest donation of lunches-to-go that the program has ever received. Students delivered this huge donation via the school bus on Thursday, January 31. (Photo by Katie Fenstermacher)

GREENWOOD – Sister Annette Kurey helps St. Francis of Assisi students prepare the gifts at Mass on Sunday, Feb. 27. Students served at the Parish Mass to kick off Catholic Schools Week. (Photo by Maureen Smith)

Greenwood

Greenwood

Greenwood

Greenwood

Greenwood

Greenwood

Greenwood

In Greenwood the students from St. Francis of Assisi school combined their Catholic Schools Week kickoff Mass with a celebration for the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, several of whom are on staff at the school. The order, based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The motherhouse has asked each community of sisters to mark the anniversary in some special way. At Mass on Sunday, Jan. 27, students took on liturgical roles by proclaiming the word, singing and serving at the altar. Sisters Annette, Kathleen and Judith hosted an open house in their convent after Mass and people came out in droves to thank and celebrate their Sisters. (See page 16.
Greenville St. Joseph kicked off the week Monday by celebrating a $300,000 gift to the school from the estate of Father Richard Somers, former pastor. Father Somers left the money to the school community in his will. “We at St. Joseph Catholic School are appreciative of Father Somers’s love of Catholic Education, especially here at St. Joseph Catholic School in Greenville,” said principal Steve Wies.
Jackson St. Richard school showed off it’s science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math (STREAM) program Tuesday night when families were invited to participate in STREAM projects together. Families made slime, operated robots and helped with other projects after everyone shared a meal.
Vicksburg Catholic School celebrated retired priest Father Tom Lalor by naming the high school library after him. Father Lalor was on hand for the dedication, part of a day of celebration at the school. Students at Columbus Annunciation Catholic School packed more than a thousand lunches for their local food bank.
Natchez Cathedral students also hosted a food drive, although their week was cut short by a day because of bad weather.
Each day at Madison St. Anthony day was focused on appreciating some part of the school community. The students and staff appreciated their parish, the clergy, their parents and their community helpers.
Clarksdale St. Elizabeth students got to invite special guests, such as grandparents or parents to each lunch with them during the week.
Southaven Sacred Heart students heard about different vocations in life from a priest, a religious sister and married couples. They also hosted their traditional “Hope Chain,” where students purchase paper chain links. On Friday, Feb. 1, the students hear about local charities and vote on which one should receive the proceeds from the chain.
Meridian St. Patrick school took their celebration to the streets – hosting a parade from the school to city hall where the mayor read a proclamation for Catholic Schools Week.
Academic excellence takes center stage at Jackson Sister Thea Bowman School, where honor roll and academic honors were presented after school Mass on Wednesday.
Catholic Schools Week is part of a national celebration. “Young people today need Catholic education more than ever,” said Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland, California, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Catholic Education. He also stressed that “being rooted in faith does not endanger the academic quality of Catholic schools, but in fact is their very motivation for excellence in all things.”
In a statement released for the observance, he said: “Following Christ’s example of loving and serving all people, Catholic schools proudly provide a well-rounded education to disadvantaged families, new arrivals to America and to all who seek a seat in our schools. Since the inception of Catholic schools in our country, we have always sought to welcome families of all backgrounds while maintaining our principles and teaching in a spirit of charity.”
Nearly 1.8 million students are currently educated in 6,352 Catholic schools in the United States.
Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week has been the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States, sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the USCCB’s Secretariat of Catholic Education. Schools typically observe the annual weeklong celebration with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members.

Sister Rita Goedken retires after ‘walking the talk’

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By Diane Herring
MORTON – For the past 10 years, Sister Rita Goedken has been the face of Morton’s Excel Community and Learning Center (ECLC). In mid-December she returned to Dubuque, Iowa, and the Sisters of St. Francis. As a person who admits she does not like heat and humidity, when asked how she came to be in Morton, Sister Rita gives an answer that could be a lyric to a country song.
“Each person has a limited number of years to ‘walk the talk,’” she says, referring to committing to giving back to and serving the community. She not only “talks the talk” but “walks the walk” as well.
Joining the community of the Sisters of St. Francis, Dubuque 55 years ago, Sister Rita has served in areas from Wisconsin to Oregon and from Michigan to Mississippi.
Born in Petersburg, Iowa and reared on a farm in a community she describes as, “very rural, smaller than Morton.”
“I had 11 brothers and sisters,” she says. “We grew up on a 160-acre farm where we raised chickens, dairy cattle and hogs. It is, I think, the root of my passion to take care of the earth.”
Trained as a teacher, having majored in history and minored in math, she taught in Iowa and Oregon and worked in pastoral administration in Michigan and Wisconsin. She served eight years to the leadership committee of Sisters of St. Francis.
She adds, “While serving on the leadership team, our community studied water issues. The Sisters commissioned us to come up with a project, one that all Sisters of St. Francis could support. As a result, Sister Water Project (SWP) was developed in 2006 and focuses on water, providing clean drinking water in areas where the need is the greatest, where it would benefit the poorest of the poor.”
“The SWP is active in Honduras and Tanzania,” Sister Rita says. “In Tanzania the SWP has completed 203 wells. All 203 are operative. In Honduras the SWP has collaborated with other entities to bring safe drinking water to remote villages that currently don’t have access to it.”
In the mid-1990’s the Franciscan Sisters decided to establish missions in low-income areas with multicultural populations. Morton is one of the sites selected. Sister Rita had been here to visit, and something sparked.
“It was just the place I needed to be,” she says.
So, Sister Rita came to Morton where she has helped the ECLC Excel to grow and serve.
“The first Franciscan Sisters to work in Morton came in 1999,” says Sister Eileen Hauswald, Director, ECLC. “Sisters Nona, Camilla, and Terri worked with local volunteers and implemented the initial programs, like the Faith in Action meal deliveries to elderly and shut-ins and the after-school tutoring for children and summer day camps. “Pnykii McDougle was a student at ECLC Summer Day Camps growing up and now, as a student majoring in education at Mississippi State University, is a teaching assistant in the after school tutoring program. She says, “Sister Rita is an inspiration to me.”
“Most people will speak of Sister Rita’s work ethic and they would be right,” says Claudia Rowland, Teacher Coordinator. “But I will remember her love of history. I’ll miss her very much.
Looking back, Sister Rita says, “When I came to Morton there was a recession but people in Morton came in and supported the center and our work. Today there is more life in town. Wonderful people come into the center and volunteer time, talents and materials, all gratis. ‘I would like to see everybody from every tribe, tongue and nation represented in our community come and participate in our programs and services. I’ve met a host of generous, competent, wonderful people. For each I am grateful. It is the people I will miss and remember.”
For 10 years Rita Goedken has walked the walk and talked the talk, managing to inspire volunteers to join her on the journey. Morton and Scott county will miss her.

(NOTE: It is requested that no gifts be given, however, contributions to Excel or the Sister Water Project would be appreciated and received in honor of Sister Rita.)
(Diane Herring is a member of the Excel Center Advisory Board.)

Advocates take Catholic approach to criminal justice reform

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By Andre de Gruy
JACKSON – In 2000, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement calling for changes in how this country, deals with the problems of crime and criminal justice. Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, USCCB, Nov. 15, 2000. The Bishops began looking at these problems with the recognition that Catholics believe “the dignity of the human person applies to both victim and offender.”
In preparing the statement, the Bishops consulted Catholics involved in every aspect of the criminal justice system: prison chaplains, police officers, prosecutors, judges, correctional officers, crime victims, offenders and the families of both. Their statement examines Church teaching on crime and punishment, and in light of Catholic Social Teaching makes policy suggestions on this subject. The Bishops end with a call to action by Catholics and other people of good will to work to make the criminal justice system “less retributive and more restorative.”
Beginning in 2013 civil leaders began in earnest to address the need for criminal justice reform in Mississippi. In 2014, after considerable study, our legislature passed HB 585 which significantly altered the state’s approach to criminal justice. Although Mississippi saw decreases in both crime and incarceration after passage of HB 585, the state’s prison population is on the rise again. There is a strong consensus that it is time for more reforms.
In a poll conducted last August more than two-thirds of Mississippi voters said they believed the criminal justice system needed “significant improvements.” Remarkably the support was not just strong but bipartisan. Following the poll the state Reentry Council working with the Governor and Legislative Leaders convened a Criminal Justice Summit in December. In light of this convergence of Church teaching and civil authority initiative, Catholic Charities has again recommended the focus of Catholic Day at the Capitol be Criminal Justice Reform.
Catholic Day 2019 is scheduled for February 27. By that point in the session, a little over halfway, most of the more than 2,500 general bills filed will have died in committee but with the broad support shown so far advocates expect many of the ideas discussed below will be under consideration and in need of Catholic voices of support. .
One of the reasons for the broad support is the recognition that Mississippi’s incarceration crisis removes thousands of people from the economy and costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, preventing the state from investing in other critical priorities such as education and drug and mental health treatment. The state’s high incarceration rate is hurting Mississippi’s economy, communities, and families.
In accord with the Bishops’ statement, some of the recommendations would change how we wage the “war on drugs.” The ideas include updating drug court statutes to allow different types of “problem-solving” or “intervention” courts such as mental health courts as well as ensuring people have access to the programs. There is also an initiative to reclassify a person’s first two simple possession charges to misdemeanor rather than felony offenses. These policy recommendations would both reduce the number of people going into prison for drug crimes and the number of people addicted to drugs.
The focus will not just be on the front end trying to keep people from prison or reducing their stay but rather in helping people reenter their communities prepared to succeed as productive members of society. Giving “second chances” isn’t just the right thing to do but keeping communities safe often means providing second chances and holding people accountable in their communities rather than harsher punishments. The “Scarlet F” of a felony follows tens of thousands of Mississippians for their lifetime, preventing many from fully participating in the economy, their families, and their communities.
There will be efforts to change laws to ensure that prior convictions more than 10 years old do not lead to harsher punishments down the road and that expungement, wiping a conviction off a person’s record, is available to most nonviolent offenders.
There are many other barriers to the workforce. Thousands of people are held in jails awaiting trial for misdemeanors each year, which causes job loss and prevents parents from providing for their families. At the same time, people who are serving their sentence in the community on probation or parole face barriers to employment that make it difficult to reintegrate into their families and communities. States across the south have proven it’s possible to balance accountability with employability to ensure that thousands of people are not needlessly locked out of the economy.
Some of the specific proposals designed to get people back to work include employer tax credits for hiring formerly incarcerated citizens, allowing people charged with misdemeanors to await trial at home rather than in jail and not barring people from securing an occupational license because of a conviction of a crime unrelated to the field. For example, many people become skilled barbers in our correctional system yet can’t get a license upon their release.
One of the most pressing reform issues – in fact the top issue for Republicans, independents and Democrats in the Public Opinion Strategies poll – is improving the public defender system to ensure poor people accused of crimes have proper legal representation. This issue has been the subject of years of study. Last summer a task force of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, legislators and county supervisors issued its final report recommending changes to the system that would bring oversight, accountability and efficiency in efforts to meet this Constitutional mandate.
While there are numerous bills addressing parts of this broad agenda three bill cover most. HB 1415 represents the Public Defender Task Force recommendations. SB 2927 includes addresses most of the initiatives mentioned above including reclassification of simple possession, bail reform for misdemeanors and not allowing old convictions from causing sentence enhancements. HB 1352, titled the Criminal Justice Reform Act, includes many of these reforms as well as the establishment of a “Recidivism Reduction Fund” that would direct savings realized from reducing prison populations to programs designed to prevent new crimes.
Registration for Ctholic Day at the Capitol is open on the website www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org. See page 2 for more information.

(De Gruy is a member of Jackson St. Richard Parish, the diocesan Faith In Action Team and the Mississippi State Public Defender.)

Epiphany traditions include sweets, blessings

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By Berta Mexidor
JACKSON – Epiphany is celebrated in a variety of ways around the world and even around the Diocese of Jackson. From processions to door blessings, each tradition helps remind the community that the Christmas Season starts on Christmas and runs through the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
In Carthage, the parish hosted a procession to celebrate the feast. In Corinth, parishioners dressed as the three wise men came to Mass to present gifts at the nativity set in the church and then to give candy and goodies to the children after Mass.
According to tradition, the three wise men represent the admiration of the world for the child that brought salvation. All three show the diversity of the world and the phases of the life of the human being that has to be saved by faith. Their gifts also have symbolic meaning. The Magi brought gold, incense and myrrh.

   

Father Nick Giving Thumbs up at Epiphany

Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus as he celebrates Mass marking the feast of the Epiphany in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

On January 6, in Rome, Pope Francis explained in his homily” “Gold, the most precious of metals, reminds us God has to be granted first place; he has to be worshiped,” he said. Frankincense is a symbol of the prayer that each person is called to offer God. And myrrh, the same ointment that would later be used to anoint Jesus’ dead body, is a sign of the gift of “care for bodies racked by suffering, the flesh of the vulnerable, of those left behind, of those who can only receive without being able to give anything material in return.”
Other cultures tell the story that Melchior, the gold-bearer, is an old man representing Europe. Gold represents the royalty of the Child King. Gaspar or Caspar is a young Asian who brought incense, for the divinity of the child. Balthazar is the mature man from Africa who offers myrrh, a product to embalm the dead and reflects the humanity of the Lord.
In Europe, Epiphany is a day to bless the house. At Jackson St. Richard School, Father Nick Adam blessed classrooms and “chalked” the doors. In this practice, a priest uses chalk to write the numbers of the year with crosses and the letters C + M + B in between each number. The letters represent the names of the magi as well as the Latin “Christus mansionem benedicat,” or “may Christ bless this house.”
In other cultures, Christmas presents are not exchanged until Epiphany. Often families eat their first “King cake” on this day. The sweet bread has a coin or small baby representing Christ hidden inside. The person who receives the baby is considered lucky for the year and sometimes has to make or buy the next king cake.

(Maureen Smith contributed to this article.)

West Point native appointed to USCCB post

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Allison McGinn

WASHINGTON — West Point, Mississippi native Allison McGinn has been appointed as Executive Director of the Office of Human Resources for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
McGinn was not raised Catholic. She started RCIA to learn more about the faith when her children started Catholic school in Virginia. She felt called to the church through the classes. Monsignor Brian Bransfield, USCCB General Secretary, made the appointment which took effect January 7.
“Allison has a wealth of experience as a Human Resources professional. I am confident that her skills and abilities will be of tremendous value to the USCCB, and I am grateful to her for accepting this important position in service to the bishops and to the Church,” said Msgr. Bransfield.
McGinn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Educational Psychology from Mississippi State University. She holds senior-level certifications in Human Resources from both the Society for Human Resources Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute.
Most recently, McGinn was self-employed as a Human Resources Consultant, working with firms in the areas of performance management, employee benefits and compensation, recruiting, HR policy and compliance. Prior to her consulting work, McGinn oversaw the HR function for organizations in the government contracting and airline industries, including over 18 years of service with US Airways.
McGinn lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and two daughters. They attend the Basilica of St. Mary Church in Old Town.
McGinn takes on the leadership of the department after the tenure of Theresa Ridderhoff, who had served until recently as Executive Director of Human Resources and was appointed as USCCB Associate General Secretary.

Faith Formation Conference: ‘Go forth that all may be one’

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By Fran Lavelle
KENNER, Louisiana – his year the Go! Conference (Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference), offered a well-balanced and intentional diversity of subjects and speakers focused on the theme, “That All May Be One.” The Conference planners, including the diocesan directors of the region, work to reach as many ministries within parishes and schools as possible while remaining focused on religious formation. We are constantly looking at relevant topics that are spiritually nourishing as well as practical and hands on.
The first day of the Conference this year was quite different from years past. We offered three unique experiences: Liturgy and Music Workshop sponsored by WLP, a panel on the Interface Between Science and Religion sponsored by the University Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute and Leadership Thursday for catechist and formational ministry sponsored by Sadlier. Participants from the three cohorts began their day with Mass at 9:00 a.m. Each of the major workshops reached out to different constituents from STREAM teachers and administrators in Catholic Schools to parish catechists to musicians and liturgists. Hopefully the participants found, in their own niche, great insights and inspiration to bring home.
Karla Luke, Associate Superintendent, Office Catholic Education, a participant in the McGrath Institute’s session on science and religion, is a former teacher of both middle school science and religion. “This event was not only enlightening but also affirming. It gives ‘permission’ to Catholic school teachers to freely incorporate both Science and Religion into the other’s classes,” said Luke. She went on to say, “Furthermore, it clarified that acceptance of scientific theories and laws do not negate one’s faith; but, consequently may enhance it. The workshop not only confirmed my belief in God the Creator but confirmed the love God has for all creation.”


The idea that science and religion are mutually exclusive was addressed head on. Participants were given the examples of Kepler, Galileo, Boyle and Newton, all devoutly religious scientist who saw themselves as uncovering God’s majestic work through scientific reason. Dr. Chris Baglow, of the University of Notre Dame, shared with the group an analogy from Minicius Felix:
If upon entering some home you saw that everything there was well-tended, neat and decorative, you would believe that some master was in charge of it and that he was himself much superior to those good things. So too in the home of this world, when you see providence, order and law in the heavens and on earth, believe that there is a Lord and Author of the universe, more beautiful than the stars themselves and the various parts of the whole world. Minucius Felix (ca.200 AD)
On Saturday, the keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn Paradise addressed the cultural roadblocks to creating unity over division. She talked about brain science and development of empathy from the womb. She stated that we are programmed in our DNA, on a cellular level, to learn behaviors through visual perception at a very young age — 0-3 months. Our addiction to digital media, in our culture, has worked to the detriment of developing appropriate human responses. God, she contends, planted in our brains a developmental need for an interconnectedness that technology cannot replicate or replace. One of the human responses not being developed is empathy. As we become less empathetic, we can quickly vilify others who look, think, pray and live differently because we see them as different. She showed a picture of three chicken eggs, one white, one light brown and one dark brown. In the following picture, the three eggs had been cracked and were in a frying pan next to one another. They all looked the same. She used the photos to illustrate that it is now more than ever the important work of the Church to proclaim the gospel, to end division and fully live out Catholic social teaching.
This is a rapidly changing cultural and technological world. Understanding current challenges and opportunities in ministry is essential if ministers, catechists and church members are to continue to share the faith. Creating awareness and strategies to deal with these changes is imperative. Mission accomplished for this year’s conference. We had great liturgies, enjoyed good conversations, met inspiring people, reunited with old friends and learned a lot. Save the date for next year’s Conference, “20/20: His Vision — Our Call” January 9-11, 2020.
“I thank thee, Lord God our Creator, that thou allowest me to see the beauty in thy work of creation.” Kepler.

(Fran Lavelle is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)