By Rebecca Harris JACKSON – Kick off the charitable season on #GivingTuesday, Nov. 28, with #iGiveCatholic – a crowdfunding event that brings the Catholic community together to give thanks and give back. The Diocese of Jackson is once again joining dioceses and Catholic foundations across the country for the ninth annual #iGiveCatholic campaign. The #iGiveCatholic Giving Day is held annually on #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and generosity.
The Diocese of Jackson will be participating in #iGiveCatholic – a crowdfunding event that brings the Catholic community together to give thanks and give back – on #GivingTuesday on Nov. 28. (File photo)
Last fall, 42 partnering dioceses raised over $18.5 million for 2,400+ participating parishes, schools and ministries. The Diocese of Jackson had 50 participating organizations and ministries that collected over $207,000 in donations. The amount that is collected increases each year as more and more people become familiar with the #iGiveCatholic campaign. Since its inaugural year in 2015, the #iGiveCatholic Giving Day has yielded continued growth in the number of participating dioceses and their participating non-profits as well as total donations, both online and offline, and average gift amount.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Catholic communities nationwide to unite to promote generosity and celebrate our Catholic heritage,” said Cory Howat, president of #iGiveCatholic. “Every donation makes an impact and has a positive effect on the life of the church as a whole. We are thrilled the Diocese of Jackson is partnering with #iGiveCatholic to raise funds for all of the participating parishes, schools and ministries in their community and around the country.”
When an diocese or foundation participates in #iGiveCatholic, their webpage hosts individual profile pages for each Catholic parish, school, and non-profit ministry (organizations) within that arch/diocese wanting to participate on #GivingTuesday. Each profile page features personalization capabilities, including video, photos, custom copy and a donate button to tell that organization’s story, their impact on the community and the church, and what the organization will do with the funds raised. The organization page includes a thermometer and scrolling ticker-tape updating total donations on the Giving Day in real time, affording parishioners, alumni, parents and supporters the opportunity to track how their favorite parish, school or ministry is doing during #iGiveCatholic.
Individuals can also get involved, ensuring the success of their favorite parish, school or ministry by hosting and personalizing individual fundraising pages on behalf of their favorite organization, and/or by providing a gift that can match other donations during the event.
For more information about supporting organizations and ministries withing the Diocese of Jackson on Tuesday, Nov. 28 during the #iGiveCatholic Giving Day, please contact Rebecca Harris at (601) 960-8477.
NATION BRICK, N.J. (OSV News) – An air of both excitement and reverence permeated the parish community of St. Dominic in Brick, Oct. 1, when some 1,200 worshippers gathered throughout the church complex to witness the dedication by Bishop David M. O’Connell of Trenton of a new Diocesan Shrine to Blessed Carlo Acutis and to pray with his mother, Antonia Salzano Acutis, who was visiting from Italy. Blessed Carlo was 15 when he died from leukemia Oct. 12, 2006. He had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and became known for developing a website catalog of Eucharistic miracles. He was declared venerable in 2018 and beatified in 2020. He became the first millennial to be beatified by the church. In his homily, Bishop O’Connell used the day’s Gospel to emphasize how all are called to do the right thing for the right reason. “It’s not simply a matter of our words or what we say but rather, what we do that makes a difference in life.” After the final blessing, Antonia Acutis, Bishop O’Connell and the clergy processed out of the church to the shrine for the dedication ceremony. Following the dedication, Antonia Acutis returned to the church to address the congregation. “God wants us to be awakened toward the Eucharist,” she said. Using her son’s well-known quote, “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Over 3,000 pilgrims from across the United States filled the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Sept. 30, drawn by a shared love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the rosary. The first annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage included a day of preaching, confessions and music, culminating in a chanted rosary procession and the celebration of Mass. Nine months ago, when the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph first issued an invitation to “unite … to confidently seek the intercession of Our Lady,” American Catholics responded in force. Lay pilgrims were joined by more than 80 Dominican friars and over 50 religious sisters from communities across the U.S. “I was completely overwhelmed by the joy and enthusiasm demonstrated by pilgrims,” said Dominican Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, who helped plan the pilgrimage and served as master of ceremonies for the day. “One of the best parts of the day was the demand for confessors. Many, many people sought access to the sacraments. … Pilgrims were evidently moved by the experience.”
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christian life is a battle each person must fight against the temptation to be self-sufficient and against a paganism disguised as sacredness, Pope Francis said in an introduction to a small book distributed to participants at the synod on synodality. Such “spiritual worldliness,” he wrote, “though it be camouflaged with the appearance of the sacred, it ends up being idolatrous because it does not recognize the presence of God as Lord and liberator of our lives and of the history of the world. It leaves us prey to our capricious desires.” The booklet contains two republished essays by the pope that are “united by the concern, which I feel to be a loud call from God to the entire church, to remain vigilant and to fight with the strength of prayer against every concession to spiritual worldliness,” he wrote in the introduction. Titled, “Holy, Not Worldly: God’s Grace Saves Us From Interior Corruption,” the booklet was released by the Dicastery for Communication and the Vatican publishing house Oct. 6 and was offered to the more than 350 participants attending the afternoon session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality. “I offer these texts to the reader as an opportunity to reflect on his life and on the life of the church, with the conviction that God asks us to be open to His newness, he asks us to be unquiet and never satisfied, searching and never stuck in comfortable opacity, not defended within the walls of false certainties, but walking on the road of holiness,” the pope wrote in the introduction.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As Catholic young people around the world prepare for the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis has asked them to focus on hope. Before the Jubilee of Young People, which will be part of the Holy Year celebration, and the next international celebration of World Youth Day in 2027 in Seoul, South Korea, dioceses around the world are to celebrate World Youth Day on a local level on the feast of Christ the King. The Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life announced Sept. 26 that Pope Francis had chosen as the theme for the upcoming Nov. 26 celebration “Rejoicing in hope,” from Romans 12:12. And for World Youth Day Nov. 24, 2024, he chose: “Those who hope in the Lord will run and not be weary,” drawing from the Lord’s promise in Isaiah 40:31.
An aerial view shows restoration work under way July 18, 2023, at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was badly damaged in a devastating fire in 2019. (OSV News photo/Pascal Rossignol, Reuters)
WORLD PARIS (OSV News) – By the end of the year, the Notre Dame Cathedral silhouette will be restored: Its entire 315-foot-high spire will once again crown the transept crossing, hidden beneath a 330-foot-high scaffolding. The biggest reconstruction in France’s modern history is “a sign of hope for everyone,” the rector-archpriest of Notre Dame Cathedral, Father Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, told OSV News. A Sept. 13 statement by the public institution Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris (Rebuilding of Notre Dame) mentions “spectacular results” and that progress is on schedule for the cathedral’s reopening Dec. 8, 2024, as initially announced. The spire collapsed dramatically during the fire that devastated France and the world on April 15, 2019, destroying part of the nave vaults and the transept crossing. Once rebuilt, the transept crossing vaults will be reassembled, like the other vaults already rebuilt or consolidated. The spire will be gradually unveiled over the first half of 2024, when it is covered with its roof to protect the wooden framework. In 2018, before the fire, there were close to 12 million visitors a year to Notre Dame. An estimated 14 million to 15 million a year are expected once the cathedral reopens. About 340,000 donors from 150 countries raised almost $900 million in donations. Among them are thousands of Americans, especially through the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris foundation.
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) – A Nicaraguan priest has been reported kidnapped from his parish residence as the country’s increasingly totalitarian regime continues cracking down on the Catholic Church and silencing all dissenting voices. Father Álvaro Toledo was taken by police at 10:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 5, according to a Facebook post from Radio Stereo Fe, which belongs to the Diocese of Estelí. Father Toledo was identified on social media as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Ocotal. His abduction marked the latest in a wave of kidnappings carried out against priests in the Estelí Diocese, located in the country’s northwest, where imprisoned bishop Rolando Álvarez is apostolic administrator. Three other priests in the diocese have been reported abducted from their parishes in less than a week. Father Ivan Centeno, pastor of Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish in Jalapa, and Father Julio Norori, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish in San Juan del Río Coco, were abducted Oct. 1 by plain-clothed individuals. Nicaragua media later reported Father Cristóbal Gadea, pastor of the Our Lady of Mercy in the Diocese of Jinotega, was also abducted on the night of Oct. 1. The priest was lured from his parish residence and arrested, according to 100% Noticias.
KOSCIUSKO – A special Mass was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kopacz, and concelebrated by Father Marco Sanchez, ST, to celebrate the patronal feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus on Sunday, Oct. 1. Over two days of celebration, parishioners were able to enjoy a permanent exhibit press articles and photos donated by the Joseph family following the passing of patriarch Louis Joseph. All the documents and notes came into the hands of Marilyn Scott, a parishioner of St. Therese since 1969. She, along with Vicky Bell Pope, and others, undertook the task of chronologically compiling the history of the church with the documents received.
KOSCIUSKO – Bishop Joseph Kopacz views pictures painted by Vicky Bell Pope, as a part of a permanent installation at St. Therese chronicling the history of the parish. (Photo courtesy of Father Marco Sanchez, ST)
Additionally, Bell Pope painted reproductions of “The Cabin,” which gave birth to the church, and of the story of Father Julian M. Guillou, riding a horse on his journey from Yazoo to Kosciusko. Scott says that this was a “glorious” celebration and noting that “…we have been very blessed to receive these historic documents and also by the presence of Trinitarian priests who have taken charge of the parish.”
The Joseph family are considered the founder of the parish since Mr. and Mrs. Joseph began writing letters to Bishop R.O. Gerow and the town of Kosciusko to help build a church for the growing Catholic community.
“In June 1940, Bishop Gerow dedicated the church to St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The energetic young pastor, the Joseph family, other young members, and a new chapel meant there was Catholic activity like Kosciusko had never seen,” said Scott, reading a prepared statement during the Mass.
The departed Louis Joseph wrote in his original letter to Bishop Gerow: “I know in my heart and soul that our parents were guided to Central Mississippi by our good Lord, to not only raise a wonderful family but to help bring the church to our little town.”
(Marilyn Scott, and Father Marco Sanchez, ST contributed to this story)
By Galen Holley COLUMBUS – “We’ve helped with everything from prom dresses and graduation gowns to utilities and rent,” said Overstreet, who helps coordinate more than 20 parishioners, all of whom meet with clients and listen.
St. Vincent de Paul was a French priest and zealous advocate for the poor, who died in 1660. He was canonized by the church in 1737. He founded the order named the Vincentians.
The SVDP volunteers meet between masses to discuss and make plans. Once they set things in motion, volunteers assist with everything from rent and utilities to car repair. Recently, they’ve even begun a vibrant dental ministry.
COLUMBUS – Supporters of St. Vincent de Paul in Columbus recently gathered at Graham’s Camphouse to celebrate 20 years of assisting families in need. To date, the SVDP ministry has given more than $1.2 million in in outreach to the Columbus community. (Photo courtesy of Katie Braswell)
The genesis of the SVDP Society reaches back two decades, to the arrival of Steve Greenough. He came to Annunciation from the U.K, where he had been involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Along the same time, Karen Overstreet’s husband, Raymond, had been discussing the possibility of an outreach program with Father Gerry Hurley, who was then the parish priest. Raymond is a psychiatrist, and he’d been concerned about homelessness, poverty and a spectrum of needs in the community. Father Hurley put Geenough and Raymond in conversation with each other, and the ministry was born.
Things started slowly.
“People just gave what they could. They gave out of their own pockets,” said Karen Overstreet. To date, the SVDP ministry has given more than $1.2 million in outreach. Support for the program comes mostly from donations. The SVDP volunteers coordinate with other ministries in town, including the Salvation Army, Helping Hands and the Homeless Coalition.
Dental care is a huge need that Helping Hands partners with SVDP on in the community. “We see a lot of clients coming out of alcohol and drug treatment who haven’t taken good care of their teeth,” said Jennifer Garrar, executive director of Helping Hands of Columbus.
After getting clean and sober, many have difficulty with their appearance and trying to reenter the workforce, said Garrar. After assisting with dental work, “several clients have come back to visit us just so we can see their new smile.”
With out the help of SVDP this wouldn’t be possible.
Annunciation parish celebrated 20 years of SVDP ministry with a dinner on Oct. 8. Among the guests were volunteers, past and present, as well as donors and the three priests who’ve shepherded the community throughout the ministry’s run: Fathers Robert Dore, Gerry Hurley and, current pastor, Jeffery Waldrep. Waldrep has been at Annunciation for six years, and said he’s deeply gratified at the vibrancy of the ministry.
“This is the most active St. Vincent de Paul I’ve seen,” said Father Waldrep. “They’re honoring the legacy of St. Vincent de Paul not only in meeting the immediate needs of clients, but in visiting and praying with them and meeting their spiritual needs. They look at the whole person, rather than somebody who just needs their lights cut back on.”
Conducting an effective ministry takes not only professionalism and careful planning, but a gentle touch. SVDP volunteers meet people who are in a vulnerable state, and they take that seriously.
“One of the biggest things we do is encourage hope,” said Overstreet. “When people have to admit to making a mess of things and not being able to provide for their family, it can be very tough, and we try to make sure those people feel safe and loved, and not ashamed.”
As is often the case, those who minister end up feeling at least as cared for and loved as those whom they serve.
“It’s just a beautiful ministry,” said Overstreet. “The church members benefit so much from it. It instills such a tremendous sense of gratitude in all of us. It’s wonderful.”
Galen Holley is a member of St. Francis of Assisi in New Albany.
By Joe Lee JACKSON – Imagine being very successful in your profession. You and your spouse have a wonderful family, are blessed with many friends and are active church members.
But something crucial is missing from your lives.
“I had always done well in commercial real estate and banking,” said Saul Keeton, a native of the Jackson area who became Catholic in 2001. “But (my wife) Jan and I had a growing dissatisfaction with what the world had to offer us … we sensed the Lord wanting something radical from us.”
Jan Keeton, a cradle Catholic originally from Stafford, Texas, considered the idea of foreign missions for the first time in 2018. But with young children at home (the Keeton kids range from age 20 down to seven), planning such a trip was complicated.
MEXICO – Saul Keeton assists in mixing concrete for a foundation on a mission trip to Mexico in early 2019. He was accompanied by his four oldest children. The Keeton family said “yes to the Lord’s invitation” for mission work. (Photo courtesy of Saul Keeton)
“A Methodist college friend was very involved in supporting a school in Haiti, and she invited me to go with her several times,” Jan said. “Eventually it dawned on me that the only way I’d get to go on a mission trip was if (our entire family) went together.”
Through a simple Google search, Jan learned of Family Missions Company (FMC) and was delighted to learn that in addition to being a Catholic organization, FMC was based in Abbeville, Louisiana, only 250 miles from Jackson.
“All the FMC missionaries and staff live in Gospel poverty, meaning they have all they need to live and nothing more,” Saul said. “Most of my questions (amounted to), ‘What would it be like for our kids to go from living in American suburbia to living in the desert, the jungle or a barrio?’”
Their first mission trip was to General Cepeda, Mexico, in 2018. Saul recalls reading aloud to Jan his journal entries from that week.
“We cried about it together in a jumble of emotions: anticipation, anxiety, relief, excitement, unworthiness,” he said. “I think we experienced all simultaneously. We intensified our spiritual direction with Father Anthony Quyet after the trip and, praise be to God, he confirmed our missionary call.” They applied with FMC to be full-time foreign missionaries and were accepted. With the new formation year beginning that fall, the couple faced the choice of entering formation within a few weeks or waiting until fall 2019. They chose the latter, wanting the extra year to get their affairs in order and build a team of missionary supporters.
They also wanted time to pray about their son Nicholas’s 2018 diagnosis of autism.
“We knew the Lord was in control,” Saul said, “but trusting in Jesus is pretty easy until a serious trial comes along. And it was hard to see the path ahead more than one step at a time.”
Saul made another mission trip to Mexico in early 2019 with the couple’s four oldest kids, and Jan made one to Costa Rica that year, but they felt the Lord wanted them to put down roots in Jackson and dove headfirst into autism therapy.
Then, in summer 2022, they again heard the Lord’s call to go back into mission work and relocated from Jackson to Abbeville.
“I gratefully accepted the position of Director of Mission Advancement for FMC,” Saul said. “I oversee all fundraising efforts, donor relations, our marketing team, our two retreat centers, and foreign mission trips. For the last year, my family has lived in missionary housing in community with many of the other families that are part of the FMC administrative staff.
“Many people mistakenly believe that the Gospel has been taken to the whole world … that couldn’t be further from the truth. While there are hundreds of organizations that have sprung up in the last 60 years to serve the church in the U.S., I know of no other that is so focused on taking the Gospel to places where it hasn’t been heard yet.”
While the Keetons’ family service with FMC looks different than Saul and Jan envisioned, they look for opportunities to preach the Gospel around their mission post whenever possible.
“I spoke (recently) to 40 high school kids at one of our retreat centers on serving and loving the poor,” Saul said. “When the poor need a water well, we’ll dig one. Or we’ll mix and pour concrete to replace a dirt floor. We’ll also listen and offer a shoulder to cry on – and cry with them – when emotional support is needed.”
“We do find plenty of opportunities to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy within our own family,” Jan said. “This has had a profound experience on our own hearts.
“It’s easy to forget sometimes how hard it is for many people to say yes to the Lord’s invitation. Through much prayer, we’ve said it twice now, and we’re surrounded by people who’ve also given up everything to follow Him. But that shouldn’t dull us to the shock people feel when their consciences are shaken awake for the first time.”
One of the only lay-run Catholic foreign missionary organizations in the U.S., Family Mission Company have more than 200 missionaries serving in nine countries around the world. They work with the blessing of Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana. To support FMC, or to reach Saul or Jan Keeton and learn more about international mission work, visit familymissionscompany.com.
CANTON – Pictured is Father Guy Wilson, ST conferring a blessing upon Sister Mary Anne Poeshel, RSM, celebrating her 60th anniversary as a religious sister on Sunday, Sept. 10 at Holy Child Jesus Church. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in St. Louis on Sept. 8, 1963, entering religious life in the midst of the Second Vatican Council. Sister Mary Anne has served “faithfully and dynamically” at Holy Child Jesus, Canton for 21 years, said Father Guy. With no resident priest living at the parish, Sister Mary Anne is the on site director of the church, coordinating the community’s activities and outreach. She also serves as director of religious ed at Holy Child Jesus and Sacred Heart Church in Camden. (Photo courtesy of Father Guy Wilson)
By Michael Gresham DALLAS (OSV News) – The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, located in the heart of downtown Dallas, has long been known as a landmark in the Diocese of Dallas for its enduring cultural and faith-filled significance, drawing pilgrims from across north Texas and beyond.
Now, the long beloved diocesan landmark is also a national shrine.
On behalf of the Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Edward J. Burns officially announced Oct. 3 that the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe has been granted the significant designation of a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, pictured Sept. 29, 2023, will now be known as The National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe after being designated as a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns announced the new status Oct. 3, 2023. (OSV News photo/Santos Martinez, courtesy The Texas Catholic)
“The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe has stood as a beacon of faith and history in Dallas for generations,” said Bishop Burns as he expressed his profound gratitude and enthusiasm for the milestone. “This elevation to national shrine status is a testament to our community and parishioners’ enduring devotion, the cultural richness the cathedral embodies, and its role as a place of solace and reflection for all.”
A special Mass is planned Dec. 12 to celebrate the national shrine status of the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which will now be known as The National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a designation Father Jesús Belmontes called befitting of the cathedral’s impact on Catholics within the diocese, around the nation, and throughout Central and Latin America.
The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid June 17, 1898. The cathedral’s pastor at the time, Father Jeffrey A. Hartnett, did not live to see the construction completed. Father Hartnett died ministering to the faithful during the 1899 smallpox epidemic, contracting the disease while attending to the spiritual needs of patients in the city’s infirmary.
On Oct. 26, 1902, Bishop Edward J. Dunne, second bishop of Dallas, formally dedicated the cathedral. Constructed out of red brick and limestone, and featuring many stained-glass windows, the cathedral was designed by architect Nicholas J. Clayton, who is regarded by many as the greatest Victorian architect Texas has ever known.
Michael Gresham is editor-in-chief of The Texas Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Dallas. Violeta Rocha of Revista Católica Dallas, the diocese’s Spanish-language magazine, contributed to this story.
By Judith Sudilovsky JERUSALEM (OSV News) – Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem united in a call for peace and justice amid unfolding violence, following a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which has left over 700 Israelis dead, among them civilians and dozens of soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas fighters. Over 2,000 people were injured. Israeli media said that more than 250 bodies had been recovered from the site of the music festival that was attacked by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 in southern Israel.
Fears of a ground invasion of Gaza are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the besieged Palestinian enclave into a “deserted island,” while the latest reported death toll of Palestinians is 511. Thousands of people in Palestinian territories are injured in Israeli airstrikes, which began hours following the Hamas attack.
During the Angelus prayer on Oct. 8, Pope Francis said he was “following apprehensively and sorrowfully what is happening in Israel where the violence has exploded even more ferociously, causing hundreds of deaths and casualties.”
He appealed: “May the attacks and weaponry cease. Please!” crying out that “terrorism and war do not lead to any resolutions, but only to the death and suffering of so many innocent people.” The Holy Father stressed that “War is a defeat! Every war is a defeat!” He also asked for prayers for peace in Israel and Palestine.
“The Holy Land, a place sacred to countless millions around the world, is currently mired in violence and suffering due to the prolonged political conflict and the lamentable absence of justice and respect for human rights,” The Patriarchs and Head of the Churches in Jerusalem said in an Oct. 7 joint statement. “We unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or faith,” said the Patriarchs, among them Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Some countries started to evacuate their citizens from Israel, with some 200 Polish pilgrims and tourists being airlifted from Ben Gurion International Airport in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 by two C-130 Hercules planes that landed at Tel Aviv airport amid rocket strike from Hamas, and the Israeli Iron Dome intercepting rockets from Gaza.
American officials said on Oct. 8 that they were also working through plans to evacuate thousands of Americans from Israel if necessary – no decisions have been made, according to the New York Times. Shocked by the unhindered breakthrough of hundreds of Hamas gunmen through the fence barrier, Israelis hunkered down in safe rooms and called to relatives and radio programs whispering terrified messages as they heard the militants breaking into their homes. The attack included the takeover of the police station in the city of Sderot, which was later reclaimed.
The attack took place under the barrage of thousands of rocket attacks, which were largely intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense system.
Hamas breached Israel’s security gate in the early morning Oct. 7 and infiltrated dozens of Israel border communities, killing people in their cars and homes and taking others hostage, including several elderly people, a mother with her two preschool-aged daughters, young people and foreign workers. Soldiers were also taken hostage. Social media videos showed captives and bodies of dead Israelis paraded through the streets of Gaza.
One video showed a terrified young woman being pulled by the hair and transferred from one jeep into another by armed Hamas gunmen. In another video, the body of a young man in shorts taken from a kibbutz, a Jewish communal settlement, was paraded through the streets on the back of a motorcycle.
Thousands of young Israelis and foreigners had been celebrating at a dance party next to one of the kibbutz, and dozens were murdered by the gunmen as they fled in panic through the desert. Many of the captives had been at the party.
The attack took place on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which marks the completion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll. The attack also fell a day after the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the 1973 War, which began with a surprise attack on Israel by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day of the year.
The attack follows a year of increasing violence from both settlers and the Israel Defense Forces after the election of Israel’s far-right nationalist government.
For many Israelis, there were moments of terror and desperation as they identified their loved ones on the horrifying videos. One video showed a shrieking young woman speeding away in a motorcycle sandwiched between two gunmen as her boyfriend was led off by others. One shirtless man was led through the streets by the neck as gunmen pushed his head down. Another video showed gunmen sitting on and near the half-naked body of another woman with dreadlocks, later identified as a German national, in the open back of a truck.
Kibbutz residents said it took some eight hours for the Israeli army forces to reach their communities. One mother told Israel radio she and her children were rescued by special forces through the window of their safe room and taken by armed guard to a secured location because militants were still roaming their kibbutz.
After the Israeli army and police gathered forces and responded to the attack, the Associated Press reported that Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters “hundreds of terrorists” have been killed and dozens captured.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces also exchanged fire with Hezbollah over the weekend as Lebanon’s militant group fired dozens of rockets and shells at Israeli positions in a disputed area along the country’s northern border.
In a TV broadcast, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed Oct. 7 that retaliation against Hamas would be swift and harsh.
An Oct. 7 U.S. Department of Defense press release said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III had spoken with Gallant by phone and had conveyed his condolences “for the victims of this appalling, abhorrent terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel,” and emphasized his “ironclad support for the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli people.”
“He also reaffirmed that the Department’s commitment to Israel’s security and its absolute right to defend itself from acts of terrorism is unwavering,” the release said.
The Patriarchs and Head of the Churches said that it is their “fervent hope and prayer” that all parties involved “will heed this call for an immediate cessation of violence.” They also called for dialogue “seeking lasting solutions that promote justice, peace, and reconciliation for the people of this land, who have endured the burdens of conflict for far too long.”
Judith Sudilovsky writes for OSV News from Jerusalem.
Por Cindy Wood CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – La Iglesia católica está llamada a ser un instrumento de comunión con Dios y de unidad entre todos los pueblos, pero requiere gracia y “aprender a ‘soportar’ la realidad, con ternura, generosidad, amor y valentía por la paz”. y la salvación del mundo entero”, afirmó un teólogo en la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos.
“La comunión es la belleza de la diversidad en la unidad. En un mundo moderno que tiende tanto a la homogeneización como a la fractura, la comunión es un lenguaje de belleza, una armonía de unidad y pluralidad”, dijo Anna Rowlands, profesora de pensamiento y práctica social católica en la Universidad de Durham en Inglaterra.
Cuando los participantes del sínodo comenzaron a trabajar en la segunda sección o módulo del documento de trabajo de la asamblea el 9 de octubre, sus discusiones sobre la promoción de la comunión con Dios y con los demás fueron precedidas por reflexiones ofrecidas por Rowlands y por el padre dominico Timothy Radcliffe, teólogo y ex maestro de la orden dominicana.
Los miembros de la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos comienzan a trabajar sobre la comunión como segundo tema del sínodo en el Salón de Audiencias Pablo VI del Vaticano el 9 de octubre de 2023. (Foto CNS/Lola Gómez)
Aunque todavía estaban sentados en mesas redondas según el idioma, muchos de los 364 miembros del sínodo estaban en mesas diferentes a las de la semana anterior. Las nuevas agrupaciones se organizaron según los temas en los que los miembros indicaron que querían trabajar; los temas incluyen la promoción de la unidad a través de obras de caridad y justicia; ecumenismo; ser más acogedor con las personas que se sienten excluidas de la iglesia, como los miembros de la comunidad LGBTQ; y valorar la diversidad cultural, lingüística y racial de la iglesia. Se esperaba que el Papa Francisco asistiera a la sesión de la mañana, pero surgieron “compromisos imprevistos”, dijo Matteo Bruni, director de la oficina de prensa del Vaticano. Si bien no dijo cuáles eran esos compromisos, Bruni dijo que el Papa Francisco no fue uno de los cuatro miembros del sínodo que estuvieron ausentes ese día porque fueron diagnosticados con COVID.
El cardenal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general del sínodo, presentó el módulo diciéndoles a los participantes que una pregunta clave del proceso preparatorio del sínodo -que incluyó sesiones de escucha a nivel parroquial, diocesano, nacional y continental- fue: “¿Cómo podemos ¿Seremos más plenamente signo e instrumento de la unión con Dios y de la unidad de toda la humanidad?” Dios, que es Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, es “la base de todas las comuniones”, dijo, y “este Dios, que es amor, ama de manera especial a toda la creación, a cada criatura y a cada ser humano”.
“Todos están invitados a ser parte de la iglesia”, dijo el cardenal. “En profunda comunión con su Padre a través del Espíritu Santo, Jesús extendió esta comunión a todos los pecadores. ¿Estamos dispuestos a hacer lo mismo? ¿Estamos dispuestos a hacer esto con grupos que podrían irritarnos porque su forma de ser podría parecer amenazadora? nuestra identidad?”
El Padre Radcliffe recordó a los participantes que el tema de la “formación”, que es más amplio que la capacitación o la educación, surgió repetidamente en las discusiones de la primera semana del sínodo sobre cómo promover una iglesia sinodal, una donde las personas caminan juntas, se escuchan unas a otras y todos toman responsabilidad por la misión.
El Papa Francisco ora, en el Salón de Audiencias Pablo VI del Vaticano, al comienzo de una sesión de trabajo de la asamblea del Sínodo de los Obispos el 6 de octubre de 2023. (Foto CNS/Lola Gómez)
“Una Iglesia sinodal será aquella en la que estemos formados para un amor sin posesión: un amor que no huya del otro ni se apodere de él; un amor que no sea abusivo ni frío”, dijo. Pero con demasiada frecuencia, dijo el padre Radcliffe, “lo que nos aísla a todos es estar atrapados en pequeños deseos, pequeñas satisfacciones, como vencer a nuestros oponentes o tener estatus, grandes títulos”.
“Muchas personas se sienten excluidas o marginadas en nuestra Iglesia porque les hemos puesto etiquetas abstractas: divorciados vueltos a casar, homosexuales, polígamos, refugiados, africanos, jesuitas”, dijo entre risas el dominico. “Un amigo me dijo el otro día: ‘Odio las etiquetas. Odio que encasillen a la gente. No puedo tolerar a estos conservadores'”.
Rowlands dijo a los miembros y participantes del sínodo que es en la Eucaristía donde se encuentran las diferentes dimensiones de la comunión porque “este es el lugar donde la comunión de los fieles se manifiesta (y) donde recibimos los dones de Dios para el pueblo de Dios”. El orden sacramental nos enseña, alimentándonos, la comunión”.
Por Joanna Puddister King JACKSON – La Diócesis de Jackson comenzó un proceso de renovación pastoral de un año de duración en Pentecostés de 2023 que concluirá en Pentecostés de 2024. Este proceso se inició como resultado del Sínodo diocesano sobre Sinodalidad en 2021.
Durante el proceso del Sínodo se articularon tres prioridades en toda la diócesis que incluyeron todos los datos demográficos (edad, género, raza, etc.). Eran un llamado a la sanación y la unidad; mayor catequesis en todos los niveles; y una comprensión más profunda de las Escrituras.
“Al evaluar cómo desarrollamos estos tres temas en toda la diócesis, discernimos que era necesario un plan pastoral para las parroquias y las misiones”, dice Fran Lavelle, directora de formación en la fe de la diócesis y miembro del equipo central que está trabajando en la reinvención pastoral. proceso. “La realidad actual en nuestro mundo post-Covid brindó una motivación adicional para mirar dónde estamos como iglesia y cómo estamos llamados a servir a nuestras comunidades”.
El proceso se divide en cinco grandes fases. La primera fase se desarrolló desde Pentecostés este año hasta principios de septiembre, en la que cada pastor o ministro eclesial laico (LEM) estableció un comité de reinvención pastoral y hizo que el comité viera cuatro sesiones de videos de eclesiología y respondiera una serie de preguntas diseñadas para guiar la conversación sobre quiénes somos. como iglesia, dijo Lavelle.
JACKSON – Los participantes del proceso de reinvención pastoral se reunieron en la rectoría de la Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol para ver el último video “Apostólica” de la primera fase. La diócesis está actualmente entrando en la fase dos del proceso de reinvención pastoral que se espera concluya a finales de año. (Foto del padre Nick Adam)
Las cuatro sesiones de video, dirigidas por el obispo Joseph Kopacz, se centran en las cuatro marcas de la iglesia: Una, Santa, Católica y Apostólica; y están disponibles para que cualquiera pueda verlos en el sitio web de la diócesis. (https://jacksondiocese.org/pastoral-reimagining) El padre Nick Adam, rector de la Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol en Jackson, se sintió muy bien con las reuniones parroquiales para el proceso de reimaginación pastoral con la guía de la serie de videos. “De las reuniones surgieron un par de temas de alta prioridad”, dijo el padre Nick.
“Necesitamos una presencia mucho mayor en las redes sociales; somos muy buenos acogiendo, pero nuestra evangelización puede ser aún más fuerte; y necesitamos desarrollar un grupo de jóvenes”. El obispo Kopacz dijo que la primera fase “prepara la mesa para recordarnos lo que significa ser una iglesia y lo que nuestra identidad como católicos requiere de nosotros en el mundo. Nuestro deseo era crear un entendimiento común a partir del cual desarrollar una visión para la Diócesis de Jackson”.
“En otras palabras, fomentar un sentido de unidad subrayado por las cuatro marcas de la iglesia”. Durante la fase dos, que se extenderá hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2023, cada parroquia llevará a cabo una evaluación parroquial que incluirá la situación actual en la parroquia local, los límites en crecimiento, las áreas que están disminuyendo, las oportunidades de colaboración con otras parroquias en el zona y otras realidades locales.
“En la segunda fase, reimaginaremos las responsabilidades de cada parroquia y misión para fomentar un sentido de unidad, subrayado por las cuatro marcas de la iglesia y basado en datos”, dijo el obispo Kopacz.Esta fase también incluye un informe detallado sobre la demografía diocesana elaborado por el Centro de Investigación Aplicada en el Apostolado (CARA) de la Universidad de Georgetown.
El informe resume la demografía general de la diócesis, así como un perfil de la población católica que vive en los límites de la diócesis. Las fuentes de datos incluyen el Censo Decenal, la Encuesta de Comunidades Estadounidenses (ACS) y otras fuentes de datos de la Oficina del Censo. También se basa en la Encuesta del panorama religioso del Pew Research Center y en el Censo decenal de religión de la Asociación de Estadísticos de Organismos Religiosos Estadounidenses (ASARB).
PEARL – Una iglesia llena de feligreses y banderas de paises Hispanos es una muestra de la demografía de la diócesis. El Padre César Sánchez celebró Misa el primero de octubre a cientos de feligreses antes de comenzar la celebración parrroquial de la Herencia Hispana. (Foto de Carolina Motato Ramirez)
“Después de analizar los datos demográficos, las parroquias buscarán oportunidades de crecimiento; evaluar los ministerios y evaluar los desafíos que se pueden abordar”, dijo Lavelle.
A partir de 2024, la tercera fase del proceso de reinvención consistirá en sesiones guiadas y facilitadas para que los decanatos resuelvan los desafíos, tanto en las áreas crecientes como en las áreas decrecientes del ministerio a nivel local y dentro del decanato.
“El objetivo de la fase tres es obtener una perspectiva realista de la salud y el bienestar del decanato dentro del entorno de cada parroquia individual; y analizar áreas de redundancia y áreas potenciales para compartir recursos”, compartió Lavelle. La cuarta fase incluirá un período de discernimiento sobre los informes de los seis decanatos de la diócesis y una carta pastoral del obispo Kopacz, que describirá los hallazgos en cada decanato y establecerá parámetros para la implementación de una visión diocesana general.
“Para poder desarrollar una visión integral, cada parroquia y misión tiene la responsabilidad de involucrar a los feligreses para comprender mejor las necesidades y oportunidades en cada lugar”, dice Lavelle. La fase final concluye el proceso de reimaginación pastoral con una celebración diocesana en Pentecostés de 2024, cuyos detalles aún se están trabajando, dijo Lavelle.
