LOCAL NEWS

Bishop John Dolan welcomed and thanked donors at the annual Shepherd’s Circle Mass and Brunch on Sunday morning at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix.  Shepherd’s Circle is a group of more than 600 families who donate $5,000 or more annually to support any combination of diocesan initiatives, including the Charity and Development Appeal, the Together Let Us Go Forth – Juntos Sigamos Adelante Campaign, Priests for Our Future, Catholic School Support 365, Mental Health Ministry and the weekly televised Mass.

The Office of Natural Family Planning at the Diocese of Phoenix has announced plans for a new ministry to serve couples in the season of infertility establishing St. Gerard’s Outreach Ministry. Since 2013, couples who are struggling through infertility have gathered each May for the annual St. Gerard’s Mass to pray together and support each other. The Office of Natural Family Planning, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, is launching an outreach initiative aimed at serving them and their pastors throughout the year.

Part three in a series of Kirsten Bublitz’ experience taking the Fifth Vital Sign classes through the Office of Natural Family Planning. Catch up on earlier articles, part one and part two. “Charting can turn into a prayer. Bring your charts to the Lord,” NFP instructor, Beth Kopczyk said to a class full of women during the third 5th Vital Sign course. She’d just shared her testimony, and I felt my heart being moved to do just as Kopczyk recommended, to include the Lord in my charting experience, even while being single with no possibility of children in this season.

My heart is drawn to the profound significance of the Easter season—a time to immerse oneself in the beauty of the sacraments, a time for spiritual renewal and a time to uplift those embarking on their own sacramental journeys. It is during this period that we, as a faith community, come together to reflect on the promises made, the names bestowed, and the divine missions entrusted to us.

Organized by the Office of Child and Youth Protection and Safe Environment, the Diocese of Phoenix held a special rosary and Mass today at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix to honor Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Following Mass, which was celebrated by Fr. Nelson Libera, a special pinwheel celebration was held in the courtyard near St. Mary's Basilica. A pinwheel is an uplifting symbol of childhood, and it represents all our efforts to ensure a healthy and safe environment of children in our community.

When a friend asked former professional hockey player Jim Nahrgang why he was becoming a Catholic, he gave a sports analogy. His son John had already converted and was in seminary, studying to become a priest. “If your son or daughter was a college athlete or a professional athlete and they were playing their games in your hometown, would you like to go to watch or would you not? Would you like to participate or just kind of stand on the sidelines and not acknowledge that this is what they’re doing?” That’s where the desire to become Catholic began for Jim.

To celebrate the Feast of St. Dymphna, the patron of mental health, St. Patrick Catholic Community in Scottsdale, Ariz. is hosting a mental health fair, May 18-19. St. Patrick’s has long been concerned with addressing issues around mental health and promoting awareness. “Through our behavioral health initiative ministry, we seek to serve as an avenue to provide literacy in mental health, to reduce the stigma of mental illness, encourage conversations around mental illness, and create a safe environment for individuals to share and seek help surrounding their mental illness,” said Eric Tamayo, pastoral associate at St. Patrick Catholic Community.

PHOENIX -- The Church’s efforts to help abuse victims heal has been steadfast since shortly after the first incidents came to light more than two decades ago. But the need for love and compassion likely will never end. “Abuse really hurts a person in the depth of their soul that they don’t forget,” said one survivor, who remains anonymous at her request following Sunday’s semiannual Mass of Healing and Reconciliation for Survivors of Abuse and Their Families; her voice lowering as a tear ran down her face in the courtyard of Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral, in Phoenix. Yet, she said her faith has remained strong.

On Friday, Fr. Estevan Wetzel was sworn in as a captain for the Army National Guard at St. John Paul II High School in Avondale, Ariz., where he currently serves as chaplain. As the school year draws to a close, Fr. Wetzel will head to Fort Jackson, S.C. for three months of basic training. Moved by the suffering of a serviceman who was dealing with the loss of two fellow servicemen to suicide, Fr. Wetzel wondered who would minister to those serving in the military. “It requires a priest that is up to the task and has the requirements,” he said.

In light of the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, upholding Arizona’s pre-Roe abortion ban in the state of Arizona, the Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference (ACC) released a statement. The Arizona Catholic Conference is the public policy agency for the Diocese of Gallup, the Diocese of Phoenix, and the Diocese of Tucson. Bishops from each of these dioceses comprise the Board of Directors of the ACC.