The Catholic Sun

“I just want you to know we are here, and you are always welcome.” These were the words of Fr. Matt Lowry, parochial administrator and 16-year pastor of Northern Arizona University’s Holy Trinity Newman Center in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was speaking to a freshman who was walking by the Catholic Newman Center table at a college fair for new students. Fr. Lowry didn’t say these words because the young woman seemed interested in the ministry and couldn’t wait to get involved – quite the opposite. 

Below are the comments from Bishop Dolan on Saturday following the shooting at a Pennsylvania rally: “My heart goes out to those who suffered during today’s act of violence that took place in Pennsylvania during President Donald Trump’s campaign rally, including the former president himself. I am praying for those who were injured and lost their lives.

Home is often defined as a physical structure or dwelling place, but in the Diocese of Phoenix, the word home means so much more. It calls to mind a sense of accompaniment and belonging — it’s a space where we are seen, formed and intentionally fostered in our individual gifts and stories. It’s also the place of our roots, as well as the place we can always come back to, a place of comfort, stability and security because it is at home that we are fully known and loved. This sense of home is deeply integrated into every aspect of Nazareth Seminary, the first fully local seminary formation program in the Diocese of Phoenix.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics are called to be active participants in political life and be a force against the decline of democracy worldwide, Pope Francis said. "In today's world, democracy -- let's be honest -- is not in good health," the pope told some 1,200 participants at an event during Italian Catholic Social Week in Trieste, Italy. The pope traveled to the northern Italian city for a one-day visit July 7 to participate in the four-day conference organized by the Italian bishops' conference on the theme "At the Heart of Democracy." The Vatican published his talk the same day.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God is present in the "dark corners" of local communities and in people's lives, Pope Francis said. "His presence reveals itself precisely in the faces marked by suffering and where degradation seems to triumph," the pope said in his homily at Mass in the northern Italian city of Trieste July 7. "God's infinity is concealed in human misery, the Lord stirs and becomes present, he becomes a friendly presence precisely in the wounded flesh of the least, the forgotten and the discarded," he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is not just for those who are nearing the end of their life, Pope Francis said. "Let us remember that the anointing of the sick is one of the 'sacraments of healing,' of 'restoration,' that heals the spirit," the pope said in a video message released July 2 by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Heaven is not a secure vault protected from outsiders but a "hidden treasure" that is reached by cultivating virtues, Pope Francis said. Before praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29, the pope reflected on Jesus giving St. Peter, the first pope, the keys to the kingdom of heaven. "The mission that Jesus entrusts to Peter is not that of barring the doors to the house, permitting entry only to a few select guests, but of helping everyone to find the way to enter, in faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus," Pope Francis said after celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

I am so thrilled this month’s magazine shares the accomplishments of the Together Let Us Go Forth ~ Juntos Sigamos Adelante campaign. It is important to celebrate the milestones the Diocese of Phoenix has reached because of the campaign: a high school built in the West Valley, Newman Centers opened or expanded across the diocese, elementary and high schools strengthened, affording students tuition who would have otherwise needed to leave their school of choice, parishes across the entire diocese implemented their dreams liturgically and pastorally, several Catholic nonprofits serving our communities most vulnerable neighbors supported and so much more! AND, this comes during incredibly turbulent times between a pandemic as well as economic and employment instability and yet…..our community stretched and gave in faith and still continues to give.

Debbie DiCarlo, Office of Mission Advancement executive director, has been moved by the impact of the Together Let Us Go Forth, Juntos Sigamos Adelante campaign, “Our community stretched and gave in faith and still continues to give.” She encourages the diocese to finish strong as the campaign winds down. In 2019, then-Office of Mission Advancement Executive Director Cande de Leon described the relationship of the campaign donors to the projects their dollars would one day help complete. De Leon said it’s “one of the hardest levels of sacrifice” to give without knowing who the recipient is but doing so in faith.

Notre Dame Preparatory named Brad Quinet the school's new varsity boy’s basketball head coach on Tuesday.  He will begin his role for the Scottsdale...