Hope you enjoyed the bye week, because when your Saints get back to work this Sunday, they will enter the most important three-game stretch in the 2018 season. At the bye, New Orleans looked like the second-best team in the NFC. Quarterback Drew Brees, who broke the NFL record for passing yards in a career, was off to a very fast start.  Brees had thrown 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He led the NFL in both completion percentage (77.9) and quarterback rating (122.3). Saints running back Alvin Kamara had five rushing touchdowns, and running back Mark Ingram scored on two runs in his return in a Monday night victory over Washington. The Saints defense improved significantly after a season-opening loss to Tampa Bay. That loss looks more like an outlier with each passing week. And, head coach Sean Payton is beginning to get contributions from the top of his 2018 draft class. Defensive end Marcus Davenport has two sacks and a forced fumble, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith has two touchdown receptions. So, the black-and-gold arrow is pointed up.

On Oct. 3, sixth and seventh graders from St. Anthony School in Gretna went to Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center to make whimsical door hangings with residents during their activity time. Extras were made for those who couldn’t attend. The collaborative craft concluded with a sing-along. At far left: The hanging made by St. Anthony’s Gavin Caffrey and his senior buddy adds cheer to her wheelchair.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Office of Catholic Schools hosted the 52nd annual Administrators’ Conference last week on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.  The conference is hosted each year for our own administrators, as well as for other Catholic school administrators in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and other states, providing time to connect with colleagues who face similar challenges and to share in each other’s joys. The theme this year was “Proactive Leadership: Initiating Climate Change,” which allowed us to explore a variety of timely topics. Our two keynote speakers spoke on different subjects but both connected to the imperative that “climate” change should occur in today’s Catholic school communities. Dr. Tyrone C. Howard, a professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Students at the University of California, spoke about being honest when we talk to students about race. Using story-telling, he taught administrators how necessary it is to be courageous and to be willing to discuss race with students honestly, no matter their age.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond was among the speakers Oct. 13 at the Louisiana Right to Life “Peace for the East” prayer rally in New Orleans East held near Deanz Health Care for Women, whose owner has filed with the state to be licensed to perform abortions. “What brings us together today is that we value human life,” Archbishop Aymond said. People ask him what’s the big deal about abortion? “In the womb, God not only gave us human life, but he breathed his life into us. You and I, even in the womb, were made in the image and the likeness of God. Therefore, we are different from animals. ... Even in the womb, God began to dwell in you and me. ... Every day of our lives, God dwells in us, loves us and speaks to us. We believe that only God can give life and only God can take away life – and no one else.

Just 12 weeks after conception, a baby living inside his mother’s womb has every organ he will ever need for life “on the outside.” To put this amazing fact a different way: 12 weeks after conception, the main thing a baby needs is time to grow. This 12-week milestone of prenatal development was made tangible to students at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Kenner at the conclusion of their school Mass on Oct. 4. In observance of October’s “Respect-Life Month,” members of St. Elizabeth’s Grandparents Club donated and distributed soft plastic models representing a 12-week-old unborn baby to nearly 500 students. The tiny models, blessed before Mass by Divine Mercy’s pastor Father David Dufour, were wrapped in blankets hand-crocheted by parishioners. The effort, called “The Snuggle Project,” was hatched by Divine Mercy parishioners Barbara Sutphen and Gloria Jean Capiton to enhance the elementary school’s long-standing practice of having the entire student body name and spiritually adopt unborn babies – from conception to birth – over the course of the nine-month school year. “All your prayers for your spiritually adopted babies are amazing! It’s actually helping babies be born safe and healthy,” said St. Elizabeth respect-life coordinator and teacher Natasia Kissinger, who launched a respect-life club with just a handful of St. Elizabeth students back in 2007. That club, now called “Footprints for Life,” currently numbers some 75 St. Elizabeth students in grades 4-7.

Queridos hermanos: Es consolador escuchar y leer, que los discípulos eran gentes como nosotros, llenos de pequeños y grandes defectos, de tantas debilidades como vemos en nosotros mismos. El deseo de recompensa, de ocupar los primeros lugares, la indignación contra los que quieren acaparar el éxito o el fracaso, no nos resulta extraño.  Por eso, parece saludable, que Jesús confíe a estos hombres cooperar en su Reino. No hacen falta cualidades sobrehumanas o títulos universitarios.  Esto significa que Dios también confía en nosotros para acompañarle y ser misioneros. El evangelio de este domingo vuelve a poner el dedo en la llaga y, por tercera vez en pocas semanas, nos llama a seguir a Jesús por el camino del servicio. Santiago y Juan, suponiendo que no debería estar muy lejos el día en que se inaugurara el Reino, se adelantan al resto de sus compañeros y le dicen a Jesús: “Maestro, queremos que hagas lo que te vamos a pedir”. 

Procuring an abortion is wrong, inhumane and like hiring a hit man “to fix a problem,” Pope Francis said. It is a contradiction to allow for killing a human life in a mother’s womb “in the name of protecting other rights,” he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 10. “How can an act that suppresses the innocent and defenseless budding life be therapeutic, civilized or simply humane?” he asked the more than 26,000 people present. “Is it right to snuff out a human life to solve a problem?” he asked, until the crowd shouted loudly, “No.” “Is it right to hire a hit man to solve a problem? No, you can’t. It’s not right to take out a human being, a small one, too, in order to fix a problem. It is like hiring a professional killer,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Carrying Pope Paul VI’s pastoral staff and wearing the blood-stained belt of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, Pope Francis formally recognized them, and five others, as saints of the Catholic Church. Thousands of pilgrims from the new saints’ home countries – Italy, El Salvador, Spain and Germany – were joined by tens of thousands of others Oct. 14 in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate the universal recognition of the holiness of men and women they already knew were saints. Carolina Escamilla, who traveled from San Salvador for the canonization, said she was “super happy” to be in Rome. “I don’t think there are words to describe all that we feel after such a long-awaited and long-desired moment like the ‘official’ canonization, because Archbishop Romero was already a saint when he was alive.”

Based on the posters five St. Matthew the Apostle students were holding in the sanctuary of their church Sept. 21, you would have thought they had thrown in the towel. Written on the posters were the words “Impossible.” “There’s Just No Way.” “I Can’t.” “I Surrender.” “I Give Up.” But a quick flip of the posters reminded all gathered in church that hard work and positive thinking very quickly can turn a “can’t” into an accomplishment. The other side of the posters said, “Possible!” “Good Cheer!” “I Will!” “I Can!”

Freddie Washington of Jesuit flips Archbishop Rummel’s Coy Moore (2) during an Oct. 13 Catholic League game at Joe Yenni Stadium. Moore later caught an 11-yard touchdown pass as the Raiders enjoyed a 20-7 homecoming victory, which improved their record to 6-1.

Photos by Amy Diaz | ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS  Gordon Stevens, the president and CEO of New Orleans Steamboat Company, was honored by the Catholic Foundation Oct. 11 with the St. John Paul II Award, given to a layperson or permanent deacon who is an inspirational example of Christian stewardship. Stevens offers a crucifix to new employees to place either in their office or in their home, and often places a prayer in his workers’ paycheck envelope. “As we get older, we realize how very short our time is here on this earth,” Stevens said. There were tough economic times with tourism after Katrina, and “those crosses brought me to my knees and changed me. They brought me to daily Mass. ... We all became stronger spiritually during those difficult times.”

The United States and the world are in trouble! We need to take it seriously. And we need to elect candidates who will take it seriously. Continuing to largely ignore the numerous grave problems facing humanity and the planet we all live on, is both perilous and immoral. The earth is continuing to dangerously heat up. Tons upon tons of global warming greenhouse gases being irresponsibly poured into the atmosphere – mainly by burning fossil fuels of gas, coal and oil – is causing in various regions of the world accelerated flooding, droughts, heat waves, forest fires, increased threats of animal and plant extinctions and more intense hurricanes.

As we are in constant battle with ourselves to rely on God (Jesus, I Trust in You), being a parent seems like it is twice as hard of a job. One great resource for all is Catholic cell phone applications or phone apps.  With various phone apps, one can assist his or her family’s catechizing and prayer time. Raising our children with the values of Jesus calls precisely for a strong connection with the Lord. We as parents make sure the family makes it to Mass on Sunday, and confession at least once a month. At any stage, rhythm or subtopic of evangelization, we are not alone in the matter. Yes, we have God and the community of saints, but I’m suggesting using technology for a good purpose.  Technology has been heaven-sent to assist in my family’s effort to further make our way towards salvation. 

Is the Catholic presence on college campuses in the United States adequate to serve Catholic and non-Catholic students alike? The findings from “A National Study on Catholic Campus Ministry 2017” released Oct. 9 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education showed we have a long way to go to. “The Catholic Church has to look at this seriously and ask ourselves, ‘What can we do to keep the Catholic presence in the minds of young people,’” said New Orleans Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri, who, as the episcopal liaison for the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA), was involved in the study. “These are the people of the future, and we have no contact with them. What does it mean to be Catholic in the lives of college students?” What surprised him most from the survey was the lack of Catholic campus ministries at the nation’s more than 3,000 four-year colleges and universities. “Campus ministries are only located in one quarter of all major universities in the country,” he said. “That means three quarters of major universities don’t have campus ministries. So, young adults are being neglected. On junior college campuses (about 1,500), the number drops to one of every 60 campuses.” “We have to look at all the factors of where the church is and how the church is meeting the needs of young people today,” he said.  One factor to consider, he said, “Young people today aren’t seeing Catholic religious priests’ or sisters’ presence (on campus). It is not a part of their lives anymore. How do we recapture that fire?”

Inducted in the Archbishop Rummel Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 13 were, from left, Phil Greco, recently retired athletic director since 1994; Pat Richie (1988), 103- and 119-pound state wrestling champion; Dr. Earl Kilbride (1988), three-sport letterman and the school’s all-time interception leader; and Fred Kinsley (1978) a starter on the Raiders’ 1977-78 state champion basketball team and three-sport letterman.

Students at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Belle Chasse, conducted a Living Rosary, aided by the giant rosary pictured above, on Oct. 3 (Photo by Beth Donze) Two years ago, a story airing on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) caught the attention of Mary Riser, a Catholic grandmother living in Monroe, Louisiana. The report described how on the night of Jan. 15, 1978, serial killer Ted Bundy had broken into a Florida State University sorority house and had brutally assaulted four young women, killing two of them and severely injuring two others. Yet miraculously, when Bundy opened the door to one young woman’s bedroom and stared straight into her face as she lay in bed, the killer dropped his weapon and ran from the scene, leaving her unharmed. When the young woman recounted her traumatic experience to a Catholic priest, she said she had promised her mother before going off to college that she would pray a nightly rosary “for protection” at bedtime.

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A crowd awaits Brother Martin’s Hunter Appleton, right, at the finish line of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Cross Country Classic race on Oct. 13 at the City Park course. Appleton turned in a three-mile time of 14:52.61.  Brother Martin’s Hunter Appleton and Mary Nusloch of the Academy of the Sacred Heart have three things in common: they are both model students, they run like deer and focus on breaking records every time they answer the starter’s gun.

You have decided to release the names of priests who over the years have been removed from ministry for the sexual abuse of a minor. What led you to make this decision? I received many phone calls and emails from people asking me to release the names, and many phone calls and emails from people asking me not to release the names. After much prayer, I believe the just thing is to release the names. I was very much concerned that we would be able to do this accurately and completely. In prayer, it became very clear to me that this is the right thing to do in a spirit of justice and transparency.

Usted, ha decidido dar a conocer los nombres de los sacerdotes que, a lo largo de los años, han sido removidos del ministerio por el abuso sexual de un menor. ¿Qué lo llevó a tomar esta decisión? Recibí muchas llamadas telefónicas y correos electrónicos, de personas que me piden que divulgue los nombres, y muchas llamadas telefónicas y correos electrónicos, de personas que me piden que no divulgue los nombres. Después de mucha oración, creo que lo justo es dar a conocer los nombres. Me preocupaba mucho que pudiéramos hacer esto de manera precisa y completa. En la oración, me quedó muy claro que, esto es lo correcto en un espíritu de justicia y transparencia.