My life as an ordained Roman Catholic permanent deacon can be likened to a roller coaster ride. During the 25 years I have served as a deacon, times have not always been easy. Several of the churches I was assigned to have gone through tough times. But, through it all, God has been faithful, and he has provided for us what and whom we needed for our church at just the right time.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Documents in the Vatican Secret Archives and the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prove it was a “myth” that Blessed Paul VI largely set out on his own in writing “Humanae Vitae,” the 1968 encyclical on married love and the regulation of births. In anticipation of the encyclical’s 50th anniversary, Pope Francis gave special access to the archives to Msgr. Gilfredo Marengo, a professor at Rome’s Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. The results of his research were published in Italian in early July in the book, “The Birth of an Encyclical: ‘Humanae Vitae’ in the Light of the Vatican Archives.”

COPÅN, Honduras (CNS) – Obispos y sacerdotes nicaragüenses fueron atacados el 9 de julio por grupos armados aliados con el gobierno durante un momento en cual la violencia en el país centroamericano ha aumentado y ha afectado a la Iglesia Católica, la que ha dado ayuda humanitaria en sus parroquias y ha intentado disipar a través del diálogo una crisis política que empeora cada día. El cardenal Leopoldo Brenes Solórzano de Managua, su obispo auxiliar Silvio José Báez y el Arzobispo Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, nuncio apostólico, estaban entre los clérigos de Managua que fueron lesionados mientras intentaban proteger la basílica de San Sebastión en la ciudad de Diriamba contra la incursión de una turba a favor del gobierno.  El obispo Báez y por lo menos otro sacerdote resultaron heridos. Algunos periodistas también fueron atacados y les robaron cámaras y otro equipo.

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, 7 p.m. healing Mass, July 25, with 6 p.m. confession and adoration, followed by Mass, healing service, eucharistic exposition,  benediction. Free, lit parking behind church, 4640 Canal St., New Orleans.  ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, hosts “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” Aug. 4, 9:30 a.m., Lycee Francais Cafeteria, 5951 Patton St, New Orleans. Free parking available behind the building. Speaker topics include: “End of Life Decision Making” with Sister Marie Noel of Notre Dame Hospice; “Powers of Attorney & Estate Planning” with    Gregory S. LaCour of Blue Williams, LLP; “Charitable Giving Considerations” by Josephine Everly of The Catholic Foundation. Additional booths: Catholic Cemeteries, Christopher Homes, St. Francis of Assisi’s Respect Life Committee and its Senior Associates, who will provide snacks and refreshments.

High school sports in New Orleans are steeped in lore and tradition. One of the sustainable traditions in this city’s Catholic environment is the archdiocese’s annual CYO basketball tournament, which, in December, will tip the ball for the 65th year. Age 65 is a year most men and women retire. Hopefully, that won’t hold true for this storied tournament, which is the longest continuously running high school tournament in Louisiana history and one of the longest prep tournaments in the U.S. Begun as a football “bowl” game in 1943, the CYO morphed its annual product into a basketball tournament in 1950. Now sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the CYO Classic has taken place every year through 1966, and was revitalized in 1971 after a four-year hiatus. 

Pope Francis has not only inherited, but continues to earn the title pontiff – “bridge-builder.” His latest major effort to oppose divisive walls and instead construct unifying bridges was his hosting of a July 7 unprecedented ecumenical gathering of Middle Eastern Christian leaders in Bari, Italy. Pope Francis, together with patriarchs and representatives of several Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodox churches, Eastern Catholic churches, and representatives of the Lutheran church and Middle East Council of Churches, prayed for peace and discussed possible paths toward peace, in the war-torn land of the Prince of Peace. In his introductory address, Pope Francis denounced the large indifference displayed by so many individuals and nations to the long suffering of so many brothers and sisters in Christ along with other persecuted people of the Middle East.

Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a post from a high school classmate questioning maintaining friendships as an adult. Later that week, on Instagram, I noticed a post from “The Jesuit Post” on the same theme. Why are adult friendships so difficult? It’s a question that has plagued my marriage as well. Throughout the past six years of marriage, I’ve been in school – whether as a graduate student or as a faculty member.

Sister Barbara Ashey (née Mrs. John Lauer) passed away on April 10. She was one of the most dynamic nuns as a member of the Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic order. She was instrumental in the building of their convent on Magazine Street, now a nursing facility. Archbishop Cody wanted to make her his chancellor, and Archbishop Hannan really loved her. May she rest in peace.

To say that Jasmin Bindom is an amazing young woman is an understatement. Defying what seemed to be insurmountable odds, this resilient dynamo continues to inspire and astound people every day. Bindom was a high school junior at St. Mary’s Academy in 2011 when she suddenly became ill. She spent weeks in a burn unit at a local hospital before being diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). The debilitating disease is caused by a severe reaction to both over-the-counter and prescription medication and can be fatal if not properly and promptly diagnosed and treated.

For LSU softball signee Shelby Wickersham and Delgado Community College’s new slugger, Stephen Klein, their senior seasons ended all too soon. Wickersham, Mount Carmel’s most dominant pitcher since Meghan Patterson ruled the Cubs’ mound from 2008-10, had her stellar final campaign end in the state tournament’s Division I semifinal  game with a loss to district archrival Dominican. Klein, who pitched and batted De La Salle to an outstanding 28-7 record, was eliminated from the Division II baseball competition in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. But two things the recently graduated athletes have in common are their selections as the best players in their respective sports and Most Valuable Players on the Clarion Herald’s Elite softball and baseball teams.

Four elementary school teachers were honored on May 9 with the Distinguished Educator Award given annually by Cabrini High students for positively impacting their lives and preparing them well for high school.  Cabrini High School’s 2018 Distinguished Educators  were Heath Barker, Christian Brothers School, nominated by Josie Posey; Rochelle Boulet, St. Pius X School, nominated by Eleanor Detweiler and Cara Grant; Chris LeBlanc, Atonement Lutheran School, nominated by Sophie Brodtmann;

Joanne C. Harmon knows first-hand the experience of postpartum depression. “For every child, I had experienced all types postpartum depression,” said the mother of four. She wants others suffering from depression after birth to know there is help available.  Harmon, a licensed professional counselor and registered nurse, is a co-founding member of the Postpartum Support International (PSI) Louisiana chapter. Harmon is Catholic and attends St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Metairie.

Excitement was high June 16 in the parish center at All Saints Church in Algiers. It was  “Match Day” for new and returning youths and mentors in the Isaiah 43 Mentoring Program. To break the ice, Isaiah 43’s leadership team created a bingo game using facts about mentors and mentees to help them get acquainted. Mentees were invited to share individual successes and, when one mentee mentioned securing a summer internship, everyone applauded.

The Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans held its annual fundraising gala June 22 in Metairie. Themed “Welcome Back to School,” the sold-out event raised about $24,000 for scholarships to be given to Hispanic students whose families struggle with tuition at Catholic schools. The Julio and Cesar band provided the music for the evening, playing tunes from several Hispanic countries.

Nearly 300 years ago New Orleans drew its first breath as a Catholic city – Catholic by order of the French crown. It drew its second breath as an importer of black slaves kidnapped from western Africa. Its first citizens were not pious emigrants willing to risk it all for God, like the grim and dutiful Puritans of Massachusetts.

Separating migrant families at the border is just the latest in a litany of acts perpetrated by America’s ruling classes to oppress minority groups, said Jesuit Father Joseph Brown, welcoming attendees to Xavier University’s chapel for the June 19-23 Archbishop Lyke Conference for Black Catholic Leadership. So when a friend of Father Brown heard someone remark that such familial separations were “un-American,” the friend begged to differ. “He got so angry because it’s totally American!” said Father Brown, noting how enslaved African families had been similarly ripped apart during the antebellum era and marginalized well after the Civil War through tactics such as lynching, the denial of voting rights and poor education.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced June 27, the last day of the Supreme Court’s current term, that he is retiring July 31. Less than an hour later, President Donald Trump said he would move quickly to nominate a replacement, saying he would review a list of candidates from the list he had to fill the seat now held by Justice Neil Gorsuch after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Kennedy is one of five Catholic justices on the Supreme Court along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor. Rumors about his retirement have been around for a while. Kennedy, who turns 82 in July, is the second-oldest member of the court after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 85. He also is the longest-serving justice currently on the court, appointed in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. A California native, Kennedy took over the family law firm practice in 1963, the year his father died. That same year, he married Mary Davis. The couple has three children.

The Clarion Herald asked priests and deacons who are celebrating their 25th, 40th or 50th anniversaries of ordination this year to reflect on their call to serve God through ordained ministry. 60 years a priest

What I need more than anything right now is a little Sermon on the Mount. As Catholics, we believe in transubstantiation, the sublime mystery in which the priest, impelled by Jesus’ words and example at the Last Supper, transforms unremarkable bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the crown jewel and eternal banquet of our faith.

Keeping young adults engaged in their faith – and drawing their disaffected peers back to church – requires more than simply mounting another parish event targeted at their demographic, notes an assistant professor of religious education at the Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM). For young adult ministry to flourish, every parish ideally should have a trained, paid, full-time lay ecclesial minister focused solely on locating the parish’s now-adult former teens, whether they live locally, are away at college or are out in the working world, said LIM’s Tracey Lamont, who advises the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on ways to stem the tide of 18- to 39-year-olds leaving the church.