Archdiocesan news

Archdiocesan news briefs

Disaster response

Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski is asking parishes to participate in a second collection at all Masses during the last weekend of September or in early October to assist with recovery efforts from wildfires in the West and hurricane destruction in the South. The funds collected in this appeal will become part of the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund and will be used to support the efforts of Catholic Charities USA and/or Catholic Relief Services, the official relief agencies of the U.S. Catholic Church. It will provide support to help with water, food, shelter, and medical care, along with long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts. Checks also may be made payable to Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund and mailed to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Attn: Finance Office, Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund, 20 Archbishop May Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63119.

#Housing4WomenInRecovery

On International Recovery Day, celebrated from 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, Queen of Peace Center will conduct its first 24-hour online giving campaign. The goal is to raise money to fund housing at three of its homes: St. Philippine Home for Pregnant and Postpartum Mothers and their Children, Visitation Home, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home. With an annual cost of $1,510,849 for the homes (of which $663,000 is funded through in-kind donations), board members and matching gift benefactors ask the public to support the women in recovery at the Catholic Charities agency through the #Housing4WomenInRecovery campaign. Queen of Peace Center cites studies and its experiences showing 80 percent of people who are chronically homeless also experience chronic alcohol and/or drug problems which disrupt relationships with family and friends and lead to a downward spiral of loss of jobs and financial assets. Queen of Peace’s efforts show that women can, and do, recover and live healthy and rewarding lives. For information or to contribute, visit bit.ly/2RSnnwJ.

Execution vigils

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty held a statewide execution vigil Sept. 22 and planned another for Sept. 24. The U.S. Department of Justice scheduled the execution of William LeCroy Sept. 22 for the 2001 murder of a nurse, Joanne Lee Tisler, in Georgia, and the execution of Christopher Vialva on Sept. 24 for the 1999 murder of youth ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley in Texas. Six individuals from federal death row have been executed since July 2020. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is holding vigils for all victims of the death penalty in Jefferson City, St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City at the federal courthouses. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is a recipient of a grant from the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development to, among other things, help pay for community and faith forums throughout the state led by two men who have spent time on death row before being exonerated.

Continuing Catholicism

Saint Louis University’s Catholic Studies Centre’s “Continuing Catholicism” will hold a fall 2020 series with Jesuit Father David Meconi and Hilary Finley as they focus on Alessandro Manzoni’s classic Italian novel “The Betrothed.” The five-week Wednesday evening gatherings begin with Mass at 6 p.m and include discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The series begins Sept. 30. The event is complimentary, but a suggested donation of $125 is requested which includes a copy of the book. All registrants must wear masks throughout the event and fill out the #campusclear app prior to arriving to campus. For information or to register, visit bit.ly/2ROvNW6.

Attacking disparities

A new institute at Saint Louis University has been established to help eliminate disparities caused by systemic oppression and to promote healing. The Institute for Healing Justice and Equity begins with a founding investment by SLU of more than $1.7 million. Through research, training, community engagement, and public policy development, the Institute will help build equitable communities by assessing and promoting practices that foster healing from social injustice, trauma, and oppression.

Service project

Students from Duchesne High School delivered four carts full of items recently to Mercy Kids Children’s Hospital Child Life Programs. The students who organized the collection were from Duchesne’s Kateri House. Maria Santistevan and Mason Dowdy, Kateri House captains, and Theresa Velazquez, the faculty dean of Kateri House, worked with Mercy to help organize the service project and to drop off the donations of toys, books, games and other items to occupy patients. (Shown are Maria Santistevan, Maya Dowdy and Mason Dowdy with some of the items.)