Archdiocesan news

Archdiocesan news briefs

Gospel of Life Prayer Breakfast

The Archbishop’s Gospel of Life Prayer Breakfast will be hosted by the St. Louis Chapter of Legatus on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, 100 Carondelet Plaza. The program will begin with the Regina Coeli and the Rosary at 6 a.m., followed by Mass celebrated by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, a full-service hot breakfast, and the keynote address by Archbishop Rozanski. The event will conclude at 9 a.m. with a final blessing. Event sponsors and table sponsors are sought. For information, call (314) 792-7047 or email archevents@archstl.org.

Respect Life Creative Writing Contest winners

The scholarship recipients of the 2021 eighth-grade Respect Life Creative Writing Contest recently were announced by the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education and Formation. They are Lily Heit of Holy Infant School in Ballwin, Avery Eisenhart and William Ortballs of Ascension School in Chesterfield, and Bella Elpers of St. Alban Roe School in Wildwood. Each winner receives a $1,000 scholarship to the Catholic high school they will attend in the 2021-22 school year and two tickets to the Respect Life Apostolate Convention in October, and will have their winning entry published in the Respect Life Apostolate Convention booklet.

WIC farmers’ market program

The Missouri House gave first-round approval to a bill that will add recipients of the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) to those eligible to receive vouchers to be used at farmers’ markets. HB 652, sponsored by Rep. Martha Stevens (D-Columbia), allows the Department of Agriculture to apply for a grant to allow pregnant and postpartum women to buy fresh produce from these vendors using WIC vouchers. The bill also allows a tax credit for those individuals who want to establish urban farms in food desert areas in urban cities. The Missouri Catholic Conference supports this legislation as a way of improving the diets of low-income pregnant and postpartum families. The House must give final approval to the measure before it goes over to the Senate.

Meeting needs of the elderly

Recordings of “The Elderly — Our Future,” a webinar series sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio, Catholic Charities USA and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, are available online. “Old Age: Our Future – The elderly after pandemic,” was released by the Pontifical Academy for Life on Feb. 9. It calls for innovations to meet the critical needs of the growing population of elders and the impact on them from the pandemic. The recordings are available at https://bit.ly/3vDjKg7.

Mercy hospitals receive grade ‘A’

Three Mercy hospitals in the St. Louis area — Mercy Hospital Jefferson, Mercy Hospital St. Louis and Mercy Hospital Washington — earned an A grade in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national distinction recognizing Mercy’s achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Of 2,700 hospitals across the country, only 33% received an A grade and only 15 Missouri hospitals. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety.

Author’s visit

St. Pius X High School Alumni Association hosted Class of 2003 graduate Aubrey (Bates) Betz April 17 for a reading from her new children’s book, “Alex and the Butterflies.” Musician Hannah McDonald accompanied Betz to perform her original song, “I Can Do Big Things,” specifically written to accompany Betz’s book. “Alex and the Butterflies” is a little girl’s journey following the path of two butterflies. During this journey she discovers she just might have the courage and determination it takes to achieve anything she can imagine. The book is illustrated by Allie Daigle. A percentage of sales of the book go to the Mighty Oaks Heart Foundation. For more information, visit https://aubreybetzauthor.com.

Legislature declines to fund Medicaid expansion

The Missouri Senate passed its version of the FY 2022 Missouri state budget, which appropriates more than $34 billion to fund state government, education, infrastructure, corrections, social services and public safety, among other state priorities. Just as in the Missouri House, the Senate did not include funding in the budget for expansion of the Medicaid program, despite the promise of significant federal funding to assist with the expansion effort. In August 2020, Missouri voters approved expanding eligibility for the program to Missourians making up to 133% of the federal poverty level, which amounts to $17,130 for a single person or $35,235 for a family of four for 2021. Currently, Medicaid provides health care coverage to children of low-income adults, low-income pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled. Able-bodied Missouri citizens only qualify for Medicaid if their income is at or below $2,833.60 annually. The Missouri Catholic Conference supported expanding eligibility for the health care program because of the unmet health care needs of the working poor and the importance of Medicaid for the delivery of healthcare in Missouri. The governor could unilaterally move forward with expanding the program, or the issue could ultimately be decided in court. Because of differences between the budget passed by the Senate and the version passed in the House, the chambers must meet in what are called “conference committees” to resolve these differences before the bills can be sent to the governor for his review and signature.

Walters takes reins

Saint Louis University High School announced last month that Steve Walters will serve as the new head coach for the varsity ice hockey team. An assistant coach for the team since 2017 and interim head coach this past season, Walters brings extensive coaching experience to the program. In a report on the school website, SLUH Athletic Director Chris Muskopf said Walters’ “leadership, devotion to SLUH and SLUH hockey, and desire to create positive experiences for our hockey players were evident during his season as interim coach. He has the program positioned to build on its history and tradition.” Walters’ experience includes stints with St. Louis Rockets AA as head coach, coaching director and president; St. Louis Blues AAA head coach; and Chesterfield Falcons Central States Development League head coach. In addition, he served as head coach for the SLUH JV ice hockey team from 2012-15, earning state championships at that level in 2012 and 2013. He is the father of two SLUH graduates and former ice hockey players.