News - January 2017 RSS Feed

“Over the past several days, many brother bishops have spoken out in defense of God’s people. We are grateful for their witness. Now, we call upon all the Catholic faithful to join us as we unite our voices with all who speak in defense of human dignity,” said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, vice president of the USCCB, in a joint statement responding to the executive order on the new refugee policy announced by President.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by experiencing a performance of ceremonial music for brass, percussion and symphonic organ in the Corpus Christi Cathedral on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Cathedral choir director Lee Gwozdz and the brass/percussion faculty and students of Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Texas A&M Kingsville will perform ceremonial music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi will celebrate a Wedding Anniversary Mass on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral in observance of World Marriage Day. Bishop Michael Mulvey will celebrate the Mass for couples who have completed or will complete 25 or 50 years of marriage in 2017.

Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott told more than 500 Catholic school educators, supporters and benefactors the importance of providing students with a Catholic education at the inaugural fundraising event and recognition ceremony, "A Celebration of Catholic Schools," on Jan. 26, at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.

Thirty-two students from Holy Family School participated in the annual National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Block Kids Competition at Garcia Elementary on Jan. 28.

Students, faculty and staff of the Incarnate Word Academy community donated blood on the school's high school campus on Jan. 19.

Bishop Michael Mulvey today named Father James Stembler as Vicar General of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, effective Feb. 1. He will assume the post currently held by Msgr. Louis Kihneman who will be installed as the fourth bishop of Biloxi, Mississippi on Feb. 17.

Members of the St. John Paul II High School Health Careers Club attended the Texas A&M Coastal Bend Health Center’s 15th Annual Future Health Professionals Conference was hosted at Texas A&M University – Kingsville on Jan. 26. The event was educational for the students, as they participated in presentations by professionals in fields such as pharmacy, nursing, health information technology, and occupational therapy.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to teach an adult class on parables. I have taught almost everything else—Mariology, Introduction to New Testament, Old Testament, St. Paul, Prayer, and the Book of Revelation. But never a class that just focused on the parables.

The Knights of Malta have confirmed that Matthew Festing, the Prince and Grand Master of the Order, has agreed to submit his resignation after being asked to do so in a meeting with Pope Francis Tuesday.

On Jan. 25, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order to construct a wall at the U.S./Mexico border, to significantly increase immigrant detention and deportation and to disregard/preempt/overrule the judgment of state and local law enforcement on how best to protect their communities.

There is a nursing home in Kennedy, Texas, named after St. John Paul II. It is supervised by a group of nuns. John Zimmer, one of my parishioners, after having visited his mother there, came to the rectory and brought me two or three small plastic containers full of food. He told me, the food was a gift from the nuns working in the nursing home.

It was a neck-and-neck 55-50 win for the Lady Centurions on Tuesday night. Victoria St Joseph was on the STJPII campus for the first time since the Flyers 42-20 win over the Centurions last season. In 2016, the (35-5)Flyers went on make it 16-0 in District, and eventually reached the Final Four of the State Tournament.

Deirdre McQuade, primary spokeswoman on abortion for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), welcomed passage of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017” (H.R. 7) by the U.S. House of Representatives. “By passing this legislation, the House has taken a decisive step toward respect for unborn human life, reflecting the will of the American people,” she said.

Bishop Michael Mulvey and the Diocese of Corpus Christi will host the first-ever "Celebration of Catholic Schools," on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 5:30 p.m. at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center. Texas First Lady of Texas Cecilia Abbott will be the keynote speaker.

On Jan. 24, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and other Catholic charitable organizations filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Catholic and other religious health systems in cases involving the “church plan” exemption to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The amicus brief states that an “established by a church” requirement to qualify for ERISA’s “church plan” exemption “would pose a grave threat to the ability of many Catholic ministries to provide aid to the millions of needy individuals who benefit from their services each year.”

The episcopal ordination and installation of Bishop Louis Kihneman III as the fourth bishop of Biloxi will take place on Friday, Feb. 17, at 2:30 p.m. in the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Biloxi, Mississippi. WLOX and the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) will televise the Mass live.

The season of Lent is marked by many traditions among Catholics in the United States. Symbolized by its ubiquitous cardboard box, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl has been a tradition for generations of Catholics. Beginning in 1975 as a response to a growing famine in Africa, CRS Rice Bowl today shines a light on the Catholic community’s commitment to poor and vulnerable families–our brothers and sisters. Their lives are improving in meaningful, measurable ways through the humanitarian programs and services provided by CRS and the Catholic Church around the world.

Pope Francis has named Monsignor Michael J. Boulette of the Archdiocese of San Antonio as Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio, Texas. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment in Washington on Jan. 23.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, applauded the memorandum issued Monday, Jan. 23, by President Donald Trump restoring the Mexico City Policy and extending its requirements to all U.S. global assistance.