The Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic fraternal order in the world, has announced a membership initiative that allows eligible Catholic men to join the organization online. The program is being rolled out in select states, including Texas, and will be introduced nationally in July.
On Monday, Dec. 4, Pope Francis named Father Mario Alberto Avilés, CO, Auxiliary Bishop of Brownsville. Up until now, Father Avilés served as the Procurator General of the Congregation of the Oratory and as a parish priest in the Diocese of Brownsville.
Bishop Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi asked pastors in all parishes and missions in the diocese to read a letter from him at all Sunday Masses expressing a message of condolence and hope regarding the tragic loss of life at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs onon Nov. 5. A lone gunman killed 26 people and wounded 20 others in a senseless act of violence.
After at least 26 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday, the local Catholic archbishop offered prayers and solidarity for the victims. Bishop Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi also extended his prayers and sympathy to First Baptist Church.
On Wednesday, July 26, the Texas Senate passed a bill which would ban general insurance policies from covering abortions for private citizens, government employees and those insured under the Affordable Care Act. SB8, would still allow for coverage of abortions that are considered medically necessary to save a woman’s life.
The Catholic bishops of Texas expressed disappointment in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s movement to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, forcing 117,000 young people to be deported from the United States.
Two Texas bishops have defended—from charges of fear mongering—the opponents of a new law, which targets sanctuary cities for immigrants, explaining that the bill draws little distinction between criminals and undocumented immigrants. The law in question, Senate Bill 4, was signed into law May 7.
On Saturday night, April 29, parishioners of St. John the Evangelist church in Emory, Texas received the horrifying news that a tornado was heading in the direction of their church. Immediately, the parishioners found the safest spot they could – the hallway in between their parish hall and the main church.
The Texas State Court of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas held its 50th Biennial Texas State Convention in Corpus Christi on April 20-23 and celebrated “100 years of Unity and Charity” at the American Bank Center.
Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, and chair of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, applauded an appeals court decision to uphold a lower court’s ruling that stopped the implementation of several key provisions of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order regarding admission of refugees into the United States.
On Jan. 28, Catholic Extension honored Cecilia Abbott, the First Lady of Texas, with its Spirit of Francis Award at an event in Houston. Catholic Extension, a national Catholic fundraising organization, honored Abbott for her commitment to Catholic education in Texas as well as for her lifelong devotion to service and to philanthropy, in particular to the Catholic Church in Texas.
Some 250 individuals from the Diocese of Corpus Christi participated in the Rally for Life at the state Capitol on Saturday, Jan. 29. Fifty students from the Newman Center at Texas A&M University Kingsville and another 50 pro-life supporters from various parishes joined some 150 students from St. John Paul II High School and Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School to make the trip to Austin.
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.
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.
More than 4,000 people are expected to march on the capitol in Austin to show their support for expanding school choice options during National School Choice Week. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will speak in favor of expanding school choice options along with a host of parents, students, educators and elected officials. The rally will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.
Thousands of Texans, including many from the Diocese of Corpus Christi, will take part at the Texas Rally for Life on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Capitol in Austin. The 2017 Texas Rally for Life will commemorate the 44th anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, which made abortion legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
Catholic Extension has chosen Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott as the recipient of their Spirit of Francis Award based on her lifelong devotion to service and philanthropy in the Catholic Church. Abbott will receive the Spirit of Francis Award at a dinner in Houston on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017.
Beginning on Oct. 25, the co-sponsors and sponsors of CHRISTUS Health, Dignity Health and Sisters of Charity Health Systems will celebrate their 150th year in ministry. The founders are the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston and they will reflect on their work in ministry with a Sesquicentennial Mass at their convent in Houston, Villa de Matel, 6510 Lawndale Street, at 4 p.m. The sisters co-sponsor two of the largest hospital systems in the United States.
The Texas Catholic Conference (TCC) of bishops has released a statement calling for the abolition of the death penalty, denouncing its effects not only on victims and others immediately affected, but also on society. "Capital punishment vitiates our hearts' capacity for mercy and love," the bishops write, noting that "the death penalty not only does not correspond to the common good, it actually does great harm to it."