The Wednesday Update

arlier this week, I issued a statement about policies recently enacted involving migrants coming through Mexico. These policies are adversely affecting migrants on the non-US side of our borders with Mexico. There have been reports of maltreatment of  people awaiting entrance into this country to begin the asylum process.  This includes depriving those waiting from having adequate bathroom access, limited drinking water, and in some cases taking medications from them as they wait. This is not “protection” in any sense of the word.  It is deprivation without cause and without regard for the lives of those seeking help from harm and poverty in their native countries.  It is outrageous and depraved behavior.

I hope all of us are planning a grand Thanksgiving filled with the love and laughter with our family and friends.  I also hope you will consider attending Mass on this day that we gather to remember the goodness God has provided us with throughout the year.

National Catholic Youth Conference Thursday I will head out to Illinois for my third trip to the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).  I will be flying out to the conference with Joe Perdreauville, who is our Assistant Director for Pastoral Services and a board member for the NCYC, and several students from Salpointe Catholic High School and St. Patrick’s Parish in Bisbee.

This week, Nov. 3 -9, is National Vocations Awareness Week. Please take a moment to pray for our seminarians, priests and religious. Coming up: Fall national bishops conference I will be attending the Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) next week in Baltimore, Maryland. Here is the Catholic News Service story previewing this event.

Marriage Mass at Cathedral: There were 106 smiling couples at St. Augustine Cathedral last Sunday. They gathered for our annual celebration recognizing wedding anniversaries from one year to 70 or more years.  Our longest wed couple was Phillip and Lucy Montano, married a whopping 76 years!  Then there was William and Bernadette Knebelsberger, married 70 years. 

As I reported last week, I visited St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California, and I installed several seminarians as lectors on Saturday, including three from our diocese.

Visits to Seminaries Later this week I will be visiting St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California.  We have a number of seminarians studying there.  I will be present for the Mass of Candidacy on Oct. 19.

Oct. 9, 2019 Priests Retreat This week and next many of our priests are attending another session of our ongoing retreats for priests. Msgr. Chester Borski, S.T.L., will present “Reflections on the Priesthood in the Light of the Gospel of Luke.” The monsignor’s background includes serving as a priest, assistant pastor, diocesan

Re-cap Catholic School Pastor, President, Principal Convocation I celebrated Mass with school principals and members of our diocesan Schools Department in Our Lady’s Chapel at the conclusion of their annual convocation.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will finally fulfill his desire to be a missionary to Japan when he visits the country, as well as Thailand, Nov. 20-26, the Vatican announced.

The Wednesday Update took a short break. It will return Aug. 21. Please note that the Diocese of Tucson offices will be closed on Thursday, Aug. 15 in observance of the Feast Day of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation.

Update: Transforming a juvenile facility On Monday (July 22), the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3 - 2 in favor of allowing Catholic Community Services to move asylum-seekers temporarily housed at the former Benedictine Monastery in Tucson to vacant sections

Update: New home for asylum-seekers This afternoon, diocese and Catholic Community Services representatives met with officials from the city county, three consulates, religious leaders and leaders from other organizations working with migrants. The meeting was to discuss and bring greater understanding among the group members about the decisions made by CCS to continue efforts to move asylum seekers from the former Benedictine Monastery in Tucson  into an unused part of a county juvenile detention center.

Troubling allegations require thorough review   The media is reporting alarming allegations of sexual misconduct against minors, inhumane conditions, and improper retaliatory actions on the part of certain Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Yuma, Arizona holding facilities.  These deeply troubling allegations have been made public by Department of Health and Human Services workers.  

Prayer for the Fourth of July Below is a prayer written by George Washington, our nation’s first president.  See how the words of the past still resonate with us as they reflect on the need for justice, respect and the inclusion of God in our work.

U.S. Bishops decry horrific death of father and daughter at the border and the appalling conditions for children June 26, 2019 WASHINGTON—The cry of a father and his baby daughter who drowned crossing the Rio Grande reaches heaven itself. This unspeakable consequence of a failed immigration system, together with growing reports of inhumane conditions for children in the custody of the federal government at the border, shock the conscience and demand immediate action. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, joins Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, in calling on the federal government to hear the cry of the poor and vulnerable.

Great strides by US Bishops in Baltimore The USCCB meeting exceeded my expectations. We overwhelmingly approved three crucial documents which will guide the Church forward in relation to bishop accountability.