Thank you for your prayers for all us priests last week during our Convocation. It is always a good week and we are grateful for the opportunity to have those days together. We were happy to have Bishop McRaith with us for the week, as well as Bishop-elect Medley for a day. We look forward to his ordination and the gift of his pastoral leadership. Almost all the priests of the diocese were at the convocation. We only get together two or three times a year, so it was a special occasion. We are blessed to have such a great presbyterate. Over ten percent of our active priests are from other countries. I am well aware that often there are difficulties with their accents (or difficulties with our hearing) but these priests bring a variety of gifts to our local church. Of course, we could benefit by an increased number of "homegrown" priests. When was the last time you invited a young man or woman to consider priesthood or religious life?
Friday of this week is the sad anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme tragic Supreme Court decision in 1973 that opened the door to increased numbers of abortions in our country. Certainly there are many other pro-life issues (capital punishment, poverty, homelessness, war etc.) that merit our concern and attention, but none is as fundamental as the right to life. If this basic right is not defended, no other rights will be respected or protected. We will host the annual Pro-Life Mass here on Friday. I hope that many of you will be able to join the diocesan family as we gather around the altar to pray for greater reverence and respect for human life and for an end to abortion. I remind you that our bishops have named January 22nd as a day of prayer and fasting for Catholics in the United States.
Monday is the national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I will be participating in the community activities that are scheduled for this day. The annual march will begin at Apollo High School and end at Kentucky Wesleyan College. An excellent program will be held at Wesleyan at 10:30AM. Our country has made great progress in the area of civil rights since the time of Dr. King's murder, but we still have a long way to go. In our heart of hearts, we know that we can grow in our reverence and respect for our brothers and sisters, and especially for those who differ from us in color or ethnicity.
I hope you are making plans to participate in the ordination/installation of Bishop Medley on February 10th at 2:00PM at the Sportscenter. You will not be disappointed.
Love, Fr. John
