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June 22, 2020 In the process of working for justice, to right historical wrongs, the stories we tell ourselves about the past often have to be examined. At this moment, many are calling for the removal of statues of certain historical figures, which can certainly be debated. At the same time, some individuals have taken it upon themselves, acting in violent mobs, to tear down statues based on a dangerously narrow interpretation of history. As a native of California, the destruction of a statue of St. Junipero Serra deeply troubles me.

The Church, by no means, desires injustice to go unanswered, but two wrongs do not make a right. If we cannot acknowledge the good of a saint such as Junipero Serra, we risk preferring ideology to the truth. We should acknowledge St. Junipero’s efforts to protect the natives at the missions from harm, his efforts to offer them what he treasured most in the world, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The work of evangelization—carried out by flawed human beings—is to see all united in Christ where there is no Greek or Jew, there is no division, and all are seen and treated as the unique and beloved children of God the Father. St. Junipero Serra is a great example of that legacy, flawed like all of us, but striving with heroic virtue toward a vision of reconciliation and faith.

Tearing down statues of St. Junipero represents a perilous trend of demonizing the good works of others in the name of ideology. Such destruction reveals a dangerous capacity in the human heart for hatred of the other.  It risks unleashing the worst of humanity. Christians and all people of goodwill ought to look for ways to build, not destroy.  St. Junipero, pray for us that we may continue to build a civilization of peace and justice.

June 20, 2020 A recent news article published in the Spokesman-Review highlighted the fact that a suspended priest of the Diocese of Spokane, Theodore Bradley, continues to present himself as a priest in good standing – using the title “Father” and wearing clerical garb.  It has been clearly communicated to the 94 year-old Bradley that he is to refrain from presenting himself as a priest. Bishop William Skylstad initially removed Theodore Bradley from priestly ministry in 1994 after an accusation of sexual misconduct by a teenage girl which was investigated and deemed credible. Using the 2002 newly created provisions of the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Bishop Skylstad permanently removed Bradley from ministry that same year.  This penalty means that Bradley is not to present himself as a priest, he cannot publicly celebrate the sacraments, nor may he wear priestly garb.  The 2002 penalty included the order that Bradley live out the remainder of his life in private prayer and penance.  Theodore Bradley was once again reminded of these severe restrictions in a 2011 letter written by Bishop Blase Cupich. After my installation as Bishop of Spokane I took the opportunity to remind Bradley of these restrictions as well. 

Fr. Kyle Ratuiste interviews Sterlin McPherson, PhD, a parishioner at St. Peter Parish in Spokane and a researcher working on understanding the spread of COVID-19.

The hispanic tradition of re-enacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter in Bethlehem lives on in many parishes in Eastern and Central Washington

Though the beloved diocesan girls’ school closed its doors for the last time in 1979, Marycliff’s alumnae express a fierce loyalty to the mission and ideals of their school.

THE ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASONS are a time of traditions: familial, cultural, those in the Church.

LOS TIEMPOS DE ADVIENTO y Navidad son una época de tradiciones familiares, culturales, y de la Iglesia. Si bien lo que hacemos año tras año es importante, las tradiciones en sí mismas no son lo que estamos celebrando. Todas podrían terminar y tanto Navidad como Adviento aún tendrían sentido. Si decoramos un árbol o no, si cantamos villancicos o no, podemos decir con alegría y esperanza que Cristo nació en Belén. Al crecer en San Francisco, la tradición más importante de mi familia fue el tiempo que pasamos con la familia. Después de la Misa el día de Navidad, mis padres y los siete niños íbamos a la casa de mis tíos y tías, con sus seis hijos, para la cena. Esas grandes cenas familiares fueron una parte importante de cómo pienso acerca de la Navidad.

THE PARISH HALL at St. Mary Presentation Catholic Church is always bright and full of natural light. In December, there is an added gleam as the hall becomes home to Father Tom Connolly’s Nativity Fair. Thousands of figurines fill tables and displays, all celebrating the birth of Christ.

A NEW ENDOWMENT has recently been created from an estate gift left to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes by Ms. Katherine O’Sullivan. Ms. O’Sullivan passed away in June 2018. She was a parishioner at the Cathedral in the 1970s and came to admire Father Paul Vevik, who was assigned to the Cathedral at that time. Father Vevik’s pastoral care many years ago inspired Ms. O’Sullivan to remember the Cathedral in her estate planning. 

HOW DOES A MOTHER’S HEART find peace after losing a baby before birth? A father’s heart also mourns. What does pregnancy loss do to marriage? And where is the Church in all this?

Christmas is a time to celebrate blessings. We exchange gifts and reenact family traditions to express how our friends and loved ones have blessed our lives, and we attend Mass to remember how God blessed us by sending Jesus Christ to live among us.

Every Christmas, we celebrate God’s coming into our world. He chose a very specific avenue to make His entrance—the family. It was within the Holy Family that the Word Made Flesh was born into the world and the young Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Lk 2:52) When Christ performed His first miraculous sign, it was at the behest of his Blessed Mother. (see Jn 2:3)

On Sept. 12, 2019, when the Church celebrates the Holy Name of Mary, Mother Kathryn Joseph and Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church, celebrated their Golden Jubilee of religious profession at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. The opening prayer of the Mass expressed why the evening was filled with joy and solemnity as the Church rejoiced over the “gift” these two sisters first received from God.

The pain of a broken marriage is sadly all too common; but those who have experienced a retrouvaille retreat know brokenness need not to be the end. Don and Sherry Morrison’s story did not start or end in the place Don describes. However, when they present their story at Retrouvaille retreats, they open their own story to all the couples struggling to make their marriages work and show that a couple can move from a place of pain to health and happiness.

Xanthe Kraft, a local composer and graduate of Gonzaga Preparatory School, spent time earlier this year as an artist-in-residence at St. Gertrude Benedictine Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho. Kraft was the 12th artist-in-residence at the monastery, but the first composer.

EN EL MES DE NOVIEMBRE, la Iglesia conmemora a los fieles difuntos, nuestros queridos hermanos y hermanas que han muerto con la esperanza de la resurrección. Ofrecemos oraciones por ellos y estamos llamados a contemplar nuestra propia muerte. Los cristianos medievales conocían íntimamente las palabras memento mori, tempus fugit: recuerden la muerte, el tiempo vuela. La perspectiva católica, hasta el día de hoy, no teme a la muerte como el fin, sino como la bisagra entre la tierra y la vida eterna donde enfrentamos el juicio. Al contemplar la muerte, contemplamos nuestra relación con nuestro Creador.

In November, the Church commemorates the faithful departed, our beloved brothers and sisters who have died in the hope of the Resurrection. We offer prayers for them, and we are called to contemplate our own death. Medieval Christians knew intimately the words memento mori, tempus fugit - "remember death, time flies." The Catholic outlook, to this day, does not fear death as the end; we see it as the hinge between earth and life eternal, where we face judgment. In contemplating death, we contemplate our relationship with our Creator.

Patricia Ann Larson, a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, died early the morning of October 28, 2019, at Memory Care, South Hill Village in Spokane.  On January 18, 1929, Patricia was born into the family of Albin and Anna (Divine) Larson in Spokane, Washington.  The youngest of their seven children, Patricia enjoyed the solidity of her entire grade 1 through 12 education at Seattle’s Immaculate Conception elementary and high school. 

An influential teacher and distinguished theologian, Blessed John Henry Newman remains as insightful and relevant today as he was during his own lifetime. Newman is alive in the works that he has left behind; and thanks to his many writings and coming sainthood, we can consider him a wise friend and guide on our own life journey.

June 18, 2018 The unity of the family is a foundational element of Catholic social teaching.  In fact, marriage and the family are central social institutions which must be supported and strengthened by Church teaching and government policy.  These institutions are undermined when children are unnecessarily separated from their parents.  This practice is contrary to our Catholic values.  I join His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo...