There are thousands of health care providers across the nation — and hundreds in Alaska — that provide health services for women, including women with low incomes, without performing abortion. And there might be more such providers if they had access to Planned Parenthood’s massive public subsidies.
Hundreds of members of an international Catholic religious order dating back to the 11th century will soon be walking the streets of Anchorage. Alaska is host for the annual meeting of the northwest chapter of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre Sept. 18-21. While possessing an exotic name and a centuries-long history in the Catholic Church, the work of the order is right out of today’s headlines.
Here is a listing of the liturgies and events that Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz plans to participate in during the month of September.
Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz is asking fellow Alaskans to join Pope Francis on Sept. 1 in observing the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.” The inaugural event is intended to be an annual observance and is seen as a sign of solidarity with Orthodox Christians who each year set aside Sept. 1 as a day to celebrate creation and pray for the protection of the earth.
On Aug. 22, pro-lifers in Alaska will join thousands around the nation in praying and fasting to end abortion and shut down Planned Parenthood. The gathering is part of a nation-wide effort to pray and protest outside Planned Parenthood clinics following the release of undercover videos showing the abortion giant harvesting body parts of aborted babies and then haggling over the value of each part with prospective buyers. In Anchorage pro-life advocates will gather outside the Planned Parenthood clinic at 4001 East Lake Otis Parkway from 9-11 a.m.
This year’s Alaska Catholic Youth Conference in Anchorage challenged me to dig deeper into my understanding of Catholicism and, as a result, how to practice my faith in daily life. This intense four-day spiritual journey featured a large variety of workshops, ranging from tech addiction to medical bioethics to human dignity, as well as keynote speakers after every meal.
Catholics radio has launched in Anchorage and KHRM, 94.1 FM aims to evangelize, educate and inspire area Catholics and all others who tune in. The station’s vision is to “proclaim the truth of the Catholic Church with listener-supported radio in Anchorage that strengthens Catholics’ faith and acts as a voice and a resource for Catholic values and moral stances on public issues.”
Teens clamor clearly for two things they feel elude them: true solitude and authentic friendship. Alaska Catholic Youth Conference attendees directly named digital devices as threatening their interior life and distorting their social connections. They perceive their peers as inauthentic and distracted in face-to-face exchanges, leaving little room for the vulnerability and generosity required to build emotional intimacy.
I am deeply grateful for your presence here, joining me in thanking God for the privilege of serving God’s people as a bishop these past 25 plus years. The memories of the beautiful people I have encountered and the astounding experiences I have had, come flooding in on me as I reflect on these graced years.
Some Catholics take the challenges of making it to Sunday Mass head-on, quite literally. Such was the case with George Cebula — a 75-year-old who lives in remote McCarthy at the foot of Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains. On a recent Sunday he left his home at 6 a.m. and began the 130-mile trip to the nearest Catholic parish. Cebula regularly makes this four hour trip, which sometimes includes dealing with flat tires, stubborn buffalo, moose and other Alaska wildlife, road washouts and come what may in the form of obstacles between him and Holy Eucharist.