No pain is more pronounced than the sudden loss of a loved one. Faith in God is tested — sometimes shattered — when we receive the unbearable call that one of our own has been ripped from the world. The agony and disbelief is beyond comprehension, beyond reason. No explanation stands under the weight of losing a close one.
Alaska’s Catholic bishops released a joint statement responding to the U.S. Supreme Court decision June 26 in which the judges ruled 5-4 that same sex marriage is a constitutional right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. The ruling effectively nullifies all state laws upholding marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
“The care for creation is a pressing issue, especially in the light of the great harm being done to the natural world of which we are a part, and the threat to the poorest and most vulnerable people worldwide because of environmental destruction,” Alaska’s bishops stated. “This encyclical invites each of us to prayerfully examine our consciences, and review not only how we have lived in communion with God and with others, but also with all creatures and with nature.
On loan to the Anchorage Archdiocese since 2006, Father Brundage has been a close advisor to Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and has maintained a number of important leadership roles during his Alaska tenure. Before his departure the Catholic Anchor asked Father Brundage to reflect on his time serving the church in Alaska and share insights he has gleaned about one of the northern-most outreaches of the Catholic Church.
Given that the mission of the Catholic Church is to inspire and invite people into a deeper love of God in all his beauty and splendor, perhaps even frontier churches should reconsider ways to foster the vital role that sacred art has played since the earliest days of Christianity.
After five years of formation, six men are on the cusp of the moment when Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz will lay his hands on their heads, invoke the Holy Spirit and ordain them permanent deacons for the service of the church. Family members, friends, priests, religious and fellow deacons are expected to pack Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral on May 1 at 7 p.m. to witness the ordinations.
In a debate before the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, candidates Ethan Berkowitz and Amy Demboski were sharply divided on the question of whether Anchorage should adapt legislation to establish sexual orientation and transgender identity as protected classes under the city’s nondiscrimination laws.
David Belanger, the longtime manager of Catholic cemeteries for the Anchorage Archdiocese, passed away on the morning of Good Friday, April 3, after battling cancer. He was 77. Over the past 15 years he dug scores of graves and laid to rest the bodies and ashes of hundreds of Alaskans, while helping those left behind deal with their loss.
Last year, Scannell hatched the postcard plan — called Any Refugee — and then convinced his fifth grade class in Anchorage to participate by drawing pictures on one side, writing a message on the other, and sending them to refugee children around the world.