This summer our community saw the impact of homelessness more than ever. There seemed to be more camps on our trails, more people on street corners and in parking lots asking for help, and more stories in the media talking about the incredible challenges.
Father Nelson Marilag died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sept. 20 while serving as a priest in the Diocese of Fairbanks.
A native of the Philippines, he served in the Archdiocese of Anchorage from the time of his arrival from the Diocese of Butuan in 2002, until 2010 when he transferred to serve in the Diocese of Fairbanks as part of an innovative program to share priests across Alaska’s three Catholic dioceses.
The annual Red Mass, celebrated for all those who practice law, will not take place in the Anchorage Archdiocese this year.
When my brother died, my mother didn’t want anyone to know it was suicide. She feared the priest would not bury my brother in our Catholic cemetery if he knew.
“They’ll tell you funny stories and sad stories, and all they really need is someone to listen,” 14-year-old Angela Houser said of her regular visits to the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer. “Just to see them light up when they tell their stories makes me happy.”
Burke, 19, is the oldest of 11 siblings and the son of Toby and Laura Burke of rural Kenai. A product of life-long home-schooling, he is an avid Alaskan hunter and fisherman.
Catholic parishes across the Anchorage Archdiocese plan to take part in one hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament as part of the National Day of Prayer on Sept. 9. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for the prayer day after a number of shootings have caused racial tensions and violence around the country.
Alaska’s Supreme Court majority decision to strike down parental notifications on abortion displays a stunning lack of contact with the real effects that abortion has on young women.
Archbishop Roger Schwietz, who first invited the Korean Missionary Society to Alaska, said he thinks their presence in the state could also benefit the dioceses in Fairbanks and Juneau.
Hunger is an issue about which we, as a community, feel passionately. It is why Catholic Social Services began initially, to help ensure our neighbors had enough food to feed themselves and their family.