The ministry of safe environment requires sincerity, authenticity and accountability. It is not just about meeting formal requirements to ensure safety; it is about authentically embracing the mission of protecting the vulnerable and ministering to those who have been harmed. It is about living our belief about the dignity of the human person.
Clare House is an emergency shelter for women with children in Anchorage. Over the years Catholic Social Services has received great support from the community to operate this Anchorage outreach. Many extraordinary volunteers have dedicated time and effort to improving the lives of women and children in need. Surprisingly though, it is not a place that many people in Anchorage have ever seen. And if they have seen it, they may not have known they passed it.
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.
In announcing his presidential bid earlier this summer, Donald Trump made a speech in which he said: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” This column is written in response to these statements.
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 may point out that the number of American polygamists is so small that changing the law won’t impact the wider culture or the vast majority who support traditional marriage. So what real difference does it make when a society redefines marriage to fit a new cultural norm? Well it certainly impacts what is taught in schools and promoted and enforced by law.
The following letters were first published in the August issue of the Catholic Anchor.
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.
The Catholic Anchor earned seven awards for excellence in journalism at the annual national competition sponsored by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada (CPA). The awards, for work published in 2014. Now in its 16th year of operation the Catholic Anchor consistently wins in secular and religious journalism competitions. This year’s seven awards are in addition to the three awards received earlier this year from the Alaska Press Association.