Leiner said that in the 18-24 year age bracket, 80 percent of young adults will leave the faith. And that doesn’t apply just to Catholics. Most mainline Christian faiths are experiencing what Leiner describes as “students bleeding out from faith.”
Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne was installed as archbishop of Anchorage just eight months ago. As part of an ongoing effort to visit parishioners across his 138,000-square-mile archdiocese, he boarded several planes, including a small two-seater, and flew to the hinterlands of North America.
Former death row inmate Joe D’Ambrosio and Father Neil Kookoothe visited Alaska in July as one of many speaking engagements in the decade since D’Ambrosio was released from prison after being falsely convicted of murder.
“We, the Catholic bishops of Alaska, remain united in heart and mind with our brother bishops across this nation in condemning the Administration’s decision to suspend DACA,” the Alaska bishop said in a Sept. 4 statement signed by Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne, Fairbanks Bishop Chad Zielinski, Bishop-elect of Juneau Andrew Bellisario and Anchorage Archbishop Emeritus Roger Schwietz.
The weather in western Alaska poses challenges for flying. On one particular Sunday Father Garrett had embarked upon a trip to a tiny village. Gusty winds and a gut feeling told him to stop short and land at the airport in King Salmon. He spent the night, winds diminished, and he decided to take off the next morning. Like many times before, he warmed up the engine, taxied out to the runway and throttled up to begin his takeoff. No sooner had he begun gaining altitude than the engine — his only engine — blew up.
When children are young we rightly strive to guard their innocence and form a kind of protective sphere where they are somewhat insulated from the harshness and vulgarities of the larger culture. This period, however, is fleeting — the bubble will eventually burst and our children must face the difficulties of the world.
The following is a list of liturgies and events in which Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne is scheduled to participate during the month of September.
Catholic schools opened last month in Anchorage, Wasilla and Kodiak, where the schools are still accepting incoming students. The following is a short introduction to each school.
“We want to follow the example of the young man in that wisdom of coming to Jesus and asking Jesus the questions we have about this life, trusting that he will give us the answers that we seek,” Archbishop Etienne said. “As we begin a new academic year, particularly in this Catholic school, we realize what the real end goal is — eternal life. Life with God, for eternity.”
In an effort to better understand the challenges and aspirations of Alaska’s young adult Catholics, Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne recently spent an evening in prayer and conversation with more than 30 people, ages 18-35, at St. Patrick Church in Anchorage.