Kimberley Heatherington

While "synodality" might be a new concept to Catholics surprised by the Vatican's request that dioceses worldwide engage in community discernment from 2021-2024, the U.S. friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe — humble as they are — would still like to gently remind us it's something Franciscans like themselves have been doing for centuries.

On Dec. 28, 10 Arizona faith leaders — including Catholic Bishops Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson and John P. Dolan of Phoenix — put their concerns in writing in an op-ed column published in the Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper.

"Climate and environment policies are one issue that we need to bring to the voting booth — there are lots of others," said Catholic Climate Covenant executive director and founder Dan Misleh. "I would encourage people to understand Catholic social doctrine, and our Gospels — and bring that to the voting booth."

Speaking about poverty at Catholic Charities of Baltimore's "Journey to Social Justice" symposium, the Pulitzer-winning author and Sociology Professor, Mathew Desmond, said "We don't need to outsmart this problem. We just need to hate it more."

Why did the International Longshoremen's Association's (ILA) three-day strike have such a potentially consequential impact? Supply chain disruption is the critical factor. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, nearly 70% of U.S. exports and 56% of containerized U.S. imports pass through East and Gulf Coast ports.
 

Whatever the outcome of America's Nov. 5 presidential election, migrant and refugee advocates are predicting a challenging environment, said participants in a Sept. 24 video conference tackling the topic of how election results may impact Central America and those who are migrating through the region or coming from there to reach the U.S.-Mexico border.

Twelve of 77 parishes in Tucson Diocese have installed solar power systems since 2008. The diocese is in a city that's one of the sunniest in the country. It's also had 92 days above 100 degrees Fahrenheit already this year.
 

North Dakota's University of Mary's Summer Undergraduate Research Vocation Experience, or SURVE, is a 10-week annual program from late May through early August providing paid, science-research internships.

Last year was the hottest year on record for the world, since global records began in 1850, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. In recent weeks, Western states such as Arizona, California, Oregon and Nevada have all posted record-breaking heat — but in the East, North Carolina and Maryland have also shattered records.

 

The number of permanent deacons in America is holding relatively steady, but more than a third of them are also at or approaching the required retirement age for many dioceses. According to experts, the situation may suggest a need for local churches to revisit the Second Vatican Council's vision for the permanent diaconate and rethink how to invite men to discern the vocation.

On June 11 — at a breakfast before the annual spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Louisville, Kentucky — Pax Christi received the inaugural Dorothy Day Peacemaker Award from the Dorothy Day Guild. 

The largest wildlife crossing in the world — the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — has just begun construction in Agoura Hills, California, some 30 miles west of Los Angeles.

After a two-year planning process christened "Growing Disciples," Bishop Louis Tylka announced the diocese's 156 parishes will become 75 parishes with 129 "worship sites." Twelve parishes will merge into neighboring parishes, while another 107 parishes will merge to create 38 new ones.

Approximately 46 million Americans don't have regular access to clean water. On April 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standards to protect Americans from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals."

When Unite Here Local 11, the Los Angeles-based branch of the international labor union representing 300,000 U.S. and Canadian workers, announced March 25 an historic labor agreement with 35 Southern California hotels, the victory came with an asterisk attached.

Professor Samuel Shephard from Ave Maria University suggests that Catholics can contribute a unique perspective to Earth Day, celebrated each April 22, by viewing it as an opportunity to fulfill their role as stewards of creation. Shephard said Catholics can place the importance of practical actions like reducing plastic use and ethical clothing purchases within the context of God's "loving plan for salvation."

"What I find particularly spiritual in an eclipse is that we can predict precisely when it will happen — and plan accordingly — but we cannot predict just what it will look like or how we will react," said Brother Guy Consolmagno. "In that way, it reminds me how God is forever reliable but still always able to surprise us.

In 1966, the U.S. bishops released the faithful from the traditional law of Friday abstinence. But if American Catholics returned to meatless Fridays outside of Lent, what would be the resulting climate impact?

The Paulists, a U.S. religious order, have announced they are likely to close ministries, due to falling numbers of available priests. They are expecting to have 31 members in active ministry by 2034.

People who have looked closely as their order was passed to them through a drive-in window may have noticed a sticker or sign announcing the location serving them is a franchise of a national, or even international, brand.