A frozen-over lake in Texas, Feb. 17, 2021. Credit: jmanaugh3/Shutterstock.
Brownsville, Texas, Feb 18, 2021 / 01:07 pm (CNA).- Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville announced Thursday via Twitter that he is granting a dispensation from abstinence from meat for tomorrow, the Friday after Ash Wednesday.
“I am granting a general dispensation in the Diocese from the law of Lenten abstinence from meat tomorrow, February 19, 2021. Many families in the Diocese will have no other option except to eat what they have,” Bishop Flores tweeted Feb. 18.
He added, “The law does not intend to add hardship to what is already a situation of great hardship for many. Those who can observe the discipline may, of course, do so. I suggest for the intentions of those suffering at this time.”
The Diocese of Brownsville has been particularly affected by the winter storm currently hitting the southern region of the US.
Blackouts in Texas have created shortages of energy, food, and water, forcing the region to suspend classes, create “warming centers” for the elderly, and issue alerts to boil tap water because of blackouts at water treatment plants.
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Pope Francis meets with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps in the garden of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sept. 13, 2021. / Papal trip pool.
Rome Newsroom, Sep 13, 2021 / 03:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis told pol… […]
Washington D.C., Jun 21, 2018 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- On Thursday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2018 farm bill, H.R. 2, which included controversial changes to food assistance programs that Catholic leaders had voiced concern over…. […]
Cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City / CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 16, 2021 / 09:34 am (CNA).
The Papal Foundation has awarded nearly $800,000 in scholarships to 96 priests, brothers, sisters, and lay faithful as part of the Saint John Paul II Scholarship Program.
The scholarships will enable the recipients to study at 16 universities in Rome. The recipients hail from five continents.
“We are committed to Saint John Paul II’s vision to prepare Catholic leaders and educators for service,” said Eustace Mita, president of The Papal Foundation Board of Trustees, in a published statement. “We aim to ensure those called to build up the Church all over the world are trained and prepared to lead in their own dioceses.”
Since the Saint John Paul II Scholarship Program launched in 2000, it has provided nearly $13 million in scholarships to over 1,600 recipients. Recipients, known as Saeman Scholars in honor of major donors John and Carol Saeman, are from disadvantaged countries. The aim of the program is to provide recipients an opportunity to study in Rome, after which they will return to their home dioceses and continue to educate others in a manner faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.
David Savage, who became executive director of the Papal Foundation July 12, 2021. The Papal Foundation
David Savage, the executive director of The Papal Foundation, said that the chance to “play a role in the formation of leaders in the Catholic Church is a blessing.”
“Saint John Paul II will always be remembered for the lessons in leadership he personified, which is one reason we at The Papal Foundation are honored to carry forward his vision of training scholars to effectively lead in their communities,” he said in a published statement.
Father Julius Madaki, a priest from the Archdiocese of Kaduna in Nigeria, is one of these leaders. Madaki defended his doctoral thesis in July, after being given a scholarship from The Papal Foundation to study in Rome.
“Words alone cannot express the sentiments of gratitude and appreciation in me,” he said in a published statement. “Studying under the auspices of The Papal Foundation has influenced my life in no small way. I promise to make you proud, be of service to the Church, and keep you always in my prayers. Rest assured that your commitment to spreading the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth will never go unrewarded.”
The Papal Foundation was founded in 1988 in response to calls “for a unique, sustainable way to support the Holy Father and his witness in the world.”
According to its website, the mission of The Papal Foundation is to “serve the Holy Father and the Roman Catholic Church” by means of “gathering in a corporal and cooperative collaboration of laity, clergy and hierarchy within the Church, in witness to one another of our faith, and drawing strength from the witness of the Holy Father.”
The mission statement continues: “We bring and contribute our faith, our energy and our financial resources, to serve those needs of the Church that are of particular significance to the Holy Father, always with a commitment to walk in union with the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.”
My poor cousin in TX has only enough water left to last till tomorrow and no way to get out to the store -even if the stores had anything on the shelves, which they don’t. The roads are still icy and dangerous. She’s under the blankets with her dog trying to keep warm. As many other people are doing.
Please pray for the folks in Texas. Thank you.
My poor cousin in TX has only enough water left to last till tomorrow and no way to get out to the store -even if the stores had anything on the shelves, which they don’t. The roads are still icy and dangerous. She’s under the blankets with her dog trying to keep warm. As many other people are doing.
Please pray for the folks in Texas. Thank you.
Mrs. Cracker, I will pray for your cousin and others in Texas.
Thank you so much for that Leslie! God bless you.
🙂
Prayers.