U.S.

Catholic Charities sets up water distribution in response to Miss. flooding

JACKSON, Miss. — Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, has begun distributing water to help residents besieged by a failing water system in the state’s capital city. They are gearing up to provide water to the community through the help of Catholic Charities USA and with Catholic Charities affiliates in neighboring Louisiana. Currently, the Catholic Charities disaster response team is assisting displaced families as a result of the Pearl River flooding and it is coordinating with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to become a distribution site for water at their office in Jackson. “We are pleased that President Biden, Governor Tate Reeves and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba are working together to address the water situation in Jackson,” said Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson in a Sept. 1 statement. “We pray for long-term solutions to this problem, and a swift response to get water flowing back into all Jackson homes and businesses.” Flooding of the Pearl River is just the latest in a long string of water-related woes in Jackson. The city’s water treatment plant has struggled for years to deliver clean, safe drinking water to all sections of Jackson, its primary service area.

WORLD

Blessed John Paul I showed God’s goodness, pope says

VATICAN CITY — Beatifying Blessed John Paul I, Pope Francis praised the late pope for showing the world God’s goodness and for living the Gospel without compromise. “Our new blessed lived that way: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromises, loving to the very end,” the pope said. “He embodied the poverty of the disciple, which is not only detachment from material goods, but also victory over the temptation to put oneself at the center, to seek one’s own glory” as he followed the example of Jesus and was “a meek and humble pastor,” he said. The pope spoke during a homily in St. Peter’s Square at a Sept. 4 Mass attended by an estimated 25,000 people under dark skies and rain, with an occasional roll of thunder and flash of lightning. “With a smile, Pope John Paul managed to communicate the goodness of the Lord,” Pope Francis said.

Sister Suellen freed after five months of captivity in Burkina Faso

NEW ORLEANS — Marianite Sister Suellen Tennyson, who was kidnapped from the convent of her educational and medical mission in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, in early April, has been found alive and is safe after nearly five months of captivity, a congregational leader of the Marianites said Aug. 30. “She is safe,” Marianite Sister Ann Lacour said. “She is on American soil, but not in America. She is safe.” She said Sister Suellen was recovered Aug. 29 and the sisters in the congregation have spoken to her. “She eventually will get back to the United States,” she added.

Zero tolerance for priests guilty of abuse, pope says in interview

VATICAN CITY — Calling sexual abuse “diabolical” and a “monstrosity,” Pope Francis underlined there is “zero tolerance” for those in the Church who are guilty of abuse. “One very key thing is zero tolerance. Zero. A priest cannot continue being a priest if he is an abuser. He cannot act (as a priest) because he is sick or a criminal,” the pope said in an interview with CNN Portugal. “Zero tolerance and we must not stop at that,” he said. The lengthy interview was recorded Aug. 11 at the Vatican and aired in two segments over two evenings, Sept. 4-5. Reporters at the Vatican were provided a transcript of the interview in Spanish by CNN Portugal. The interview covered a wide range of topics, such as the liturgy, the role of women, the importance of dialogue, synodality, prayer life and World Youth Day, which is to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1-6, 2023.

— Catholic News Service