Last fall, the Diocese of Syracuse filed for protection under chapter 11 of title 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to ensure that assistance is provided to all victims for past abuses. Let us continue to pray for healing as we move forward from this dark and painful chapter in the history of the Church.

In his pastoral letter, Bishop Lucia announced that the diocese would hold a synod in the coming years. The process, spelled out in canon law, provides a bishop with an opportunity to work together with the people of the diocese to create communion, reform, and improve pastoral organization and coordination. Bishop Lucia foresees that this process will give the people of the Diocese to provide input as we look together at “the already and not yet.” Other dioceses in the United States have found the process to be very rewarding. These synodal experiences have helped dioceses celebrate their past accomplishments, chart a course out of crisis and facilitate communion between a new bishop and his people. Additionally, they have helped local Churches recommit to the work of mission and evangelization as they proclaim the “joy of the Gospel” before the world.

The need and duty of prayer for the dead has been acknowledged by the Church. It is recommended in the Scriptures of the Old Testament: ‘It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins’ (2 Macc. 12: 46). This duty is expressed in public and private prayers but especially in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the repose of souls.

A letter from Father Seibt to the people of The Mission of St. Bernadette and St. Mary's.