Marietta Police Department officer Samantha Lutfig was minutes away from the scene. She arrived first and raced to start CPR, so “dialed in” to saving the victim’s life that she hardly noticed the pouring rain or the debris from the tree that covered the parking lot. Within minutes, other police officers arrived, and the Marietta Fire Department was dispatched to the church. Their combined resuscitation efforts helped bring Menna back to life. Almost two months later, Menna returned to the parking lot of St. Joseph Church to meet the first responders who saved her life.

It was an emotional reunion as Jeanne embraced each member of the police and fire departments who were on scene that day. As she faced the men and women who revived her, Menna couldn’t contain her gratitude.

“I’m just so grateful because after doing a little bit of research, so few people survive lightning strikes,” she said. “First responders run to danger; they don’t run away from it. I’m so grateful we have people who are willing to do that. It takes a lot of courage and bravery to do that job. They are truly God’s angels on earth.”

Despite the inherent danger of being struck by lightning, Menna has made a miraculous, near-perfect recovery.

“I’ve been seen by many doctors and specialists,” she said. “They have truly been astonished that I have no lasting effects. I’m astounded by why I’m doing so well, but I’m blessed and I’ll take it.”

The first responders were happy to meet with Menna to witness the uplifting results of their work.

“We see terrible things a lot,” said Marietta Fire Assistant Chief Kevin Gerhard. “So to have a call like this and then get to meet the person is rejuvenating. What we do means a lot, and we’re so thankful she’s here because sometimes maybe it works out this way and we never find out.”

Officer Lutfig was also deeply moved by her role in Menna’s story.

“We do a lot for citizens in the community, and being able to stand next to somebody is a full circle moment,” she said. “A lot of times where we have medical calls, it doesn’t turn out like this, so to have a different end result is amazing.”

Officer Lutfig was awarded the Medal of Merit for her heroic actions.

Menna’s faith has been central to her recovery, and she is surprised and delighted by the number of people who prayed for her after the incident.

“I definitely have a deep appreciation for my children, extended family and church family,” she said. “The number of prayer groups and churches who have been praying for me…it’s been overwhelming because I’m a shy person. I do think prayer works and I think that’s healed me, too. I thank God for saving my life and his healing powers.”

Thousands of members of Atlanta’s Catholic community supported Menna through her recovery. She still identifies St. Joseph Church as the center of her faith life and community. “This is God’s house. I feel very safe here,” she said as she looked around the parking lot. “I feel good being here. I love my church home and my church family.”

There are many questions she will never know the answers to, but after her harrowing experience, Menna has a new lease on life, and she is even more appreciative of her friends, family and loved ones.

“I’m not sure why God saved me,” she said. “I feel like my life still has a purpose, and I hope I can fulfill that. I just feel like we’re all here for a purpose, even if we don’t know what that is. We’re all here to help each other. What else is there?”

“I continue to follow with deep concern the ongoing and escalating violence in the Holy Land, where, in recent days, many civilians, both in the West Bank and in Gaza, have once again fallen victim,” the pope said.

“I make a heartfelt appeal for a return to negotiations to achieve a just political solution, founded on the equal dignity and equal rights of every human person,” he continued. “At the same time, I urge the rejection of further military actions and unilateral decisions, especially those that violate the respect for and the status quo of the holy places of every religion.”

Throughout the Middle East, he said, “the intensification of military operations has once again brought violence and destruction, placing the lives of countless civilians in grave danger and worsening the shortages of drinking water and electricity.”

The Associated Press reported late July 25 that the U.S. military “has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war.”

On July 24 in the ?occupied West Bank, according to Reuters, four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed near a Palestinian village in a confrontation that added to a growing toll over recent weeks as Israeli settler violence has intensified against Palestinians.

“I urge all parties involved to suspend their attacks and urgently reopen avenues of dialogue and diplomacy, so that the peace so greatly desired by the entire region may be achieved without delay,” Pope Leo said.

Pope Leo encouraged everyone to continue praying for all peoples throughout the world who are suffering because of war.

“May the Lord touch hearts and enlighten the minds of those in positions of responsibility, so that reconciliation and peace may soon prevail,” he said.

“The martyrs stood up for the sanctity of marriage,” Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah, told OSV News of the five Franciscan friars from Spain who died in present-day Georgia in the 16th century. “It gives us an opportunity really to … reinforce the Church’s teaching on marriage.”

The martyrs’ beatification Mass scheduled for Oct. 31 in Savannah is changing spaces within the Savannah Convention Center to welcome roughly 12,000 people instead of the 2,000 originally planned. The move comes as Catholics across the country and from Spain are expressing interest in attending, including some with historical connections to the martyrs. The relatives of one martyr may also travel from Spain.

The Franciscan missionaries’ beatification coincides with the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi that coincides with the 800th anniversary of his death. It will mark the sixth beatification on U.S. soil and the first in Georgia, according to Jill Parks, managing director of communications for the Diocese of Savannah.

All five Franciscan martyrs traveled from Spain to minister to the native Guale people in present-day Georgia. Venerable Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añon, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Veráscola died for their faith in 1597. The violent murders began after Friar Pedro de Corpa forbade the heir to a Guale chiefdom and a baptized Christian, Juanillo, from following his culture’s custom and taking a second wife.

“Our Franciscans were in those first waves of Catholics coming to what’s now the U.S., which is just amazing,” Parks told OSV News. “Then on top of this, they were martyred for defending Christian marriage.”

She added: “A lot of people have been very inspired by them giving their lives essentially for that and for Christian teaching.”

As soon as the date for the beatification was announced, Parks said calls from across the country started pouring in.

“We figured it was really going to be a local Georgia event,” Parks said. “We did not expect that it would be sort of a nationwide thing.”

Meanwhile, many locals are preparing to attend, including Patrick McMahon from Savannah. He told OSV News that he plans to participate in the beatification as a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. As a Fourth Degree member, he belongs to the most prestigious degree of the Knights, which is dedicated to the principle of patriotism.

The Knights’ district marshal for the Diocese of Savannah, McMahon said he looked forward to being a part of history.

Laura Daniel, a parishioner of Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church, a pilgrimage site for the martyrs in Darien, also plans to attend with her husband. She helps promote the Georgia Martyrs at her parish, which is located by the sites where the friars were martyred. She called the moment exciting for the local Church.

“It’s just a great opportunity to pass on the history of the Catholic Church in Georgia, coastal Georgia, and the start of the Catholic Church in the Americas,” she told OSV News.

Among those from Spain hoping to attend are Archbishop Joan Enric Vives i Sicília, bishop emeritus of Urgell, who plans to serve as a representative of Spain, Parks said. Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo of Mérida-Badajoz, who leads the archdiocese where Friar Antonio de Badajoz was raised, also expressed interest in attending and bringing the pastor of the friar’s home parish with him.

Parks said the diocese has also received a call from Church leaders from Friar Francisco de Veráscola’s hometown. The pastor and several other people from the friar’s home parish hope to attend. Parks learned from them that the friar also still has relatives in that area.

“We’re hoping that some of them might actually come to attend the beatification, which would be amazing,” she said.

Both Bishop Parkes and Parks emphasized a desire for a venue that can accommodate and welcome everyone who wishes to attend the beatification. Bishop Parkes called the beatification “a new beginning” to continue to learn more about the history of Catholicism in Georgia, and to ask for the martyrs’ intercession for marriage and family life.

He also hoped it encourages every person to seek heaven.

“There’s a human interest in, well, how is the Church recognizing particular individuals for their holiness?” Bishop Parkes said of Catholics worldwide. “I think that it can inspire each one of us personally in our own road to holiness.”

Overall, the latest proceedings are suitably innocent. But the introduction of a new character, an electronic toilet training device called Smarty Pants (voice of Conan O’Brien), unleashes a small torrent of potty puns in the script—penned with Kenna Harris—that some parents may not appreciate. 

The happy partnership between young toy owner Bonnie (voice of Scarlett Spears) and her ensemble of playthings, led by cowgirl doll Jessie (voice of Joan Cusack), is suddenly threatened when Bonnie’s parents give her Lilypad (voice of Greta Lee), a frog-shaped tablet computer. Like all the kids around her, Bonnie becomes completely absorbed by the gadget. 

Feeling neglected, Jessie and her friends begin to worry about their future. A conflict also arises between the established group and the newcomer over how best to help Bonnie, a shy, somewhat quirky kid, acquire friends. 

Amid the crisis, Jessie calls on cowboy doll Woody (voice of Tom Hanks)—who has been out and about aiding traditional toys youngsters have abandoned in favor of gizmos like Lilypad—to help win Bonnie back and find her some pals. This leads to a reunion between Woody and his rival-turned-friend, astronaut action figure Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen). 

Buzz, meanwhile, who has long carried a torch for Jessie, is trying to summon up the courage to propose to her. 

Moments of pathos add depth to the ongoing exploits as both Bonnie and Jessie undergo experiences of isolation and betrayal that leave them questioning their self-worth. The screenplay also encourages youthful viewers to distinguish between true and false friendships. Thus, along with the smiles and laughs it inspires, the movie also helps to mold positive values. 

The film contains some childish scatological humor. The OSV News classification is A-I—general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG—parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. 

CAPSULE REVIEW 

“Minions & Monsters” (Universal) 

Set primarily in the Hollywood of the 1920s, this delightful animated comedy, directed and co-written by Pierre Coffin, is at once a paean to and a satire of early Tinseltown. Intent on making a horror movie featuring monsters, two of the Twinkie-like creatures of the title (their inspired gibberish language voiced by Coffin) conjure up a disappointingly diminutive and unterrifying example of the species (voice of Trey Parker). But they’re relieved when their new friend promises to guide them to the lair of some more suitable ogres. Other members of the traveling tribe to which the duo belong, meanwhile, continue their search for an evil master they can serve and settle on a nerdy alien robot (voice of Jesse Eisenberg) whose threats to lay waste to Earth seem to be mere bluster. Narrated by a present-day museum docent (voice of Allison Janney), the film celebrates creativity, friendship and perseverance, though older kids and adults may be having too much fun to notice. Comic mayhem, occult-themed nonsense, some anatomical humor, a single crass term. The OSV News classification is A-I—general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG—parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. 

Lauretta Hannon

Automatic weapons were found on the floorboard, and he was identified as one of our students. I’ll call him Brian. Once they got him handcuffed, he was transported to what we called “Rice Street,” the location of the Fulton County Jail. 

As the college conduct officer, I expelled him and placed a hold on his student account. He was forbidden from coming to campus without my prior approval. Further, he was put on the college’s Be On the Lookout List, and I thought that was the end of it. Surely he’d be in jail and serve time for his crimes. 

A year later, my phone rings. It is Brian. He wants permission to meet and says he’s changed. “Sure he has,” I thought but agreed to hear him out, even though I was skeptical. Two officers escorted him to my office and stayed outside the door. 

As Brian explained what happened after his arrest, I was floored. First of all, he was released from jail on a signature bond and spent less than 24 hours behind bars. There would be no prosecution for the drugs or weapons. I was ready to spit nails over this but knew it was common practice. 

Next, he said the arrest and brief stint in jail scared him to death—and motivated him to go legit. He confessed he knew what he was doing was wrong, but the money was right. Finally, he asked me to remove the hold on his account so he could finish his degree at a different college. He then laid out a plan to continue on for a master’s degree in business. 

So I’m trying to read this guy. Is he genuine or a menace to society—highly skilled in “getting one over” on people? If I don’t remove the hold, he cannot move forward at any college. If I do release the hold, he could find another campus to exploit. He had deposited dope on the back hall numerous times before getting caught. 

I said a little prayer and asked for discernment. The message I got was unambiguous: Brian is honest, worthy and different now. I released the hold and hoped I did the correct thing.  

Fast-forward about two years later, Brian called again. He reported that he’d stayed straight and was in his first semester of graduate school to obtain his MBA.  

This experience, like dozens of others, has convinced me of the following: do not, I repeat—DO NOT—give up on people. Sometimes the one nobody would put a bet on ends up the best redemption story.  

All women are invited to attend the Magnificat meal, which will be held at Holy Cross Church in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Atlanta chapter of Magnificat hosts the meal, which includes breakfast, a time of praise and worship with music and the speaker’s testimony.

The international Catholic women’s ministry is inspired by the joyful meeting of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, related in the Gospel of St. Luke.

Donohue was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the early 1950’s, the third of four children. She grew up with devout parents and a large extended Catholic family in a Catholic neighborhood. Her parents loved the Lord and Our Lady and modeled the practice of the faith for their children.

Monica Donohue

Donohue attended Catholic School from first grade through high school except for grades six and seven. After graduating from a very small all girls’ high school with 69 students in her senior class, she attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, which had 35,000 students. The challenge of this change pulled Donohue into a very secular environment where she temporarily left behind her Catholic values.

With a failed marriage by the age of 23, the relocation of her parents from Wisconsin to South Carolina and the death of her mother, her early 20s were tumultuous.  She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing and later received a Master’s in Nursing from the University of South Carolina.  This allowed her to discover her two professional passions, teaching and caring for the poor and vulnerable in a community setting.

At the end of her 20s, she was blessed to meet and marry the love of her life, Jeffrey Donohue. They had three children together, Erin, Shannon and Patrick, and were married for 32 years.

At the age of 31, Donohue experienced a profound conversion which changed her life. She was infused with the Holy Spirit and began an intimate relationship with Jesus, and she began to follow the Lord on her unique journey of life as He made straight her paths. Through marriage, parenting, her nursing profession, a lifetime commitment as a Lay Cistercian of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, along with various ministries with Magnificat, and more recently with the Encounter School of Ministry, God has taken her by the hand. God has taught her to know him, to love him, to serve him and to trust him with all her heart.

Advance reservations for the gathering are required and can be made either online or through the mail. The cost is $25 per person. No tickets are sent. Check-in is at the door for those with reservations only.

To register online, visit https://tinyurl.com/2608Meal. Those who have provided contact information will receive an invitation by email. To be added to that list, please send a request to joyfulvisitation@gmail.com.

To register by mail, please send your name, address, parish if applicable, contact information, and a check made payable to Magnificat Joyful Visitation to Debbie DuPont, 315 Rose Court, SW, Lilburn, GA 30047. Online registration closes on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Mailed reservations must be postmarked by Aug. 8.

The Magnificat will be interpreted for the Deaf. The doors open early. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m. Holy Cross is located at 3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta.

Priests and religious are invited to attend free of charge, but reservations are still requested to plan for the meal. Since the morning is designed to speak to the hearts of women free of distractions, it is respectfully requested that young children not attend. For information, contact Debbie at 770-696-6216.

After the pandemic, many service provider organizations struggled with resources and funding and began to shut down, leaving a void in the Buckhead area. A few church communities nearby—the Cathedral of Christ the King, the Cathedral of St. Philip, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church and Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church—recognized a growing need for support.

“We had all been talking, asking, ‘What can we do as a faith community to help with this homeless situation?’” said Wendy Klump, associate director of discipleship at Christ the King. “There were a couple of situations where the churches had the homeless sleeping right outside their doors, and we were thinking, ‘How do we help?’”

In collaboration with each other, the churches contacted Intown Cares, a nonprofit serving the homeless, and offered to fund some work in Buckhead and a case worker.

“We’ve had a number of partnerships with churches in the past that have all been successful, because there’s spiritual and community support,” said Brad Schweers, executive director of Intown Cares. Originally from Chicago, Schweers has 20 years of experience with Atlanta’s non-profits. “Churches are places where people have good relationships, whether they are housed or unhoused.”

The local project–now a year old–is called Buckhead Cares. It is located at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, where a housing support case manager keeps office hours two days a week. The non-profit’s mission is to “prevent and reverse homelessness and hunger in Intown Atlanta” by enrolling unhoused people in their program, assisting with resource and support services and finding available, permanent housing for qualifying members. A crucial step in the process is building trust with members of the homeless community.

“That oftentimes means going out to where people are,” Schweers explained. “We don’t do anything without trust. That’s the currency we really operate with. Trust is earned, it’s not just given by anybody, especially people experiencing homelessness.”

While Buckhead Cares staff and volunteers are tenacious, it may take them months to build a strong relationship with a member of the unhoused community. But many of those genuine connections already exist at the churches participating in this collaboration.

Christ the King is proud to support the homeless through their partnership with Intown Cares.

“Intown Cares enables us to provide more than just temporary relief,” said Msgr. Frank McNamee over e-mail. “We can meet their immediate needs and also help them navigate opportunities for stable work and housing.”

Over the first year, the connection between Buckhead Cares and these churches has been very successful. The non-profit has transitioned 213 out of 355 clients from homelessness into permanent housing, with nine of those clients living in Buckhead. They have engaged an additional 600 to 800 members of the homeless community, building the relationships that are so necessary to their clients’ well-being and entrance into the housing process.

“It’s been fabulous,” said Schweers. “It’s really gone how we hoped it would. This kind of relationship between parishes and non-profits to help folks move off the street has never been done before. To have parishes where trust is between parishes and our organization, it’s such a beautiful thing when it does happen and it continues to work.”

The churches of Buckhead also recognize the value of working to solve the problem of homelessness together despite differences in their beliefs. “We’re blessed to have a strong, supportive faith community in Buckhead,” Msgr. McNamee said. “The more faith communities that live the love of God for our neighbors, the stronger we are and the more people we can impact. I hope that in the support we provide, they see the face and hands of Christ.”

Around 200 people from the Diocese of Rome took part in the event on July 11. “Lunch with the Pope” was “a day of welcome and fraternity” within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education said in a statement.

Before the guests, including nearly 40 children, enjoyed the guided tour through the gardens, the day begun with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, general director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, and concelebrated by Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity.

“I came without a prepared speech, but I did come with hunger–hunger for justice, hunger for genuine charity, hunger for a Church that truly knows how to open its doors, to welcome and receive everyone; where there is love for all and no one is an enemy, where all of us know how to live reconciliation, forgiveness and peace,” Pope Leo said, welcoming those present, as reported by Vatican News.

Pope Leo recalled that one of the pope’s titles is the “Pontiff–a builder of bridges.”

“And today we too want to build a bridge with all of you, with your families, and with the society in which we want to live–a society marked by justice, where the causes of poverty can be eliminated and where the causes of the injustices that still exist in our world can be overcome,” Pope Leo said.

“This,” he said, “is the Church we want to be,” Vatican News reported.

Only a few months after taking upon the See of Peter, Pope Leo first met with people experiencing vulnerability from the Diocese of Albano. That meeting on Aug. 17, 2025, gave birth to an annual tradition of encounters with the underprivileged.

“Each year, a diocese will be invited to involve people living in situations of poverty, refugees, migrants, and others experiencing social vulnerability,” to let them experience ” the beauty of creation” and create an “opportunity to meet the Holy Father,” Laudato Si’ Center said.

Cardinal Baggio said in the July 7 press release that “Borgo Laudato si’ was created to show that the care of creation and the care of the human person are one and the same mission.”

“After Lampedusa, this day represents a new step in Pope Leo XIV’s journey towards the social peripheries of our time,” the cardinal said, referencing Pope Leo’s visit the prior weekend to an Italian island that serves as both a place of the hope of a new life and of the tragedy of those that never made it through the sea to Europe.

“At Borgo Laudato si’, the Holy Father meets people experiencing vulnerability, reaffirming that the Church is called to inhabit the places where human dignity calls for listening, closeness and hope,” Cardinal Baggio said.

The encounter embodies the Church’s service to the poor, Archbishop Marín, papal almoner, emphasized.

“The Holy Father’s choice confirms that charity consists of closeness, encounter and sharing. When the Church places the most vulnerable people at the center, it makes the Gospel visible and bears witness that no one is on the margins of God’s heart,” he said in the July 7 statement.

Pope Leo expressed his gratitude to those that organized the July 11 gathering, which included dozens of organizations that on a daily basis assist people experiencing vulnerability.

“Whenever we come together, whenever we share this spirit of encounter around the same table — the one table where Jesus is also present among us,” Pope Leo said, as reported by Vatican News.

“We are truly building a different world, a world of hope, a world that is a light in the midst of our own,” he added.

The pontiff urged that in a world fractured by “violence, hatred and discrimination,” communities need to “work together and strive always to be this kind of Church: a Church of justice, peace and love,” praying that in families of those that gathered in the Castel Gandolfo picturesque setting people “find peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, said in the July 7 statement that the organizers “wanted the protagonists of this day to be people who are accompanied every day by parishes, Caritas, and the many ecclesial and social organizations of the Diocese of Rome,” adding that “the encounter with the Holy Father restores centrality to those who too often remain on the margins and calls the entire Christian community to the responsibility of welcome.”

Borgo Laudato si’ extended “their heartfelt thanks” to Ristorante L’Isola della Pizza in Rome, which “generously offered the lunch,” and to Bar Al Duomo in Albano Laziale, “which provided the welcome breakfast, contributing through their generosity to the success of the day.”

The moment took place at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice during a two-day pilgrimage to Montgomery, Ala., July 1-2.

The pilgrimage is designed to immerse the faithful into the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement while inviting reflection on the Catholic call to justice and human dignity.

Led by Ashley Morris, director of Black Catholic Affairs in the archdiocese’s office of Intercultural Ministries, the pilgrimage brought together 15 attendees to visit some of the nation’s most significant civil rights landmarks.

Stops included the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Harris House and the Freedom Rides Museum.

“I was inspired by the enthusiasm of all the pilgrims who were honored and willing to journey to Montgomery for the pilgrimage,” said Morris. “This immersion is important for our local Church to help us all intentionally grow in serving, accompanying and ministering with our African American and Black Catholic communities.”

An Alabama city’s place in history

Montgomery holds a significant place in American history. Once a center of the domestic slave trade, the Alabama capital is now known as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement through events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Freedom Rides.

The first day of the pilgrimage began with a visit to the Legacy Museum. Built on the site of a former cotton warehouse, the museum is operated by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on criminal justice reform, helping marginalized communities and educating others about race in America.

The museum presents the history of slavery and racial injustice by detailing facts of the transatlantic slave trade, the domestic slave trade, racial terror lynchings, legalized segregation and mass incarceration.

Many of the exhibits are interactive and display artwork. Photographs are not allowed inside the museum, instead visitors are encouraged to pause, read and reflect.

Through facts, photographs, personal statements, artifacts and more, guests follow a chronological journey that presents centuries of racial injustice while highlighting the resilience of those who resisted oppression.

From there, the archdiocesan group visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The memorial honors victims of racial terror lynchings documented across the country between 1877 and 1950.

More than 4,400 names are engraved on some 800 steel monuments that represent a county where lynchings occurred, the Equal Rights Initiative shared on its website. According to a report by the organization, 103 Georgia counties are displayed in the memorial.

As the group walked further into the memorial, facts related to reasons why a lynching occurred could be read inside the memorial walls.

From writing a note to a woman, to standing in a neighborhood, to voting, members of the group prayed in silence for the many lives lost due to racial injustice.

Pilgrims of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and Valda Montgomery Harris, center, stand outside the Harris House. Richard Harris Jr., a local pharmacist, turned his home into a hub for Freedom Riders planning their routes across the country. Photo by Ashley Morris

On the second day of the pilgrimage, the group visited the Harris House, a family home on South Jackson Street that served as a safe and strategic center for students challenging interstate bus segregation.

Home to Richard Harris Jr., the house became a refuge for activists known as the known as the Freedom Riders, including the late congressman John Lewis.

Guided by Valda Montgomery Harris, participants learned how her father, a pharmacist and civil rights supporter, opened his home to white and Black activists challenging the 1960 United States Supreme Court Boynton v. Virginia decision, which banned interstate segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr., the late civil rights activist who led nonviolent protests, visited the home frequently to strategize the bus ride routes.

Through a tour of the home, the group stepped into rooms where conversations were quiet in volume, but loud in impact. Visitors sat in the same kitchen seats and walked on the carpet where students plotted their plan to see if states were complying with the court ruling.

The pilgrimage concluded at the Freedom Rides Museum, which once stood as Montgomery’s Greyhound bus station. On May 20, 1961, rioters and mobs attacked the Freedom Riders who traveled through.

The Freedom Rides Museum, located in Montgomery, Ala., displays newspaper headlines detailing the attacks by mobs on the Freedom Riders. Formally the city’s Greyhound Bus Station, the building now showcases the story of the activists who challenged interstate bus segregation. Photo by Natalia Duron

A map of the activists’ travel routes is displayed on the wall, telling the story of those who rode the buses despite threats to their lives. Newspaper headlines and facts of the period are presented throughout the museum. Notably, the museum displayed a large wall of the mugshots of arrested Freedom Riders.

Throughout the pilgrimage, the group participated in guided discussions and prayers. The conversations connected the travelers as they explored the Catholic Church’s efforts toward racial reconciliation.

By walking through places where history unfolded, Morris shared the pilgrimage offered more than an educational experience.

“I was filled with a renewed hope in the efforts of our local Church to help not only expose ministry leaders to key moments in the African American experience, but to also witness their support in creating more archdiocesan opportunities for others to journey and share in similar experiences as well,” Morris said.

The text of the letter, which offers information on returning to full communion, follows:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

With a father’s concern for the unity of the Church and the salvation of souls, I write to address recent developments concerning the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, commonly known as the Society of Saint Pius X or SSPX, and to offer clear pastoral guidance to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, especially those who have had contact with Saint Michael’s Catholic Church in Roswell.

The Church’s Communion and the wound of schism

The Catholic Church is visibly united in the profession of the same faith, in the celebration of the sacraments, and in communion with the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him. Schism is a grave rupture of that communion. Canon law defines schism as the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him. Because schism wounds the unity of Christ’s Body, the Church attaches to it the serious penalty of excommunication.

The Holy See has declared that the recent episcopal consecrations carried out by bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Holy Father constitute a schismatic act. The bishops involved have incurred latae sententiae excommunication, and sacred ministers belonging to the Society are to be considered in schism and subject to the canonical consequences established by law. The term ‘latae’ means it is imposed automatically the law itself for a grave violation of the Church’s disciplinary laws. The violation in this case is based on acting directly contrary to the Code of Canon, Law, which requires a mandate from the Holy See for the ordination of a bishop, as well as rupture of the essential obedience to the Vicar of Christ required for Church unity.

A warning offered in charity

For this reason, I must warn the faithful that clergy of the Society of Saint Pius X do not exercise ministry in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Their sacramental celebrations are illicit, and the Holy See has specifically warned that the sacrament of penance administered by them and marriages assisted by them are both invalid and illicit unless competent ecclesiastical authority supplies or grants the required faculty or delegation in a particular case.

This warning applies in a particular way to Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, located at 715 Hardscrabble Road in Roswell, Georgia, which is publicly associated with the Society of Saint Pius X. The faithful should understand that this church is not operating in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and is not subject to the ordinary pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

The faithful are therefore urged not to participate in liturgies, sacramental celebrations, catechetical programs, fundraising, devotional events, or other activities promoted by the Society of Saint Pius X when such participation would express support for, adherence to, or cooperation with the schismatic separation from the Holy See.

Distinguishing confusion from formal adherence 

The decree from the Holy See makes a distinction regarding inactive attendance versus adherence. A person does not necessarily become schismatic merely by having attended a Mass out of confusion, curiosity, family pressure, habit, or a sincere desire for reverent worship. Formal adherence to schism requires knowledge, freedom, actions, and a deliberate refusal of communion with the Roman Pontiff or with the bishops in communion with him.

Nevertheless, Catholics must avoid placing themselves or their families in spiritual danger. A love for the Church’s liturgical tradition must never become separation from the Church herself. Attachment to the older liturgical form is not the same as adherence to the Society of Saint Pius X. The faithful who desire the liturgical patrimony of the Church should seek it only in communities and parishes that are in full communion with the Roman Pontiff and properly authorized by competent ecclesiastical authority.

Practical guidance for the faithful

1. Do not seek confession, marriage preparation, or the witnessing of marriage from clergy of the Society of Saint Pius X.
2. If you have confessed to an SSPX priest, or if your marriage was witnessed by an SSPX priest, contact your pastor or the archdiocese so that your situation may be reviewed and, if necessary, remedied.
3. Do not regard participation in SSPX ministries or activities as equivalent to participation in a parish or ministry of the Roman Catholic Church.
4. Parents should exercise particular care regarding the formation of children and young people, ensuring that catechesis is received from teachers and clergy in full communion with the Church
5. Those who have been drawn to Saint Michael’s or to the Society of Saint Pius X should be received with patience, respect, and pastoral solicitude, while also being guided firmly toward full communion with the Church.

The way of return 

The purpose of excommunication is medicinal. It is not imposed because the Church desires anyone’s separation, but because the Church, as a loving mother, must name the gravity of a wound so that healing may begin. The Lord desires that all be one. The Church stands ready to welcome with sincere affection all who desire to return to full communion.

The Holy See has provided guidance on this, between those who have participated in various liturgical events and those who have been more formally involved in the life of the Society of Saint Pius X community. The latter is termed ‘adherence’ in the document from the Holy See.

Any member of the faithful who believes that he or she has formally adhered to the schism of the Society of Saint Pius X, or who is uncertain about his or her canonical or sacramental situation, should contact a parish priest, the Office of the Archbishop, or the appropriate diocesan office for confidential pastoral assistance. The path of return may include a profession of Catholic faith, sacramental confession where appropriate, an explicit reaffirmation of communion with the Roman Pontiff and the diocesan bishop, and any other steps required by competent ecclesiastical authority. The process itself must be finalized by me as the Ordinary. However, it is prepared by the local priest for submission to me.

In the case of all who have not ‘adhered’ to the Society of Saint Pius X, the process requires consultation with your local Catholic pastor, who is authorized to receive you into fully restored communication with the Holy Father.

I ask all priests, deacons, religious, catechists, and lay leaders to speak about this matter with clarity, charity, and restraint. We must avoid harsh judgments about individuals whose personal knowledge and freedom may be limited, but we must also avoid false reassurance where the unity of the Church and the validity of the sacraments are at stake.

To the faithful who have attended Saint Michael’s or who have found spiritual consolation there, I say this with pastoral concern: the Church does not reject your desire for reverent worship, sound doctrine, or holiness of life. Rather, she calls you to seek these gifts within the visible communion of the Catholic Church, united with the successor of Saint Peter and with the bishops in communion with him.

For those who are spiritually nourished by the Church’s traditional Latin liturgy, I encourage you to seek that worship within communities in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, including the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter at Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 587 Landers Drive, Mableton, Georgia 30126.

May Christ the Good Shepherd heals every wound of division, strengthen us in faith and charity, and gather all his people into the unity for which he prayed on the night before he died: ‘that they may all be one.’

Given at the Chancery, Archdiocese of Atlanta, Smyrna, Georgia, July 6, 2026, Sincerely yours in Christ, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv.”

Editor’s Note: “Sent to Serve: Profiles of religious life in Atlanta” is a regular series of The Georgia Bulletin and looks at the charisms and work of the religious order priests, brothers and sisters serving in the archdiocese.

CONYERS—In late March of 1944, a group of 21 monks left Gethsemani Abbey in the hills of Kentucky to establish a new monastery in rural Georgia. Their destination was a farm in Conyers, a relatively unknown location with few Catholics, but with all the natural beauty and solitude essential for a monastery.  

The monks first settled in a barn on the property as they began to plan for a more permanent home, which would become the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Father Luke Kot, the last surviving monk of the original 21, before he passed away, described the joyful perspective he and his brother monks had in the early days. “If Our Lord was born in a stable, how could we complain about living in a barn?” 

Brother Methodius Telnack, who joined the original monks in 1949, was 21 years old when he entered the monastery and has been living there for more than 75 years. When he first arrived, the monks were living in a pine board building they had built, which was meant to be a temporary home while they built the present-day monastery. At that time, only the foundation had been poured for the permanent monastery—a building that was thoughtfully designed to allow all those who enter to experience the presence of God. Brother Methodius worked on the architecture of the present-day monastery.  

“One of the ways to God is beauty, and we tried very hard to keep that in mind while we were building,” he recalls.  

The monastery’s design is simple, with clean lines and plenty of natural light flooding through the stained-glass windows. Each day the church welcomes around twenty to thirty visitors seeking a quiet place to pray. The retreat house allows those who want a longer visit to attend weekend silent retreats. The retreatants enter into the life and schedule of the monks; some even attend Vigils at four in the morning. 

The monks of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit are Cistercians of the Strict Observance, a monastic order focused on contemplation and imitation of Christ. The monks live a hidden life ordered to the worship of God under the Rule of St. Benedict. They meet seven times a day to pray the Divine Office as a community. Throughout the day the monks alternate between prayer and work, living out St. Benedict’s maxim of Ora et Labora. 

At 7 a.m. the monks pray Lauds, or morning prayer, and they attend daily Mass. After this, they begin their morning work. The Cistercian Constitutions call for each monastery to be self-sufficient, so each of the monks has a specific job that contributes to the monastery’s operations. One of the monks is the head baker, with several assisting him to make the delicious cookies, fruit cake and biscotti the monastery has become known for.  

Several monks create stained glass in the studio on the monastery grounds, while others distribute food to those in need at the food bank. A novice master guides the newest members of the community, and one of the monks welcomes participants and facilitates the popular weekend silent retreats. One plans the liturgy, another handles buying and public relations, and all the monks assist their brothers who are in the infirmary.  

Brother Callistus Crichlow stands outside the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers in the shade of the church. Daily the church welcomes around 20 to 30 visitors seeking a quiet place to pray. The property is also home to a retreat house which allows visitors to attend weekend silent retreats. Photo by Julianna Leopold

After their morning work, the monks eat their main meal together in silence as a selected text is read aloud. After a period of rest, the monks return to their tasks until Vespers at 5:20 p.m., followed by a last meal of the day, and then Compline at 7:30 p.m. After Compline, the monks observe a Grand Silence until four o’clock Vigils the following morning.  

Brother Mark Dohle, the prior of the monastery, explains the freedom that comes from following such a strict schedule.  

“We have a highly disciplined life, which can be very freeing. It takes a lot of discipline to keep it up day after day,” he said. “You can only do that if you have time to ponder, to meditate, and to pray.” 

A tradition of hospitality 

According to the Cistercian Constitutions, “every monastery is to continue the tradition of welcoming guests and the needy as Christ.” In keeping with this tradition of hospitality, the gates of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit are open to the public between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m., and all are welcome to find in the church a quiet place for prayer and reflection.  

As Father Augustine Myslinski, OCSO, the abbot of the monastery, explains, “People trickle in all day long, not in droves, but we get 20 to 30 people during the course of a day. They love to sit here and pray. Most of them have heavy burdens on their minds and hearts and they find a place where they can be in touch with God and find peace.” 

The monks have a strong connection to the community in which they live, and to the land itself, reflected in their vow of stability. When they make their final vows, each monk promises to stay in one specific monastery for the rest of their lives. Promising a life-long commitment to one monastery in one geographical location, the vow of stability makes it possible for the monks to become a mainstay of support in the community in which they live, pray and work.  

The Cistercians’ connection to the land is further reflected in their burial traditions. When a monk dies, he is buried in a simple shroud, with no casket.  

“That’s probably the most significant moment in our community life, when we bury one of our brothers and send him off to eternity. The beauty of the burial here is that it’s simple … there’s not a lot of tapestry around it. We send him directly into the ground, into the earth, but of course, always with the belief that he’s going to rise and be with all of our other brothers who have gone before us here at the monastery,” Father Augustine explains. 

The remains of each of the original monks who founded the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, along with all who have lived and died there over the past 82 years, rest in the monastery cemetery. The cemetery, which lies within the cloister, reflects the simplicity of the monks’ lives. The lawn is well cared for, and each grave is marked by an unassuming white cross, with the monk’s name, date of birth and date of death.  

Each cross is a visual testimony to a hidden life of solitude, prayer, work and charity that led to intimacy with God in this life, and union with him in the next.

About the Monastery 

To plan a visit to the monastery or to learn about the retreats offered there, visit https://trappist.net/. 

The monastery is located at 2625 Highway 212 SW in Conyers. 

I’m writing it in the excitement of the World Cup, not only its wonderful return to North America after 32 years, but also with the shared joy and anticipation of what might become of our national team. 

I’m writing in awe that a good portion of this World Cup is happening here in Atlanta, the city where I first learned to love the global game. 

Adults of my generation who grew up in Metro Atlanta during the 1960s and 1970s will know how much soccer meant to the suburban children of Generation X. Following the phenomenon of the Atlanta Chiefs—who beat the great Manchester City in 1968, and who later became our city’s first true champions as winners of the North American Soccer League—the YMCA of Metro Atlanta founded a youth soccer program that endures to this day as a fixture of weekend life across the archdiocese. 

I played in the YMCA system for more than 10 years, from ages 6 to 16, and I loved every bit of it. My career ended with a red card on a dirt packed sod field in East Cobb County, but I have followed the game ever since. 

Soccer is deeply ingrained in Atlanta now. Never mind the eight World Cup games we’re hosting this summer; we are home and headquarters of United States Soccer. Our MLS Atlanta United plays around the corner from my home. An international women’s tournament is coming here next year. A local pub, the Brewhouse Café, is honored as the best soccer bar in America. 

Still, many locals shrug and complain. “There’s no scoring;” “What’s stoppage time?;” “Why the water breaks?;” “A tie?” 

Folarin Balogun of the U.S. and Belgium’s Brandon Mechele compete in the FIFA World Cup at Seattle Stadium July 6. The United States men’s national soccer team was eliminated from the tournament following a 4-1 defeat in the teams’ round of 16 game. OSV News photo/Albert Gea, Reuters

Impatience and ignorance about soccer continue to aggravate me. I’ve spent much of my life as an apologist for the game, and I’ll try once more to defend the sport here. 

Soccer, to me and to the millions of others who love it, is a metaphor for life. How often do you score in real life? Seriously, how often do you get the promotion, hit the number, get the date you wanted? Yet how much do you long for success? You work for it, you maneuver for it, you even pray for it. Yet you can toil for years and not seem to get a break. You can work years and not get a raise. You can scheme and dream and come up with nothing. Then one day…it happens. You get the promotion, the raise, the date. 

Happiness in soccer is a lot like happiness and good fortune in life. Sometimes it comes from hard work, sometimes from luck, and sometimes from faith. 

In the case of the greatest USA soccer World Cup victory of all time, it came from a combination of them all. 

In 1950, the fledgling United States soccer team beat the great and heavily favored English side 1-0 in a match that shocked both England and the world. 

The young men who comprised the team that accomplished this feat were overwhelmingly immigrant, most from St. Louis, and most of them Catholic. Their community and their faith were as crucial to their victory as their athleticism and determination. They deserve to be celebrated, 76 years later, not only as ambassadors of the game but as proof that if soccer is truly the global game, then an American team can win. 

A story of the ‘quietest glory’ 

The story of this remarkable team of immigrants is beautifully told in Geoffrey Douglas’ book “The Game of Their Lives,” published in 1996 and made into a fine film in 2004 by the same creators who produced the films “Rudy” and “Hoosiers.” 

As the game’s generally accepted birthplace, England is so closely associated with soccer that many readers may be surprised to learn the 1950 tournament was the country’s World Cup debut. Yet England was also regarded as the world’s greatest national team. It was favored to win the tournament, while the United States was given only a 500-1 chance. 

In their first group match, England defeated Chile 2-0, while the United States—as expected—lost 3-1 to Spain. But on June 29, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the Americans achieved the unimaginable and beat England on the Haitian-born Jean Gaetjens’ goal in the 37th minute. While the nearly 13,000 fans in attendance were rapturous in their acclaim, the game had almost no consequence in the United States. Only one American journalist had been at the game, and he had paid his own way. Unfair and xenophobic criticism of the American team as a collection of illegal immigrants served to further stereotype soccer as a foreign working-class game. 

Ironically, soccer was probably more rooted in the American aristocracy and Ivy League schools than anywhere else, but there is no doubt that it was also an immigrant game most often played in inner city communities that were centered around Catholic parishes. 

The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis was closely associated with St. Ambrose Parish, and four of the American players, all of them Catholic, were chosen from that area. Frank Borghi was the American goalkeeper, unique in that he cleared the ball from the goal not by kicking but by throwing it in great heaves that often cleared the center line. Gino Pariani, Charlie Colombo, and Frank Wallace were the other three chosen from the Hill. From the southside of St. Louis, defenseman Harry Keough was chosen from the Carondelet neighborhood. 

Of the team, then, five Catholic men came from St. Louis; the rest were chosen from the Northeast. Of the 18 players on the team, almost half were Catholic. Of the starting 11, eight were American citizens and the other three were awaiting citizenship. 

Perhaps the surge in popularity of soccer and the recent American successes in international play by both the men’s and women’s national teams will result in greater appreciation for the American upset of 1950. While the game is remembered by the soccer community, and while it remains a source of great pride in St. Louis (Anthonino’s Taverna in St. Louis commissioned a mural in 2025 for the 75th anniversary of the game), the “Miracle on Grass” has not captured the country’s imagination like the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” 

Neither England nor the United States had further success in the 1950 World Cup. England lost to Spain 1-0 in their final group match, while the Americans were dispatched by Chile 5-2. The 1950 tournament was ultimately won by Uruguay.  

One of the great achievements of Douglas’ book is to portray the American players as ordinary people who lived ordinary lives, but as Douglas writes “those lives were wonderfully well lived.” They were, he writes, “a team of young men who once played a game brilliantly but obscurely—asking nothing of it but joy, and whatever wins might come along—then went on to live and die in exactly the same way. It is a story of lives of the quietest sort of glory.” 

Consider goalkeeper Frank Borghi, for example, who made a living as a funeral home hearse driver. Or Harry Keough, who worked 35 years for the U.S. Postal Service and retired on a $17,000 pension. Other players were teachers or restaurant workers, or worked odd jobs. The cast of characters is almost like a Little Golden Book, yet Douglas renders them all as memorable and unique individuals who came together for one great victory.   

Much like other great sports narratives such as Roger Kahn’s “The Boys of Summer” and William Gildea’s “When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore,” “The Game of Their Lives” depicts the players beyond the game. They have careers, they raise families, they experience birth and death and all the other rites of passage we associate with ordinary life. And they do it with gratitude and humility. 

A Belfast reporter described the American team as “A band of no-hopers drawn from many lands.” Pity that writer, for his words echo down the decades with wonderful irony. If 250 years of American history and the American Catholic experience have taught us anything, it is that our greatest strength comes from our unity in diversity, and with that gift springs a full and lasting hope in both our soccer and our shared destiny, no matter what might happen.

Bishop John N. Tran

I have often thought that I would have preferred Thomas Jefferson’s earlier phrasing—“We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.” And yet, whether expressed in that form or in the final adopted wording, the Declaration continues to shape the moral imagination of our nation. It has influenced our laws, our political institutions and our shared aspirations, even as we have struggled across generations to interpret and live out its meaning faithfully. 

For us as Catholics, these words find a deeper resonance because they echo a truth that predates the founding of the United States: the inviolable dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God. Human rights do not originate with governments or constitutions; they flow from the Creator. This conviction stands at the heart of our Catholic belief and social teaching and calls us to defend the sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death, to protect authentic freedom, to seek justice and to uphold the common good. 

In this light, the ideals of the Declaration are not only historical principles to be remembered but enduring challenges that continue to shape our moral responsibility. They invite us, as both citizens and disciples of Jesus Christ, to measure our public life and personal conduct against the vision they express—while also acknowledging honestly the distance that often remains between that vision and our lived reality. 

As I reflect on these words, I am grateful for the wisdom of those who drafted the Declaration—Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston—and the faith and courage of the 56 delegates who ultimately signed it. In pledging to one another “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor,” they accepted profound personal risk in witness to a belief that freedom carries both privilege and responsibility. 

My own reflection is also deeply personal. After the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, it was this Declaration’s conviction—that legitimate government exists to secure the rights of persons—which helped shape policies such as the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. Through that providence, I was able to come to this country, to be resettled and to live in safety. In the United States, I was given religious freedom, educational opportunity and the chance to rebuild life. For all of this, I remain profoundly grateful, and I strive each day to give back to a nation that has saved me and given me so much. 

As we mark this 250th anniversary, it is fitting that our celebration remains not only an act of remembrance but also becomes a moment of prayer and examination of conscience. Perhaps we may reflect on these questions: In what ways have I shown appreciation for the gifts afforded to me by the Declaration of Independence? How have I witnessed to the God-given dignity of every person? How have I defended the gift of life, protected authentic liberty, served the poor and vulnerable and worked for justice and peace? And how is the Holy Spirit inviting me to renewed fidelity to these ideals in our own time? 

May we inherit the wisdom and courage of those who gave us the Declaration of Independence, so that we may continue to serve the good of our nation.  

May God continue to bless the United States of America.

Father Curran was born Jan. 24, 1942, in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, to Agnes Loretta (Sebeskie) and Joseph Arthur Curran. The youngest of six children, he attended Catholic schools in Shamokin before entering the seminary at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, where he completed high school, college and theological studies. He also earned a master’s degree in liturgy from the University of Notre Dame.

Father Anthony Curran

Father Curran was the last priest to be ordained in Atlanta by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan. He was ordained on May 20, 1967, at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

After a year at St. Thomas More Church in Decatur, he served in the religion department at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta. In 1970, he was assigned to St. John the Evangelist Church, Hapeville. In 1971, he was assigned as a parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Father Curran’s first pastorate was at St. Anna Church, Monroe, where he ministered to 100 families at the church and its Winder and Madison missions. He then went to St. Mary’s Church in Rome from 1973 to 1976 to lead the parish community as its pastor.

Father Curran returned to the Pontifical College Josephinum, where he was a member of the formation team. He spent four years there and worked one-on-one with seminarians, helping them to discern what was happening in their prayer journeys. In a Georgia Bulletin story on his 25th jubilee Father Curran called returning to his alma mater a “rich but humbling experience.”

After coming back to Atlanta in 1980, he served at St. Thomas More Church and then as pastor of St. Joseph Church, Dalton.

Other parishes served by Father Curran include St. Jude the Apostle Church, Atlanta; Corpus Christi Church, Stone Mountain; and Queen of Angels Church, Thomson. From 1995 to 2003, Father Curran was pastor of St. Lawrence Church, Lawrenceville.

Following ministry at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Atlanta, and St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek, Father Curran retired for a time to Pennsylvania to care for family. He then returned to Roswell.

During his time at Queen of Angels, Father Curran was known as an ambassador for Catholics in the Thomson area. He served as president of the McDuffie County Ministerial Association to meet with other Christian ministers and to hold ecumenical services.

Father Curran preferred to cook at home and would invite others to join him to combat the loneliness that often affects priests. One of his traditions was to have a special meal on March 4, the feast day of St. Casimir, patron saint of Poland. Using his Polish mother’s recipes, he served up specialties including savory galumpkis. He invited fellow priests with Polish connections and other friends to the meals. He also regularly attended symphony concerts.

His friend, the late Father Joseph Fahy, CP, acknowledged Father Curran’s gift of friendships, encouragement of the ministry of others and his talent for the liturgy.

“Wherever he’s gone, he has tried to make the house of God an inviting place for prayer and worship,” said Father Fahy in a 1992 interview about his brother priest.

In addition to his parish ministry, Father Curran was also a chaplain for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home in Atlanta

He was preceded in death by his parents; his siblings Rose Marie Latsha of Shamokin, Pennsylvania; Kathleen Ellen Berran of Shamokin; James A. Curran of Milltown, New Jersey, and Gerald F. Curran of Pequea, Pennsylvania; and paternal aunts Kathleen Curran, Anna Curran and Helen Curran, all of Shamokin.

Father Curran is survived by his brother, Joseph P. Curran of New Haven, Connecticut, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He remained connected throughout his life to many of his maternal cousins.

A funeral Mass will be Tuesday, July 7, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Rd NE in Atlanta. Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM, will celebrate the Mass. The burial will immediately follow Mass at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs.

The Department of Justice has moved to become a co-plaintiff in the suit. A 2024 New York law, known as the Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and People Living with HIV, requires long-term care facilities to use preferred pronouns and assign rooms based on gender identity.

The sisters’ facility, Rosary Hill, serves cancer patients. The sisters also operate Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home in Atlanta.

The lawsuit was filed April 6 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York  A hearing date has not been set, and the state is expected to ask the court to dismiss the suit. In a June 18 statement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dillon said that states should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of gender ideology.

The Georgia bishops statement, provided on July 1, follows:

“We, the bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta, write with gratitude and solidarity to express our wholehearted support for the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who are currently engaged in legal proceedings in the State of New York to defend their right to conduct their sacred apostolate in fidelity to the Catholic faith. We do so not as a matter of political partisanship, but as shepherds of the Church bearing witness to the enduring truth of the sacred dignity of every human person as created by God.

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne-formally the Congregation of Saint Rose of Lima-were founded on December 8, 1900, by the Venerable Servant of God Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, a daughter of the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and a convert to the Catholic faith. Moved by compassion for the poorest of the dying, Mother Mary Alphonsa, OP, as she came to be known, gave her life to the care of those suffering from incurable cancer who had no means to pay for their treatment. In so doing, she embodied the Dominican charism in its most tender expression: to contemplate the truth of the Gospel and to share its fruits with those in greatest need. For more than 125 years, the Sisters have continued her work without accepting payment from any patient, relying entirely upon the generosity of benefactors and the providence of God.

The Sisters have been a beloved presence in the Archdiocese of Atlanta since 1939, when they came to our city and founded Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, caring for the dying poor with incomparable tenderness and charity. For nearly nine decades, they have served women and men of all backgrounds and beliefs, seeing in each patient the face of Christ. The home stands today as a witness to what the Church teaches and what the culture often forgets: that every human life, however diminished by illness or poverty, is of infinite worth.

It is in this context that we must speak concretely about the current litigation. The State of New York has threatened the Sisters with fines, the loss of their nursing home license, and even imprisonment unless they comply with a law requiring them to assign patient rooms, use pronouns, and conduct intimate personal care according to gender identity rather than biological sex. The State of New York has now demanded that they abandon the Church’s teaching that biological sex is God-given and immutable-a teaching rooted not in animus toward any person, but in a profound reverence for the human body as created by God. We are grateful that the Department of Justice of the United States has recognized the gravity of this threat to religious freedom and has joined the Sisters in their legal action.

This is, at its heart, a question of religious liberty. A government that compels religious women to choose between their faith and their license to serve the dying has transgressed the fundamental rights guaranteed by the First Amendment and has placed an intolerable burden upon the Church’s ministry to the most vulnerable. We stand with our Sisters in the conviction that the freedom to live and to serve in accordance with the teaching of the Church is not a privilege to be granted by the State, but a right that belongs to every person and every religious community.

We ask the faithful of our province to keep the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne in their prayers, to give thanks for their extraordinary witness to the Gospel of Life, and to stand in solidarity with them as they continue-as they have for well over a century-to see the face of Christ in the dying poor and to honor the sacred dignity of every human person.”

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv.

Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM; Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III;  Bishop John Nhan Tran, auxiliary bishops

A 2024 New York law, known as the Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and People Living with HIV, requires long-term care facilities to use preferred pronouns and assign rooms based on gender identity.

The sisters’ facility, Rosary Hill, serves cancer patients. The sisters also operate Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, Atlanta.

The lawsuit was filed April 6 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains by the Idaho-based law firm of First & Fourteenth. Named as defendants are New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and four administrators in the New York State Department of Health.

A hearing date has not been set, and the state is expected to ask the court to dismiss the suit.

In a June 18 statement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dillon said, “States should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology.”

The intervention is being handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, headed by Dillon.

The Justice Department focus “will be on New York’s violation of the (14th Amendment’s) Equal Protection Clause (of religious groups) by discriminating against religion and discriminating between religions,” L. Martin Nussbaum, a senior partner in First & Fourteen, told OSV News. “By devoting its resources to help correct New York’s burden on the sisters’ religious exercise, the United States is saying that this case is one (included under federal law) of ‘general public importance.'”

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate “in accordance” with the U.S. Catholic bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” and “the teachings of the Catholic Church,” the lawsuit states. “They cannot comply with the mandate without violating these sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The state law mandates that nursing homes use a resident’s chosen name/pronouns and honor rooming requests based on gender identity. It took effect May 28, 2024.

“‘Transgender medicine’ can change surface appearance but never sex. And Scripture forbids lying to another about reality,” the lawsuit says. “Requiring a person to identify another by a sex other than his or her God-gifted sex would therefore require such a person to act against central, unchangeable and architectural teachings of the Catholic faith. It would contradict the teachings of the Bible concerning God’s creative sovereignty, contradict reason and truth, and betray our sacred obligation not to knowingly harm other persons, particularly the most vulnerable.”

Additionally, it said, “the implications are so much greater than whether to utter the words ‘he’ or ‘she.’ Indeed, to demand that a Catholic deny another’s sex is to require him or her to affirm another religious worldview.”

Guidance from the state Department of Health just before the law took effect told nursing homes they were required to “ensure that at least once every two years, each facility staff member who works directly with residents receives training on cultural competency focusing on residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and/or residents living with HIV.”

The lawsuit notes that the mandate “discriminates between religious groups by exempting the Church of Christ, Scientist and its affiliates while denying any exemption to Catholic organizations.” It says that “If the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and Rosary Hill Home do not comply, they face fines, injunctions, potential loss of licensing, and imprisonment.”

Doug Wilson, CEO of the Catholic Benefits Association, said, in a June 22 statement, “We’re glad to have the DOJ support our arguments. If religious freedom does not protect the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who does it protect?

“These are real people serving dying patients. They accept no government or insurance funds. Shouldn’t they be allowed to conduct their ministry consistent with the Catholic values that inspired them to undertake this holy work in the first place?”

Mother Marie Edward Deutsch, the Hawthorne Dominicans’ superior general, said in a statement the order was “grateful the Department of Justice sees the injustice in this matter. This gives us hope that the country’s founding principles are still strong after 250 years.”

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (1851-1926), a daughter of author Nathaniel Hawthorne, founded the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, in 1900. She took the name Mother Mary Alphonsa. The order’s apostolate is the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer.

Mother Mary Alphonsa is a candidate for sainthood, and on March 19, 2024, the Vatican issued a decree declaring her “Venerable.”

On June 29, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, two men whose lives remind us that God does not wait until we are perfect before calling us. Peter was a fisherman, impulsive and very human. Paul was once a persecutor of Christians. Yet both were transformed by the grace of Christ and became great witnesses to the Gospel. That gives me great hope.

In my own journey of faith and formation, I have often reflected on how God calls ordinary people, with all their weaknesses, fears and limitations, into something deeper. This became especially meaningful to me during a discussion in our Prayer Forms class in the diaconate formation program. We reflected on the words Jesus spoke to Simon Peter in Luke’s Gospel: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

There is great meaning in that little line. In Latin, the phrase is often expressed as Duc in Altum—cast into the deep. These words are not simply about fishing. They are about trust. They are about obedience. They are about leaving the safety of the shoreline and allowing Christ to lead us into places we may not have chosen for ourselves.

Peter knew the water. He knew fishing. He and the others had worked all night and caught nothing. They were tired, discouraged and probably ready to be done. Yet when Jesus asked him to try again, Peter answered, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

That response has stayed with me: “At your command.”

So much of the Christian life begins there. Not because we understand everything. Not because the timing is convenient. Not because we feel fully prepared. But because Christ has spoken, and we are invited to trust him.

For many of us, the “deep water” may not be dramatic. It may be the quiet place in our heart where God is asking for more trust. It may be a difficult conversation we have been avoiding. It may be the need to forgive someone who has hurt us. It may be returning to prayer after a season of discouragement. It may be coming back to Mass, going to confession, serving someone in need, or inviting someone we love to rediscover the faith.

Sometimes the deep water is simply the place where we stop relying only on ourselves and begin to say, “Lord, if you say so, I will try again.”

Peter’s reaction to the miraculous catch is also very moving. When he realizes what has happened, he falls to his knees and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Many of us can understand that feeling. We know our sins. We know our failures. We know the ways we fall short. At times, we may wonder whether we are worthy to pray, to serve, or to be used by God.

But Jesus does not move away from Peter. He does not shame him. He does not say, “Come back when you are stronger.” Instead, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” Then he gives Peter a mission: “From now on you will be catching men.”

This is one of the most beautiful truths of the Gospel. God’s mercy is greater than our unworthiness. His call is greater than our fear. His grace can work even through our weakness.

Saints Peter and Paul both knew this. Peter denied the Lord and was restored by love. Paul persecuted the Church and was transformed into a tireless apostle. Their lives show us that holiness is not the absence of weakness. Holiness begins when we allow Christ to take our weakness and lead us deeper into his mercy and mission.

That is why the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul is such a fitting time to hear again the invitation of Christ: cast into the deep.

Perhaps this is what the Church needs from each of us today: a willingness to go deeper—deeper in prayer, deeper in Scripture, deeper in the Eucharist, deeper in mercy and deeper in mission. Evangelization is not only something that happens from a pulpit or in a formal program. It happens in families, parishes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and quiet conversations. It happens when one person has the courage to witness to Christ with humility and love.

To cast into the deep is to be “all in” for the mission of Christ. It is to stop standing safely on the shore and to allow the Lord to use our lives for the building up of his Kingdom. It is not always easy. The waters may be unfamiliar. We may feel tired, inadequate or afraid. But the Gospel reminds us that we do not go alone.

The same Christ who stepped into Peter’s boat is with the Church today. He is with families carrying heavy burdens. He is with young people searching for meaning. He is with those grieving a loss. He is with the elderly who feel forgotten. He is with those who have drifted from the Church and wonder whether there is a way back. He is with every person who quietly asks, “Lord, where are you leading me?”

On this Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, perhaps the invitation for each of us is simple: listen again to the voice of Christ. Trust him beyond the shoreline. Lower the nets one more time.

May we have the faith of Peter to say, “At your command,” and the courage of Paul to proclaim Christ wherever we are sent.

And may we never forget the words Jesus speaks to every disciple who is afraid to go deeper: “Do not be afraid.”

Speaking to pilgrims gathered outside St. Peter’s Square June 28 after praying the Angelus prayer, the pope expressed his solidarity with the people of Venezuela and prayed for the dead and wounded.

“Praying to the Lord for the eternal rest of the deceased, I renew my spiritual solidarity with their families, the injured, and all who have been shaken by this tragedy,” he said. “I also wish to express my gratitude and encouragement to those generously working on search and rescue efforts and providing assistance.”

The twin earthquakes, which struck the northern Venezuelan state of La Guaira in the evening June 24, measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and were the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century.

According to The Associated Press, Venezuelan government officials reported June 28 that the death toll reached 1,450 and thousands more were injured. Rescuers from around the world have arrived in the country to assist in rescue efforts.

The United Nations said more than 2,200 rescuers and 140 search dogs from 27 countries were working to locate trapped survivors. In a statement published June 25, Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said the coming days would “require a massive collective effort to support the Government-led response and help communities.”

“Even before these earthquakes, nearly 8 million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support. This disaster risks deepening existing vulnerabilities,” Fletcher said.

Hours after the back-to-back earthquakes struck the country, Pope Leo sent an initial emergency donation of 100,000 euros (US$115,000) through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, Vatican News reported.

The pope and the College of Cardinals also remembered the people of Venezuela during the two-day consistory at the Vatican. In his concluding address June 27, the pope expressed his closeness and that of the cardinals, and assured “prayers for the victims, their families, and all those suffering the consequences of this tragedy.”

“We also entrust to the Lord all those engaged in relief efforts and ask that the international community continue to show solidarity with that beloved nation,” he said.

Bishops’ conferences also mobilized relief efforts across Latin America, organizing fundraisers and solidarity campaigns to assist the people of Venezuela.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference and Caritas Peru announced June 27 the launch of the “Solidarity with Venezuela” campaign, urging the faithful to make donations “for the purchase of essential food items, hygiene products, medicines, and other vital supplies for the affected families.”

“Every contribution, no matter the amount, represents a concrete gesture of fraternity and hope for our Venezuelan brothers and sisters,” Caritas said. “In times of sorrow, solidarity unites people and demonstrates that no one is alone when charity becomes action.”

In Colombia, the bishops said they were also coordinating donations with its local Caritas and called on the “Catholic faithful, ecclesial communities, and all people of good will to demonstrate their solidarity through a generous, organized, and timely response that helps to address the needs of those who have been affected by this emergency.”

Expressing its “closeness and solidarity” with the people of Venezuela, the Ecuadorian bishops’ conference announced a collection July 5 in parishes across the country.

“We ask that this collection be encouraged during liturgical celebrations, in educational spaces, in parish communities, and in various pastoral works, encouraging the faithful and people of good will to collaborate generously, according to their means,” the bishops said in a statement published June 25.

“Each contribution will be a concrete sign of closeness to those who today need to feel accompanied and supported,” the statement read.

The monthlong celebration is called “We the People: One Faith, Many Cultures, One Parish Family.” 

The observance begins July 4-5 with a patriotic flag display in the church and concludes in August with an “International Night and Dinner.”  

The parish is partnering with the Gwinnett Historical Society to mark the semiquincentennial with a historical reenactment. 

Among the events planned is a “Holy Hours for America” on Sunday, July 12, in the parish adoration chapel. Organizers hope parishioners will help reach 250 hours of eucharistic adoration in a single day. Participants are asked to sign up in advance.  

The parish also will honor military veterans on July 19 and 26. Parishioners are invited to submit the names of living or deceased veteran family members through the parish’s “We The People” page on its website for the commemorative display. On July 19, parishioners will be invited to write appreciation cards for active-duty military members. 

A patriotic night of music and a presentation by the Gwinnett Historical Society will be held Wednesday, July 29, at 7 p.m. in the church. Jason West, the historical society president, will portray Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence, by sharing stories, perspectives, and leadership lessons from the Revolutionary era. 

Additional details and registration information are available through the parish at https://www.saintlaw.org/we-the-people. The church is located at 319 Grayson Hwy, Lawrenceville.