Author: Charles Dittmeier

Fratelli Tutti: Our Human Family

For a healthy relationship between love of one’s native land and a sound sense of belonging to our larger human family, it is helpful to keep in mind that global society is not the sum total of different countries, but rather the communion that exists among them. The mutual sense of belonging is prior to the emergence of individual groups. Each particular group becomes part of the fabric of universal communion and there discovers its own beauty. All individuals, whatever their origin, know that they are part of the greater human family, without which they will not be able to understand themselves fully.

Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti

Diocesan convocation

Every year in the fall, the priests of the Archdiocese of Louisville have a one-day convocation, mainly to bring the priests together because they are so spread out, but also to address a topic of interest. Today we gathered and Fr. Patrick McDevitt, the president of the St. Luke Institute, spoke about ministry in an age of storms in society, the church, and our personal lives.
It was a low-intensity, non-threatening gathering that allowed us to discuss with each other about ministry in the local church and the national church.

Room in the Inn

This morning I was bicycling from Nazareth Home to a mass at St. William Church. It was in the low 40ºs and when I passed the old chancery office, there were 20-25 men and women, a couple in wheelchairs, sitting on the curb wrapped in whatever clothes and blankets they have. They had spent the night outside on the street because there were no shelters spaces open. They had to be really cold and hungry and it made me think what the church, what I should be doing to help them.

Then when I saw the bulletin of St. Frances of Rome church, where I ended up attending mass, I was pleased to see a notice about RITI, Room In The Inn, a program started in Nashville by a Catholic priest who let street people sleep in his church building on really cold nights. The program has now spread to other cities, including Bardstown, Lexington, and Bowling Green in Kentucky. St. Frances of Rome is going to meet this week to discuss expanding a trial program started in January this year in Louisville. Go, St. Frances of Rome!

Fratelli Tutti: Migration & Social Media

43. Digital campaigns of hatred and destruction, for their part, are not – as some would have us believe – a positive form of mutual support, but simply an association of individuals united against a perceived common enemy. “Digital media can also expose people to the risk of addiction, isolation and a gradual loss of contact with concrete reality, blocking the development of authentic interpersonal relationships”. [46] They lack the physical gestures, facial expressions, moments of silence, body language and even the smells, the trembling of hands, the blushes and perspiration that speak to us and are a part of human communication. Digital relationships, which do not demand the slow and gradual cultivation of friendships, stable interaction or the building of a consensus that matures over time, have the appearance of sociability. Yet they do not really build community; instead, they tend to disguise and expand the very individualism that finds expression in xenophobia and in contempt for the vulnerable. Digital connectivity is not enough to build bridges. It is not capable of uniting humanity.

Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti, §43

Mass of the Air for the Deaf

Almost fifty years ago, Mass of the Air began broadcasting on Louisville television to allow home-bound people to have at least limited access to Sunday mass. Many volunteers have helped to provide this service, including sign language interpreters and prompters. Above, Nancy Reynolds (L) is signing American Sign Language and Peg Darcy is prompting her to make sure the communications are clear and understandable. Both Nancy and Peg have been part of the Catholic deaf community for more than 40 years, serving our deaf brothers and sisters in many ways.

Angela Merici and Holy Cross High Schools

Yesterday the 1978 graduating class of Angela Merici High School gathered at Holy Cross High School to dedicate a room the class had furnished. Holy Cross is the result of a merger between Angela Merici and Bishop David High School. I was invited and it was a great evening with the women who were students when I was at Angela Merici during the 1970s and 1980s. Those were really great years for me.

Buying T-shirts and sweatshirts from their old alma mater.
Reuniting with old friends.