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“The school effort rises and falls with the priest. If he’s engaged, it thrives. If he’s indifferent, the best efforts get undermined.”
| Father Peter M.J. Stravinskas, executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation, who led a priests seminar Aug. 18 and 19 in Huntington, N.Y., that focused on Catholic education and offered advice on how priests can be valuable witnesses to the faith by their presence in the schools. (Catholic News Service)
In the news
Inspired by pope’s words
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine environmentalists and advocates for farmers, fishers and the poor praised the recently released encyclical “Laudato Si’ ” as “affirmation” for their causes and said that, using it as a guide, they were ready to get to work.
They kicked off a series of discussions in Manila Aug. 19 with indigenous peoples and others who are directly affected by climate change and the energy sector’s impact on the environment. Organizers said this was the first time Philippine civil society groups were coming together to glean practical applications from the encyclical on caring for the earth by meeting the needs of the poor.
Raul Socrates Banzuela, secretary-general of Pakisama, a Philippine farming and fishing advocacy group that represents 33,000 members, said the pope’s encyclical “affirms a lot of what we are doing.” He said the organization for decades has been fighting for land rights for its members who are on the lowest rungs of the country’s economic ladder. (CNS)
Saints under 40
Faith-filled, fearless
Martyrdom did not frighten Jean-Theophane Venard; on the contrary, he embraced the idea as a boy and later took up missionary work that would thrust him into a dangerous and ultimately lethal situation.
Born in 1829 in Poitiers, France, Theophane joined the Society of Foreign Missions after completing his seminary education. He was sent to Vietnam, which in the mid-19th century was rife with Christian persecution, and worked with converts in secret until he was outed in 1859.
Theophane did not shy from his death sentence and wrote these words to his father while imprisoned: “One light saber blow will separate my head from my body, like a spring flower that the master of the garden picks for his pleasure.” He was beheaded in 1861. (www.loyolapress.com)
