Bulletin for Feb. 24

Dear friends in Christ,

We encounter some strong language from Jesus in today’s Gospel: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” And then a little later: “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.” Ouch! That hits a little too close to home for me, and maybe you, too. But it is good to get such a wake-up call from the Lord. We need to take a sober look at how we treat one another and respond always in a spirit of love and charity.

In Rome today, Cardinal DiNardo and representative bishops throughout the world are concluding a four-day summit on the Protection of Minors in the Church. We’ll know more about their discussion and resolutions in the days to come, but it is my hope that these meetings, which Pope Francis called for and presided over, will lead to a substantial statement of purpose of amendment in the Church, and a resolve to go forward in bringing that amendment to life in the weeks and months to come. The meeting this past week is not a magic wand that will take away this scourge overnight, but it is my sincere hope and belief that it will lead to further accountability and transparency in the Church.

For now I invite you to continue to pray for those who have suffered such abuse at the hands of Church leaders over the years, while also praying for all bishops in the world that they may be united in purposefulness in addressing these issues head-on in a timely manner. I know Cardinal DiNardo and other bishops in the U.S. are eager to put new measures in place that will aid in providing such accountability. Our prayers and our voices can aid in seeing that come to fruition.

In a related development, as I discussed at all Masses three weeks ago, a list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors while serving in the the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was released on Jan. 31. That information is on our parish website and linked to further information on the Archdiocesan website. As stated at the time of the release, the list is to be updated when and if additional information is received. In the name of full transparency, I am letting you know that I have since learned that a priest formerly assigned to CtR was included on a list in another diocese. Fr. Howard Melzer, SCJ, was a priest of the Sacred Heart and was a parochial vicar at CtR in 1998-2001. The Diocese of San Bernardino in California has included his name on its list of credibly accused priests for an incident that reportedly took place in California in the 1970s. The information was reported to his superiors in the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, and in 2002, at the time of the Dallas Charter requiring such incidents to be reported to authorities, it was reported to the local police of San Bernardino. Fr. Melzer died in 2009.

That is the extent of the information I have on Fr. Melzer’s case. The information was not included on the list from Galveston-Houston because there was no file or report on him here locally at the time of publication. Only those cases involving incidents that occurred in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston were included on the initial list of names as those are the only ones where information could be vetted by the independent review board. If anyone has information regarding Fr. Melzer (or any other clergy member) during his time in Houston, I urge you to report it first to the local authorities, and secondarily to the Victims Assistance Coordinator of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Diane Vines, at 713-654-5799. I am available to meet with anyone who has such concerns as well. I will continue to keep you updated when and if additional information is received. I ask you to join with me in praying for all victims of abuse by members of the clergy wherever or whenever it might have occurred. May God bring them comfort and healing.

Next, I want to give you a “heads-up” on the forthcoming 2019 Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) which will begin next weekend in every parish throughout the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, including us here at Christ the Redeemer. You will recall that the DSF is the annual collection to fund those ministries and services offered in the name of the Archdiocese that no one single parish could ever possibly fund on its own. The DSF theme this year is “Do Not Neglect to Share What You Have,” echoing the words from Hebrews 13:16 that reminds us to “Keep doing the good works and sharing your resources, for these are the kinds of sacrifices that please God.” Your gift to the DSF enables us to reach people in need in our Archdiocese through more than 60 important programs and ministries.

Beginning this week, all registered parishioners will receive a letter from Cardinal DiNardo along with a personalized pledge card inviting them to participate in this year’s DSF drive. Please complete the enclosed pledge card and bring it with you to Mass or return it by mail in the envelope provided. If you prefer, you may go online at www.archgh.org/dsf to make your pledge. That’s what I do and I find it quick, safe and secure. We’ll also have pledge cards available in the pews.

Every parish has a goal, set by the Cardinal, to meet as part of DSF. Our goal this year at CtR is $305,000, the same as it was this past year. I am happy to say we have made our goal each of the last 14 years and we definitely want to keep the streak alive. As an incentive, we receive a rebate of 50 percent of any overage of our goal, with the other half going to support low-income parishes in the inner city. Last year, we received a rebate of roughly $8,500 for projects here in the parish.

I’m often asked how much should a family give to DSF. That’s ultimately up to you to decide, and I would ask you to please don’t forget to make a pledge to our own Capital Campaign that is continuing, but maybe I could suggest that you consider giving $1 a day (a $365 yearly pledge) to support DSF. That’s about $91 every three months. Remember that you don’t have to pay it all at once. You can spread it out through the year, and there are options for credit card payments or bank drafts. But please do make a pledge of any size. If every family would give just a dollar a day we would make our goal easily.

I know these are tight economic times for all of us, but generosity has always been a hallmark of the people of this parish. Let us prayerfully discern God’s call so that we too might join with the faithful throughout the Archdiocese to follow the Lord in this great work. I thank you in advance for your continued support of this wonderful initiative. It is truly one of the real blessings of our great Archdiocese to be able to help so many people in so many ways. Next week I’ll share with you some of the many ministries that are supported through your gifts.

Peace,
Fr. Sean