Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Archbishop William E. Lori, chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, respectively, commended the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304) on July 13 in a 245-182 bipartisan vote.

Judith Anne Menard Ouellette, mother of Father John Ouellette pastor at St. Theresa in Premont, Immaculate Conception in Concepcion and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Ramirez, passed away in Victoria Friday, July 8. She was born Nov. 24, 1940 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to the late Merle and Octavia Evelyn Dunn Menard. She was a homemaker and a member of Holy Family Catholic Church.

Members of the St. Joan of Arc Sodality and students from the upcoming confirmation class from St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Banquete spent a recent summer morning cleaning up the local cemetery as part of their Jubilee Year of Mercy activity.

The youth ministry program from Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos, Madre de la Iglesia sponsored a "sports night" at the church so youth and families can participate in volleyball and soccer games. This is done annually during the summer so youth have something to look forward to when they are out of school.

As part of its commitment to ensuring the safest blood supply possible, the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) has begun testing blood donations for the Zika virus. STBTC is one of only a handful of blood centers in the nation currently testing for Zika.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Archbishop William E. Lori are calling for immediate action by the U.S. House of Representatives to enact the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 and are appealing to faithful Catholics to contact their representatives in Washington and urge them to support this legislation, which will come up for a vote on Wednesday, July 13.

The St. Paul School of Catechesis Summer Institute, operated by the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, is underway at various locations during the week of July 11-16. The summer institute provides ministry formation courses for Catholic schoolteachers of religion, parish catechetical leaders, parish catechists, youth ministers and others who serve in parish and school ministries.

On July 8, the Sacred Heart Church Youth Group from Mathis helped organize the pantry and stock room at the Mother Teresa Shelter as part of their Jubilee Year of Mercy activities. Seminarian Carlos De La Rosa organized the event and Sister Rose Paul Madassery, SABS gave the youth a tour of the facility.

"A priest’s life is boring and lonely.” “All he does is pray all day and say Mass on Sundays.” “He’s a priest because he couldn’t make it in the ‘real world.’” “Sisters don’t have social lives.” “All they do is teach or pray.” “They’re crotchety disciplinarians.” “They don’t have any fun.” “Religious men are uneducated.” “Their lives have no adventure.” “All they do is work.” “They have to give up everything good.” “They hide from the world.”

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Archbishop William E. Lori–as chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committees on Pro-Life Activities and Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, respectively–called for immediate action by the U.S. House of Representatives to enact the Conscience Protection Act of 2016.

Bishop Michael Mulvey recently visited St. Thomas More Parish as part of his regular pastoral visits to parishes across the diocese. St. Thomas More began as a collegiate parish serving Del Mar College, located across from the church on Baldwin Blvd. A few years after that designation, it was elevated to a full parish. Pastor of St. Thomas More, Father Thomasz Kozub, welcomed Bishop Mulvey with open arms, noting during Mass what an honor it was to have the special visit.

Sister Mary Carmen Sandoval, SOLT celebrates her 50th anniversary this year as a consecrated religious sister in the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. As one of the first SOLT sisters, she has seen her association grow from just a handful of priests, brothers, sisters and lay faithful into a society of diocesan rite with hundreds of members and thousands of associates that reaches out to 12 countries throughout the world.

Catholic Charities has opened a satellite office to assist those in need in the Flour Bluff area of Corpus Christi with a food pantry, clothing, diapers and referrals. The new office also connects clients to additional Catholic Charities services, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), family and individual counseling, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), immigration/refugee services and emergency aid.

For the good of the people of God in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Bishop Michael Mulvey has appointed Father John Tran Nguyen, OFM parochial administrator of St. Peter Parish in Fulton, effective July 1. Bishop Mulvey also announced that newly ordained Deacon Eric Chapa would serve at St. Pius X Parish in Corpus Christi, beginning on July 1.

She has been given the title of the martyr of purity and patron of youth, young women and those who are victims of rape. However, Maria Goretti’s holiness is so much more than her titles: she is a model of unrelenting forgiveness. As she lay dying, she said, “I for the love of Jesus forgive my murderer and I want him to be with me in paradise. May God forgive him, because I have already forgiven him.” Her death came after some 20 painful hours. In fact, Maria’s 14 stab wounds were so extensive her doctors were surprised that she had survived the attack.

Raul Ramon, principal at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy in Corpus Christi, said he sees the value of a Catholic education in his students everyday.

Registration is underway now through July 15 for the King of the Court 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament coordinated by the Diocese of Corpus Christi Office of Youth Ministry for youth in grades 6-12. The tournament will be held at the St. John Paul II High School gym on Saturday, July 23, from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

We continue our reflection on faithful citizenship by turning this month to an important bedrock principle of Catholic social teaching that guides our social and political interaction—that of solidarity. The principle of solidarity is the notion that because we all share in the same human nature created in the image and likeness of God, we all share a common humanity and thus have a responsibility for one another. The entire human society, as individuals and all together, has the duty to assist those who are in need, beginning first with those who are closest to us.