QUOTABLE
“Let us worship God, not ourselves; let us worship God and not the false idols that seduce by the allure of prestige and power, with the fascination of fake news; let us love God and not bow down before passing things and evil thoughts, seductive yet hollow and empty.”
— Pope Francis, speaking Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany
MINNESOTA
NET Ministries appoints veteran missionary as next president to succeed founder
After serving NET Ministries in West St. Paul for 25 years, David Rinaldi has been named the organization’s new president, succeeding Mark Berchem, who founded the Catholic youth ministry in 1981 and has served as its president since then. Berchem will help with the transition and serve as a strategic adviser. Most recently, Rinaldi has served as NET’s vice president of mission, leading the training of 1,500 missionaries over the last 10 years. He also is a national Catholic speaker who has given more than 1,400 presentations and holds a master’s degree in theology.
ARKANSAS
Sheriffs arrest man after altar destroyed at Subiaco Abbey
A man was arrested Jan. 5 after he destroyed the marble top of the altar at St. Benedict Church at Subiaco Abbey, stealing two small brass reliquaries embedded in the altar. Abbot Elijah Owens, OSB, said a reliquary with relics of Sts. Boniface, Tiberius and Benedict was found in the suspect’s truck, along with a hammer and sledgehammer “with marble dust still on them.” The other reliquary with relics of Sts. Tiberius, Marcellus and Justina has not been found. Logan County Sheriff’s Office said Jerrid Farnam, 31, from the Subiaco area, was expected to be charged with theft, first-degree criminal mischief, residential burglary, breaking or entering and public intoxication. He was being held at the county detention center.
YEMEN
U.S. extends TPS for people fleeing ‘world’s worst humanitarian crisis’
Catholic immigration advocates are hailing the extension of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to war-torn Yemen, where more than 23 million face what the United Nations has called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” In a Jan. 3 Federal Register notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension and redesignation of Yemen effective March 4 through Sept. 3, 2024. Currently, close to 6 million Yemenis have been displaced, with more than 23.4 million in what the U.N. calls “dire need” of humanitarian assistance, with hunger, disease, famine and direct attacks on civilians rampant.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2020, the Archdiocese of Detroit released 52 Sundays, a tool to help families reclaim Sunday as a day set apart for God. The resource included a guidebook that offered tips for families to celebrate each Sunday of the liturgical year with the week’s Gospel reaching, a family fun activity, prayers, recipes and an introduction to a new saint. This year, due to growing interest in the tool, including from outside southeast Michigan, the archdiocese has decided to release 52 Sundays 2023 exclusively online — both in English and Spanish — and free of cost. In addition, a new podcast — called “Beyond Sunday” — accompanies this year’s guide to help families make the most of the resource. Visit https://www.52sundays.com.
Top photo: David Rinaldi addresses those gathered at a Pentecost vigil Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Minnesota June 4, 2022, as part of the three-day Archdiocesan Synod Assembly. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, Catholic Spirit)