Monday Message, April 24, 2023

Patrick Donovan

KNOW

From our friends in Safe Environments, please be mindful of our diocesan policies regarding visiting clergy. Some parishes hosts priests, men and women religious, or deacons for retreats, evenings of prayer, or parish missions.

If that is the case, you must be aware of the Visiting Priest Policy Memo that was forwarded to all priests across the Diocese on 4/17/2023.

We must ensure safeguarding protocols are in place prior to the person’s visit to the Diocese. Those visiting from abroad must complete an international background check which can take up to three to four weeks to complete.

Below is the general documentation required by Safe Environment Office for visiting clergy:

- Letter of Suitability
- 2020 Executive Summary Form (Code of Conduct Policy Receipt)
- MYB background check authorization form (please include full residential address and any other addresses Priest has resided in the past 5 years)
- International Background Check Consent Form (if international or having resided outside of the US in the past 5 years)
- Copy of Passport (if international or having resided outside of the US in the past 5 years)

Related documents can be found here.

The Family Bible Challenge (season 16) kicks off in 20 days. Please consider sending this flyer to your students and parents to build participation. More than a dozen other dioceses take part in this six-week challenge, which includes a reflection on Sunday and a quiz on Thursday. For more information, visit the FBC homepage.

REFLECT

Washington D.C., Apr 20, 2023 / 09:30 am / Catholic News Agency

The Archdiocese of Boston is responding to the Satanic Temple’s “SatanCon” event in Boston with scheduled eucharistic adoration, Catholic devotions, and “intense prayer.”

“At the direction of the cardinal [Sean O’Malley], we are approaching it through a response balanced and focused on prayer,” archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon told CNA April 17.

“SatanCon,” as the Satanic Temple calls the event, is sold out and is being held from Friday to Sunday, April 28–30, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place to celebrate the organization’s history and values.

The Satanic Temple, which, according to its website, denies the existence of God and Satan, is a political activist group known for protesting religious symbolism in public spaces and mocking Christianity by offering “unbaptism” and hosting “black masses.”

The group seeks to “embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions,” its website says.

Nevertheless, the group’s satanic imagery and use of the word “satan” to attract people to its cause has prompted the Archdiocese of Boston’s prayerful response.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley has asked the faithful to redouble their prayers to St. Michael.

Let us join our brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese of Boston in prayer:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

LAUGH