As many of you may know, Haiti has been experiencing a political crisis recently as public demonstrations have challenged the government to account for missing billions for infrastructure and aid that have gone missing. In the middle of this terrible situation, Fr. Fanel Florestal sends greetings: Dear Friends in Norwich: First, let...

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As we enter into this Lenten season of penance and self-denial, we're reminded that the God we follow is no stranger to these things. In this Sunday's Gospel, we see the tempta-tions of Jesus which have parallels throughout Scripture and in our own lives. The apostle John warns against temptations to sensual lust, enticement of th...

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This Sunday, Jesus continues his challenging Sermon on the Mount. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you ? Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back." Words like these are challeng-ing! Many of us have gr...

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  My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I shared with you in January what the Diocese of Norwich is doing to address the scourge of sexual abuse of minors by clergy and our commitment to restore trust and faith and ensure a safe environment in our churches, schools, and other institutions.  The Diocese of Norwich is comm...

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Do you have enough? Many of us come from a na-tion of material abundance. We have all the things we could possibly need not only to survive, but to thrive - food, shelter, mental ability, income, access to medical care. Most people in human history lived with far less than we. So why are we so dissatisfied? Some Christians can be drawn to...

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Today's Gospel is one of tension and contradiction. We enter the scene at the local synagogue. It is near the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, and he has returned home to Nazareth for a short while. There, in the midst of the men who watched him grow up and who played with him as a boy in the dusty streets, Je-sus proclaims t...

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"He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up." Did you grow up in a small town? Whenever you see sto-ries of tight-knit communities, a common refrain is that everybody knows everybody and that's very diffi-cult to change. If you leave and return, people expect you to be and act a certain way, and it's strange for them if ...

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My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Over the past several months trust in the leadership of the Catholic Church and a lack of transparency has been called into question. For many, trust has been shattered in the wake of the revelations of the failures of bishops and Church officials to protect children and adults from sexual miscon...

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“To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” (1 CORINTHIANS 12:7) St. Paul tells us that God has blessed each of us for a reason. How has God blessed you? Are you using your gifts according to God’s plan? How are you helping to build God’s kingdom here on earth? Remember tha...

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My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,  January 22, 2019 marks the forty-sixth anniversary of the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision. This year, as has become a tradition, hundreds of thousands of the faithful will gather in Washington, DC for the an-nual March for Life. This year's march is on January 18 and the theme is: &q...

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