Postcard from Rome

Hopefully, “a breather” has begun for most of us.

For us “Church people,” summer also offers a welcome respite from the hectic schedules that monopolize our time the rest of the year. With schools closed for summer vacation, board meetings satisfied, Confirmations, Ordinations and anniversaries celebrated, the weeks leading up to Labor Day can find us in lower gear, recharging for the fall.

That has not, as yet, been the case for me, as the latter days of June have been packed: a week of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meetings in Texas, three days of meetings regarding the North American College (with a reunion squeezed in between) and the Pallium celebrations in Rome surrounding the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), all of which have required considerable travel but also a number of opportunities to relax while carrying out initiatives related to our Archdiocese.

Most of July will find me home and in the office, to be followed by a meeting and talk in the Midwest on behalf of our USCCB and then the International gathering of the Knights of Columbus (in my opinion, the irreplaceable “backbone” of any local church which is blessed to have them) in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hopefully, I will take the last three weeks for vacation with longtime priest friends and some time with family.

Always reachable, daily in contact with a most dedicated administrative office staff. I am ever grateful for the encouraging support of so many of you, our readers.

And, if I may, a request to you, good readers, to suggest whatever ideas, initiatives you might have for these columns and for our Archdiocese when, post-Labor Day, we resume “full speed ahead!”

In the meantime, I hope you will have an opportunity to enjoy some time for relaxation with family and friends. A good and safe summer to all, and we will be in touch here “intermittently.”

Catholic Review

The Catholic Review is the official publication of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.