Order of Malta Moment
August 24, 2012
Archbishop William Lori
2012 Defense of the Faith Forum Program Announced: Challenges Facing Catholics in America Today
"The challenge facing you, dear friends, is to increase people's awareness of the importance for society of religious freedom, to defend that freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America's official faith. And it is vitally necessary, for the survival of the American experience, to transmit to the next generation the precious legacy of religious freedom and the conviction to sustain it." Blessed John Paul II
"With her long tradition of respect for the right relation between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play countering cultural currents which...seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truths....The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage or be engaged by the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation." Pope Benedict XVI
The rise of secularism, denigration of the voice of faith in the public square, a general disrespect for religious belief in government and the media. This breach between faith and culture which endangers the ability of Catholics and others to practice their faith freely in America will be the topic of Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Appointed Bishop of Bridgeport, CT in 2001, he launched new initiatives in support of Catholic education, vocations, and Catholic Charities, and he worked to foster lay leadership in the diocese. He became Archbishop of Baltimore in May, 2012. The Archbishop serves the USCCB as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Universities and Colleges and as a member of the Committee on Doctrine, the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and the Ad Hoc Committee for Defense of Marriage. In 2002 in recognition of his role as emerging leader on the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, he was instrumental in drafting the landmark Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
Knights and Dames and their guests are invited to attend the Annual Defense of the Faith Forum which will be held on Friday, October 19 from 4-6 PM at The Mayflower Hotel. More information will follow. – Kathryn Abell, DM, Chair, Defense of the Faith Committee
St. Louis Member Receives Cross of Merit
Frank Guyol, KM and Christine Guyol, DM (front) with Sue DuFour, DM, the Guyols’ son Frank Guyol, III, their daughter Patricia Erker, and Jack Pohrer, KM, President of the American Association.
Congratulations to Frank J. Guyol, KM, St. Louis, MO, who was awarded the Cross of Merit Pro Merito Melitensi by the Sovereign Council and the Grand Master. Frank received the Cross of Merit at a breakfast hosted by Jack Pohrer, KM, President of the American Association in late June. – Sue DuFour, DM, Chair, Awards and Decorations Committee
Malteser International Helps Syrian Refugees
Image Source - Malteser International
With the increasing number of Syrian families fleeing to the Lebanon, Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for humanitarian aid, donated 50,000 euros to a medical centre near Tripoli to support the basic health care for the refugees from Syria. The medical centre of the Lebanese Association of the Order of Malta currently cares for more than 500 Syrian refugees. Many refugees - especially children - have a temperature or suffer from intestinal diseases; women depend on prenatal and postnatal care and bring their children for vaccination.
"The war in Syria forces women, children and men to cross the borders. In Lebanon, they receive medical treatment. Many of them also need psychosocial assistance as they are traumatized", says Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International.
For the past six weeks, Malteser International has also been supporting internally displaced persons in Syria's capital Damascus. 1,200 families who have fled to the capital receive start-up and hygiene kits containing blankets, kitchen utensils, soap and diapers. The relief goods are distributed by Malteser International's long-time partner organization "International Blue Crescent"; the emergency response in Damascus is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Click here for more on Malterser International.
SAVE THE DATE!
Investiture Weekend, 2012
October 18 - 20
Please click here for schedule of events and hotel information.
Prayer Request
Your prayers are requested for Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago and a Conventual Chaplain ad honorem of the Federal Association. The Archdiocese announced that Cardinal George has been diagnosed with cancerous cells in his kidney.
Upcoming Events:
Aug 25 - Charlotte - Lourdes Reunion. The Reunion will be at Southminster, 8919 Park Road in Charlotte beginning at 4:30 PM with Mass in the Chapel; dinner will follow. RSVP to:
Gail Grim
Sept 1 - Houston - Sanctity of Life Mass celebrated by Cardinal DiNardo at St.Michael's. Breakfast will follow at the Houston Country Club. Contact:
Ron Riesmeyer
Sept 7 - Syracuse - First Friday Mass and breakfast with celebrant and speaker Fr. David McCallum, SJ at 7:00 AM. Contact:
Margaret Martin
Sep 9 - NoVA, DC, Montgomery County - Combined Auxiliary organizational meeting, Immaculate Conception Church, Washington. Celebrant Mons. James Watkins.
Contact: Dorothy Zolandz
Sep 14 - Columbus - Mass for the Sanctity of Life. 6 PM Mass – St. John the Baptist Church; 7:15 Reception & Dinner - Kinder Women’s Care Center, Columbus. Contact: Charles Mifsud
Sept 15 - Bethesda, MD – Mass for the Sanctity of Life – Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 10:00 AM, Rev. Msgr. John Enzler, click here to RSVP
Sep 16 - Atlanta - Mass for the Sanctity of Life, Holy Spirit at 5:30 PM followed by dinner in McDonough Hall. Contact: Diane Festa
Sep 19 - NoVA - Defense of the Faith meeting 8 PM Contact: Terry White
Sep 20 - Atlanta - Advice & Aid Pregnancy Gala in McDonough Hall, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Contact: Diane Festa
Oct 19-20 - Washington, DC - Investiture Weekend
Oct 21 - Washington, DC - Fifth annual CRUDEM benefit for Hopital Sacre Coeur, at Georgetown Visitation School, 1554 Mass at 10 AM followed by a champagne brunch from 11 to 1.
Nov 2 - Columbus - Mass for the Deceased of the Order at 6 PM, St. John the Baptist Church, 720 Hamlet Street, followed by 7:15 PM Reception and Dinner at Cafe Del Mundo. Contact: Charles Mifsud
Nov 2-4 - Pittsburgh / Western PA Retreat at St. Vincent's Archabbey with retreat master Fr. Justin Matro. Contact:
Dan McGrogan
Nov 11-16 - New Orleans – Order of Malta Home Repair Program – work week # 1. Please click here for details and sign-up sheet.
Nov 14 - Atlanta - Defense of Faith in Side B of McDonough Hall. 6:30 PM. 7 PM Memorial Mass for Deceased Members, St. Mary’s Chapel followed by dinner at the Rectory. Contact: Diane Festa
Jan 11-13 - Memphis Retreat at Our Lady Queen of Peace Retreat Center, Dancyville, TN. Contact:
Robert Hutton
Jan 14 - Lancaster - Sanctity of Life Mass at 7:00 PM; St. John Neumann Church in Lancaster. Contact:
Pat Whalen
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
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