Welcome to the new format of
A-Cross Borders!
We hope you find our shorter weekly version useful and inspiring. Please let us know what you think.
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World Youth Day
Pope Francis tells youth to 'love our enemies' at end of WYD
The Pope encouraged hundreds of thousands of young people gathered in Krak�w to 'believe in a new humanity' which refuses to use borders as barriers and spurns hatred among peoples. Discover more, and more, and still more. Read the transcript of the Pope's in-flight press conference after WYD here.
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Murders in Burundi: Missionary order reckons with killing of three sisters
from the "Global Sisters Report," a project of the National Catholic Reporter
The brutal murder of three Xaverian sisters almost two years ago in the tiny central African country of Burundi was shocking even in an area known for violence. A belief that the violent demise of dedicated nuns deserved investigation compelled writer Claire Schaeffer-Duffy to spend hours reviewing documents, interviewing sources and later traveling to Burundi. What she found was a crime still cloaked in mystery and intrigue - yet she also discovered a missionary order's inspiring commitment to a region and its people. Learn more.
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Summer is at it fullness; and the time for classes is almost here. It has been a great opportunity to participate in different activities with the teens of the different parishes in Racine, as well as with teens from all over the country. This summer I missed the mission trip, but that did not prevent me from participating in a mission camp. I was blessed to help the teens who participated in the: "Alive in You!" Mission Camp in Milwaukee. This camp brought teens from all over the country to help at many sites throughout the metropolitan Milwaukee area. I also had the opportunity to celebrate the sacraments with the teens who experienced the "Revolution of the Heart" at Inspirio Ministries. The teens participating in it helped mainly in the northern towns of Milwaukee.
After work in different camps it was time to get involved in the Steubenville conference "On the Lake" - at Carthage College, Kenosha - with some 2,200 teens from WI, IL, MI, IO, KS, and MN. It was a great experience for the teens who were grateful of this opportunity - "I am really blessed," was the exclamation of one of the teens.
But the summer experiences were not yet finished. Immediately after the Steubenville Conference we had a full week of the "Walking with Jesus Work Camp," which is a Collaborative Ministry of the Parishes in Racine, WI. This gave the opportunity for middle school and high school students to work in with the elderly; at the eco-farm; and with people who are getting out of unhealthy situations.
Indeed, it has been a blessed summer. May the good Lord continue it!
~ Fr. Alex Rodriguez
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Conforti Institute
August 1st is the Feast Day of St. Alphonsus
(patron of our Parish in Glasgow)
Check out their Facebook Page and find out about his life here.
Born to the nobility, Alphonsus was a child prodigy. He became extremely well-educated, and received his doctorate in law from the University of Naples at age 16... As he matured and learned more and more of the world, he liked it less and less, and finally felt a call to religious life. He declined an arranged marriage; studied theology and was ordained at age 29.
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Muslims across France attend Mass in wake of Normandy church attack
Fr Jacques Hamel was killed in his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen by two men who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. France's Muslim council, the CFCM, urged Muslims to show "solidarity and compassion" over the murder. "We are all Catholics of France," said Anouar Kbibech, the head of the CFCM. Discover more.
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Proclaim initiative of the Catholic Church in England and Wales
The reflections for The Proclaim initiative of the Catholic Church in England and Wales are available here.
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Spend Trident money on the poor, Bishops say
In a statement, Scotland's eight Catholic Bishops said that nuclear weapons were fundamentally 'immoral' due to the indiscriminate destruction of innocent human life that their use would cause...
"The renewal of Trident is questioned not just by those concerned with the morality of nuclear weapons themselves but also by those concerned about the use of scarce financial resources." Learn more.
The vote happened on July 18. Only one Scottish MP voted in favour .
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Connect to the world with the Xaverian Missionaries. The summer newsletter takes you around the world to Burundi and Indonesia and then back home to a Mission Festival in Wisconsin. Read a message from the new US Provincial, Fr. Mark Marangone SX, and the theology of Mercy and Mission by Bishop George Biguzzi SX. Catch up on world and US news and more. Read it here.
FOUNDER of the XAVERIAN MISSIONARIES Saint Guido Maria Conforti Our "missionary to the world" became a saint on World Mission Sunday, October 23, 2011. Now there is a mobile friendly version of our website dedicated to him. Click here to discover more.
 FOUNDER of the XAVERIAN MISSIONARY SISTERS OF MARY |
Come Pass It On Again!
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