Five Things To Remember March 31

1. The Mass at the U.S.-Mexican border tomorrow will be live streamed on justiceforimmigrants.org
or can be accessed directly via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqY9GcA6lCA
The stream goes live Tuesday at 11:30 am Eastern/8:30 am Pacific in preparation for the noon Eastern/ 9 a.m. Pacific Mass. It will be up for the press conference too. The Mass, which will be celebrated by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston and several other bishops, commemorates the more than 6,000 persons who have died crossing the desert in search of a homeland in the United States.


2. Pope Francis emphasized the need to reach out to marginalized youth during a meeting today with the Salesians of Don Bosco. He spoke of the life of exclusion many young people face and the vast reality of unemployment. he also spoke of "addictions, which sadly are manifold, but stem from a common root of an absence of true love. Reaching marginalized youth requires courage, maturity and prayer," Pope Francis said.

3. The season of Lent is a particular time for going to confession, as Pope Francis showed March 28 when he surprised people in St. Peter's by going to confession himself before hearing the confessions of others. A Catholic News Service video captures this moment.

http://youtu.be/BKHKmEtpWao

 

4. U.S. dioceses and religious orders in 2013 increased what they spent on child protection by more than 50 percent over what they spent the year before, according to the 2013 report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). In 2013, dioceses and religious orders spent $41,721,675 for child protection efforts, an increase of more than $15 million over the previous year, when they spent $26,583,087. The numbers were reported in the “2013 Survey of Allegations and Costs: A Summary Report for the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.” The Georgetown University-based research organization has gathered information since 2004, as part of an annual report required by the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” Most cases reported last year occurred 30-40 years ago, some go back half a century. More than 4.6 million children, 99 percent of priests have had safe environment training. USCCB President Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville pledges to heal, educate, prevent abuse, hold abusers accountable.  The full report can be found at
www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/2013-Annual-Report.pdf

5. God loves you.