Our nation, once again, is witnessing a horrific and senseless act of violence with the rampage of deadly shootings in Lewiston, Maine. We again see innocent people gunned down while living their lives with family and friends. We again hear calls for thoughts and prayers, and we should. But that is not enough. There is a crisis in mental health in our country that, coupled with a crisis in gun violence, leads to a disastrous loss of our humanity. Today, we pray for the people of Lewiston and the entire State of Maine. We pray for peace, understanding, and support for Lewiston and surrounding communities. They have experienced great anxiety and fear being on lockdown while a search for the suspect is being carried out, at the same time mourning the loss of family, friends, and neighbors. We ask God to heal those who were injured in the shootings, to bring comfort to the families of those who have experienced tremendous loss, and we give thanks for the courage of our first responders, who put the lives and well-being of others ahead of their own. We commend to the Lord those who were lost, consoled by the promise of eternal life.



Synod on Synodality

This week, we continued the work of the synod, which will draw to a close soon.

During the course of the synod, we have moved from table to table so that we are with different people for the discussions, and there are people from all over the world. It's a very interesting and engaging way to encourage dialogue and conversation.



World Mission Sunday

Sunday was, of course, World Mission Sunday, and there was a reception at the Urbaniana, which is the university run by the Propagation of the Faith. The last time I was there was for the canonization of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who studied there.

The Urbaniana is right next to the North American College and has a very commanding view of St. Peter's Basilica and the square.

Many synod participants were invited, and it was organized by our own Msgr. Kieran Harrington, the head of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. There was a witness talk by one of the seminarians, Cardinal Tagle addressed us, and there was a film about the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies.



Rosary procession

Wednesday night, we had a rosary procession at St. Peter's Basilica to pray for peace, which Cardinal Mauro Gambetti led.

It had originally been scheduled to be outside, but it was moved into the basilica because there was a chance of rain. The interior of the basilica was all illumined, and we were the only ones there. It was very impressive.

There were many prayers and reflections offered by the synod participants for the end of war and violence, for respect and dialogue among nations, and for compassion and solidarity with the most vulnerable.



Visits from Boston

During this week, I was very happy to see several people from Boston who were visiting Rome. One of them was Jim Driscoll, the head of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of Massachusetts on public policy matters. [ . . .]

Also visiting Rome this week were Bishop Bob Reed and Andrew Skonieczny from St. John's Seminary and the Seaport Chapel.