The Diocese of Portland is pleased to announce the appointment of Edward Short as director of advancement for the Mother Cabrini Maine Catholic Education Initiative, the mission of which is “to proclaim the Gospel, bring others to Jesus Christ, and build the Reign of God through Catholic education.”

Welcome back to the Auspice Maria podcast. I'm Bishop James Ruggieri of the Diocese of Portland in Maine, and we continue our series on the Catechism. We're finishing up the sacraments.

In light of several recent immigration enforcement encounters resulting in the loss of life, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the Committee on Migration, issued the following pastoral reflection:

As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) gathered for their Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, the bishops issued a Special Message addressing their concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States. It marked the first time in twelve years the USCCB invoked this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body of bishops. The last one issued in 2013 was in response to the federal government’s contraceptive mandate.