Turning now to those people who for various reasons are forced to leave their native countries, the Synod expressed particular gratitude to all those engaged in the pastoral care of migrants. Specific attention needs to be paid to migrants belonging to the Eastern Catholic Churches; in addition to being far from home, they also encounter the difficulty of not being able to participate in the eucharistic liturgy in their own rite. For this reason, wherever possible, they should be served by priests of their rite. In all cases I would ask Bishops to welcome these brothers and sisters with the love of Christ. Contacts between the faithful of different rites can prove a source of mutual enrichment. In particular, I am thinking of the benefit that can come, especially for the clergy, from a knowledge of the different traditions.
Oficers of attached praesidia are required to attend every Curia meeting. Officers who have an excused absence, e.g. sickness, work, school, family commitment or vacation, are to contact the Curia Vice President and ask to be excused from the meeting. Praesidia officers that are not present at a meeting and do not have an excused absence are marked as “Absent”, i.e. AWOL. AWOL is a military tendacronym reflecting the fact that a soldier is missing and there is no known reason for the soldier’s absence. Members, of course, do their best to keep the excused absences to a minimum and should abhor the term AWOL. Members who miss a meeting, miss the opportunity to rejuvenate their Legion zeal, to learn from and comment on Legion reports, and share in Legion camaraderie, Missing two or more meetings in a row or in close proximity to each other is a cause for concern.
A workshop will be held in Northern Virginia on May 5th on how Legion of Mary councils and praesidia can create and maintain quality websites. More information will be made avalible later. For more information contact webmaster@arlingtonregia.com