Blessed Sacrament

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney handed out diplomas to 16 kindergarten, eighth grade, and high school Catholic homeschool graduates during a Mass and graduation ceremony on June 13 at 3 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. Bishop Sweeney served as the main celebrant of the Mass and presided at the graduation ceremony, which included homeschool students from in the Diocese and beyond. Congregants also recited a family consecration prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first-ever homeschool Mass and graduation grew out of the new Diocese of Paterson Homeschool Families organization.

Before sharing their faith with people of different religious beliefs, Christians first should cultivate with them a “spirit of fraternal love.” This could lead to genuine interreligious dialogue: when people of goodwill join with fellow seekers in a quest for the truth. That’s what Father Rocco Viviano, interreligious dialogue coordinator for the Xaverian Missionaries in Japan, told the audience on the final night of the eighth annual Benedict Summer Institute, held June 7–9, in St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization in Madison.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney officially installed Father Benjamin Williams as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Oak Ridge June 13 during the Mass for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Father Williams also serves as pastor of St. Thomas’ sister parish, St. John Vianney in Stockholm, and is dean of the Western Morris Deanery.