Too often these days news about the Catholic Church is
dark and depressing, but I caught a glimpse of light and encouragement recently
in an article in the Tennessee Register, the bi-weekly newspaper of the
Diocese of Nashville.
Father Jim Sichko, who was named a Missionary of Mercy
by Pope Francis, came to the rescue of nearly 200 out-of-work miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, providing $20,000 for utility bills and other necessities. As Sichko
put it, “I paid everything –electric, rent, etc.—but not cell-phones.”
The miners had worked for a mining company named
Backjewel, which has filed for bankruptcy. The Tennessee Register added,
“The company apparently all but absconded with money withdrawn from its
employees’ paychecks for child support payments and 401 (k) contributions, but
the workers said the money was never deposited in their accounts.”
Other news reports note that Kentucky Governor Matt
Bevin and the state’s Attorney General are opening an investigation because of
complaints from miners who reported paychecks that ‘bounced” and missing
payment for child support.
Sichko, a priest of the Diocese of Lexington,
is one of about 100 priests across the United States designated by Pope Francis
as Missionaries of Mercy, a positive, concrete outreach prompted by the 2016
Year of Mercy.
Missionaries of Mercy are authorized to preach and hear
confessions anywhere in the country, are allowed to forgive sins usually
reserved to the pope, and have funds allocated to them to meet the material
needs of people too.
When Sichko learned of the miners’ situation,
he traveled to Harlan County and met with nearly 200 of them at Holy Trinity Catholic
Church, compiled their information, asked what they most needed, and on his
return to Lexington mailed them checks totaling $20,000.
“I would say that 99 per cent of them were not Catholic,
and had not even set foot on Catholic property,” Sichko explained, “but
these people have had their cars repossessed and their utilities shut off.”
In establishing the “Missionaries of Mercy” Pope Francis
said, “We can’t run the risk of a penitent not perceiving the maternal love of
the Church that welcomes and loves him.”
Father Sichko’s intervention at Harlan County is only
one of the many responses he and other Missionaries of Mercy have made in
fulfillment of the Pope’s plan and the Church’s mission. This story allows some
of the light of the Gospel to shine in our world today –truly good news.
The Tennessee Register is
a good source for Catholic news not only about Nashville but in other parts of the
world. Annual subscription for the bi-weekly is $29.00. Send check to Tennessee Register, 2800 McGavock Pike, Nashville
TN 37214-1402., or call 615-783-0750.
Web site: www.tennesseeregister.com
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