On Sunday, I celebrated Mass for the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master at their house on West Street.

We were pleased to welcome back to Boston Sister Josephine and Sister Ann. They had formerly been at the Sisters' house on Staten Island, which is now closed, and so they have now returned to their Boston community. We now have 12 Sister Disciples working here in the archdiocese.

We are grateful for the work that the sisters do, not only through their liturgical centers but also for the help that they provide for us at the Pastoral Center, the care they provide our retired priests at Regina Cleri, and all the many other wonderful things they do for the clergy of the archdiocese. Their witness of service, prayer, and Eucharistic adoration is an inspiration to all of us.

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

On Tuesday, I participated in a virtual meeting with the moderators of the working groups of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, during which we continued our planning for a safeguarding conference with the bishops of Poland in September.

Of course, we were grateful for the presence of Father Andrew Small, who has assumed the role of secretary of the commission.

David Savage

We were happy that it was announced last week that David Savage has been named executive director of the Papal Foundation. David comes to the foundation with many years of business experience and a strong commitment to his Catholic faith. His willingness to serve in this new position will allow us to have greater follow-up with the entities that we are funding throughout the world.

This will be a great help to the foundation, which supports many of the Holy Father's charities and is particularly focused on helping mission countries by supporting numerous pastoral and educational projects that otherwise would go seriously under-resourced.

We are so grateful for the wonderful work of Eustice Mita, the members of the Board of Trustees, and all those benefactors who so generously support the work of the Papal Foundation.

The Bethlehem Project

One of the most serious social problems in our nation and in our local community is that of homelessness, which is often spawned by a shortage of affordable housing, insufficient access to mental health care, and struggles with addiction. As a community of faith, we are anxious to be able to do our part to help find lasting solutions to the problem of homelessness through an initiative we are calling The Bethlehem Project.

To determine the best way forward, it is important to look at what is already being done both inside and outside the archdiocese to address this issue. As part of that, we have asked Father Kevin Staley-Joyce to conduct a survey of the efforts our own parishes and agencies are making to combat the problem of homelessness.

The survey project is ongoing but, this week, I have asked Father Kevin to share some reflections on Project Bethlehem and what he has found so far, which can be found on the blog.