SCCR Parish Blog

  After nearly 50 years of the U.S. Supreme Court taking away from the states the right to protect innocent life in the womb and regulate abortion, the Court today announced that the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and subsequent cases affirming it were wrongly decided. This is certainly time to celebrate, but not become complacent.  The ruling means that each state will have to decide whether and how to protect life in the room.   Archbishop Schnurr has written a letter to the faithful on this matter.  It will be emailed out to all South Clermont Catholic Region parishioners today.  In that letter, he is encouraging involvement in a program the bishops are sponsoring entitled Walking with Moms in Need .  This is a program to accompany pregnant mothers and mothers of newborns.    On the political front, as citizens in the State of Ohio, we Christians should certainly be prayerful, active and vocal in ensuring that life is protected. On the prayer f...

  This short 5 minute video gives insight into priestly ordinations.

  The following is a letter to the faithful from Archbishop Schnurr regarding the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Yesterday’s horrific news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas shakes us to our core and reminds us once again of the fragility of human life. This senseless, heartbreaking tragedy reinforces the desperate need for conversion to a culture of life in our country, one that respects the inherent dignity and sacredness of every human being from conception to natural death. I join my fellow U.S. Catholic bishops in sharing the following statement: “There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our  Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others, and we join our prayers along with the community in Uvalde and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller. As we do so...

  UPDATED: March 25th   See the full text of Pope Francis' beautiful prayer for the consecration of the world to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially Russia and Ukraine.  (Given on March 25th, the solemn feast of the Annunciation). During this time of war in Ukraine and grave threat of escalation of that war, Our Holy Father Pope Francis is renewing the consecration of Russia to Our Lady. Here's the news from the Archdiocese: Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, March 25.  Archbishop Schnurr has asked the faithful of our archdiocese to join him in praying a Rosary novena from March 17-25. We invite all members of our [PARISH NAME] community to join the Archbishop in this special novena.   "May the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through her powerful intercession, lead to the conversion of hearts and minds and peace throughout the world, especially at this time in Ukraine." Read the entire letter from Archbishop Sch...

  Archbishop Schnurr has provided a Christmas message for all the faithful of the Archdiocese in video format.  He is pictured with his assistant, Fr. Williams, and one of our diocesan priests, Fr. Dobroszi, ministering to a women's prison.  A great reminder that all of us are captive to sin without the saving power of Jesus Christ, Who came to us as the Babe of Bethlehem precisely to save us from our sins.  Also, that we are called in love to give Christian hope to all, especially those in difficult circumstances. 

  Archbishop Schnurr has finalized the alignment of parishes for next July, as part of the Beacons of Light initiative to adjust the use of our priest personnel and parish resources to meet the needs of the faithful throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  Our two parishes, St. Mary and St. Peter, will be aligned in a new four-parish region, or “family of parishes (FOP)” including ourselves and St. Bernadette in Amelia and St. Thomas More in Withamsville. Our parish councils and transition planning committees will begin work in January to prepare for this realignment.   The Archdiocese will be providing guidance throughout this process as well.  Before the initial transition happens on July 1, 2022, Archbishop will assign two priests to the new region (FOP): one pastor and one parochial vicar, that is, a priest who is assigned full time to the region to assist the pastor in the celebration of the sacraments and other priestly duties.  This assignment of prie...

  Here is a good interview with Archbishop Schnurr and Sacred Heart Radio talk show host Anna Mitchell, explaining the pastoral planning process for the Beacons of Light initiative.  

  Archbishop Schnurr has a very brief video  introduction to the Beacons of Light initiative to realign our parishes. Members of St. Mary and St. Peter parishes are invited to the first of our information sessions on this initiative on Tuesday, September 7th, at St. Mary Parish at 7:10 p.m.  This will include a presentation by Fr. Reutter followed by questions and answers. For more information, or to sign up for monthly updates on the initiative, please visit catholicaoc.org/beacons  

  Per the press release from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Archbishop Schnurr has indicated that he was NOT contacted about tomorrow's visit of Mr. Biden to Mt. St. Joseph University in Delhi Twp. for a town hall event, nor would he have granted permission if asked for him to appear at such an event on Catholic premises.

  Archbishop Schnurr has asked all of his pastors to share this important letter regarding the Beacons of Light diocesan resource planning initiative with all of the faithful of the Archdiocese.  This will impact all parishes soon, as we adjust the parish groupings and assignment of priests to match our changing resources. As a reminder, you can keep up to date on the process as it begins to unfold this year at the diocesan website for the planning process .    

Here is an  Easter message from Archbishop Schnurr  on video. Also, Fox 19 will be televising Archbishop Schnurr's Easter Mass live at 11:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday.

  Approximately one year after public Masses were temporarily suspended due to the health emergency, and now that many people have had the opportunity to receive vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid), the Archbishop is inviting people who may have stayed away to return to Mass.  However, the Mass obligation is still dispensed for those who wish to do so for legitimate reasons.  Here's his letter to the faithful. 

  Here is the brief Christmas video from our shepherd, Archbishop Schnurr.

  Amidst the suffering and fear caused by the Covid-19 epidemic,  we have been reading some good news about vaccines being developed and approved that seem to be highly effective in combating the virus.  They have been approved for emergency use in some countries already and may be approved very soon in the U.S.  It looks quite possible that they will be available to some of the public before Christmas.  There are still many ethical questions that arise about the vaccines (can the government require citizens to take them? Who should get access to them first?  What about privacy? and so on).  But perhaps the most important ethical question is, Is it morally permissible for Catholics to receive them? The question arises because historically some vaccines have been produced from cell lines derived from children killed by abortion, and there is a serious question about whether, by taking such a vaccine, one would be cooperating with a grave moral evil. The...

Archbishop Schnurr has inidated that he will be making a "major and joyous announcement" at the 11:30 a.m. Mass this Saturday, August 15th, for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is not even telling his priests what it is, because he wants it to be a surprise. You are invited to attend that Mass to honor Our Lady and to hear this special announcement or to watch it via livestream on the Archdiocesan website . As a reminder, I will be celebrating a Mass for the feast of the Assumption at St. Peter Parish at 9:00 a.m.

Founded in 1821, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is now almost 200 years old.  As we prepare to celebrate the bicentennial of the Archdiocese, Archbishop Schnurr has asked us to share his pastoral letter reflecting on our past and setting spiritual goals for our future. You can also read more about his theme "Radiate Christ," which will be featured in The Catholic Telegraph .

[UPDATED:  Had wrong link to the letter.  It's fixed now] Archbishop Schnurr has asked the pastors to share this letter with the faithful regarding the recent violence in reaction to the death of George Floyd.  In that letter, he provides deatils on how the faithful can join him to pray  for peace this Wednesday, June 3rd.

Please read today's article in the Catholic Telegraph , with the breaking news that Archbishop Schnurr will be permitting publicly celebrated daily Masses beginning on Monday, May 25th (Memorial Day).  For background on this decision, see this article . We are just finding out about this today, so it will take a little time to get the plan in place to restart those Masses.  We will communicate with you as much in advance as possible. I do want to emphasize Archbishop's point that this will NOT simply be a return to the way Mass was celebrated before the shutdown in mid-March.  There will be many restrictions on people coming to these Masses, including total number admitted, how far apart they must be at all times in the church space, when to wear masks, etc. Also, I want to emphasize that the obligation to attend Mass, including on Sundays, has been waived by the Archbishop for the foreseeable future .  As a result, he is urging those who are at risk (including the...

Today Archbishop Schnurr ordained seven seminarians as deacons for service to our diocese.  This is the last major step before they are ordained to the priesthood in May of next year.  It is at the tie of their deacon ordination  that the men promise to pray the breviary of the Church (five-times-a-day prayer cycle) for the rest of their lives and to remain celibate for the rest of their lives, so that they can serve the Church and her people in a completely undivided manner, just as Christ did for His Bride the Church. Sadly, they had to be ordained in a private ceremony due to Covid-19 restrictions, but it is still a sign of great joy for the Church. You can find their names in this article from the Catholic Telegraph . Note that one of them is a local man, Deacon Anthony Marcelli from St. Bernadette in Amelia. Please pray for them, that they will be good and holy priests with the heart of Christ the servant, and pray for your sons and grandsons, that the...

This is not completely timely, but still worth listening to.  It is the YouTube video of Archbishop Schnurr's homily from the Mass on March 22nd , the first Sunday when public Masses had been canceled throughout the Archdiocese and most of the country.    To refresh your memory, here are the readings on which he is preaching.