. . . I do not know what tomorrow will bring as more stories of past abuse from around the world come to light, but there is one thing that I can assure you, my dear people of the Diocese of Worcester. We have been and continue to be committed to responding to victims of past abuse and to the protection of children in our midst today as well as to the reporting of any cases brought to our attention to law enforcement, no matter how many years ago they occurred. . . . CLICK TITLE TO READ LETTER

Christopher Klofft writes: In paragraph 25 of Blessed Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” he makes an invitation to married couples to make the teaching of the document visible to the whole world. Allison Ledoux writes: After much deliberation and prayer, Dr. Walt Larimore concluded that he could no longer in conscience prescribe contraception for his patients, especially since morally viable alternatives were available.

Local Catholics react to last week’s announcement that Pope Francis is changing the Catechism of the Catholic Church to say the death penalty is “inadmissible.” The death penalty “no longer falls into the category of a prudential judgment,” Bishop McManus said. Catholics don’t have the right to make their own judgments about how to apply this Church teaching.

“It is humbling to witness the continuing generosity of our donors,” said Michael Gillespie, director of the Office of Stewardship and Development. His office announced today that, as of the report on Tuesday, August 8, it has received 16,209 gifts and pledges totaling $5,018,233, thereby exceeding the $5 million goal three weeks before the end of the fiscal year which marks the official end of the appeal. The appeal officially was launched at the beginning of Lent, following a kickoff that took place at the Chancery on Elm Street in Worcester. Gifts are still being accepted until August 31 for those donors who are still interested in supporting this year’s appeal.

Thankfulness and helpfulness were some people’s responses after a tornado touched down in Webster and Dudley the morning of Aug 4. The tornado was reported to be a “high-end EF-1,” with estimated wind speeds up to 110 mph.