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I recently received a letter from a young Catholic husband and father in which he observed: “Peers of mine who are converts or reverts have specifically cited teachings like ‘Humanae Vitae,’ ‘Familiaris Consortio,’ and ‘Veritatis Splendor’ as beacons that set the church apart from the world and other faiths.” What he suggests might seem counterintuitive, but it is borne out by experience: The church does not grow by going along with the world, but by confidently proclaiming the truth about the human person revealed by Christ.

In the 50 years since it was built, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, perched on the redwood slopes of Mount Tamalpais has become an iconic feature of Mill Valley’s small-town landscape.

St. Cecilia parishioner Mary Chien spent a little more than a year in prison in Communist China during the 1950s. Her crime was belonging to the Legion of Mary, which Mary says the Communists thought was a military operation.

It has been my good luck to know Paul Totah, longtime communications director and much else at St. Ignatius Prep, for all of my near 35 years as a chancery grunt. When I heard that he was retiring I checked in with him and was glad to hear that he is not coming to a stop, just taking his foot off the gas a bit.

Father Kenneth Weare, longtime pastor of St. Rita Parish in Fairfax, has been appointed by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops to serve on the newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Stewardship.

Ten years ago, the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael were one of eight other communities of women religious who founded the Religious Communities Investment Fund, a portfolio of investments in projects that promote economic justice, compassion, human dignity and environmental stewardship.

Students pictured are among those honored at recent graduation ceremonies.

The episcopal ordination of Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP, as San Francisco’s 18th auxiliary bishop on June 5 at San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral cast the role as one of service over honor and achievement.

All schools hope that their graduates will move on to the next stage of their lives prepared academically, emotionally and socially for whatever they may face in the future, but the schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco instill something that is even more important as our students move forward in life.

WASHINGTON – Saying that Jesus Christ has been “hijacked” in the name of politics, a large crowd of national Christian leaders and members of their congregations vowed during a prayer service and vigil May 24 to “reclaim Jesus” from those who not only use his name for their political and personal gain, but reject the gentleness, kindness, love of neighbor, the poor and the truth that Christ embraced.

Two Catholic Charities co-workers who worked as intake volunteers at the country’s largest immigrant detention center in April returned home to San Francisco humbled after a week of listening to the stories of families literally running for their lives from gang or domestic violence in Central America and Mexico.

Father Paul Perry, known to parishioners, patients and prisoners as the quirky, quiet, quintessential servant of Christ, has been selected Marin County’s most popular Catholic priest among newspaper readers.

A former Baptist Army brat who rarely attended church and frequently changed addresses has found religion in the Bible and home at the pulpit.

More than 1,000 people came to pray at Masses on Memorial Day, May 28, at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma; Holy Cross Cemetery, Menlo Park; Our Lady of the Pillar Cemetery, Half Moon Bay; Mount Olivet Cemetery, San Rafael.

Soccer players of all ages take the field June 16 for Futbol con Corazon, bringing “together community members and unaccompanied minors for a day of soccer, community and fundraising,” Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the day’s sponsor, said. The games take place at Sacred Heart School, 150 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton, 1–5 p.m.

As a resource for our readers, Catholic San Francisco presents the full text of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate,” signed on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. “In the ordinary course of each day, the pope reminds us, ‘We need to recognize and combat our aggressive and selfish inclinations, and not let them take root’ (no. 114),” U.S. bishops’ president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo said when the pope’s message was released on April 9.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis announced he would make 14 new cardinals June 29, giving the red cardinal’s hat to the papal almoner, the Iraq-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan, among others.

The Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of San Francisco has announced Holy Hours June 10, 3 p.m., at churches in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.

One of the many legacies of the late Msgr. James Tarantino, former pastor of St. Mark Parish, is a parish hospitality outreach program launched just weeks after his April 25 death.

Five priests celebrating their 50th vocation anniversary and one marking his 25th gathered at St. Mary’s Cathedral on May 9 for evening prayer and fellowship and a message of inspiration from 50-year jubilarian Msgr. Michael D. Harriman, who spoke to his fellow priests about the ongoing challenge of helping the faithful assimilate the Gospel message.