It is hard to believe we have almost completed the first year of our parish Capital Campaign. I have asked Dominic Parmantier, as a member of the Parish Finance Council, to give us an update on what the Campaign has accomplished and the projects it will address in the coming months. The Campaign has already made it possible to replace the roofs of the church and school – and to do significant seismic reinforcement of that building. We have renovated the rest rooms in the church, made improvements to the main parking lot (in preparation for re-striping, hopefully this summer). Last summer we removed the asbestos from the school’s ground floor to prepare for a major renovation this summer. Dominic will give more details about that exciting project. We also hope to upgrade the church’s sound system – a vital need. All of this, plus some debt retirement, has happened because of your generous support. I thank you and encourage you to continue that support. Next Sunday we will have a reception for new parishioners, not only to explain the Campaign, but to invite them to a deeper participation in the overall life of our parish. At the same time, I encourage “old” parishioners to take a step, especially during these weeks before our celebration of the great mysteries of Holy Week.

Next Saturday we have our annual Cathedral Walk. Please consider joining us at 6:30 a.m. in front of the church. At 11 a.m. I will celebrate Mass in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. All are welcome to attend. . The theme of this year’s Walk is “March for Moms.” We will offer our prayers, joys and sacrifices of this Walk for moms in all their joys and struggles. In light of that theme, I ask a $10 donation from each adult participant which will go toward helping our parish Birthright as well as the Mary Bloom Center in Peru. If you wish to make a special contribution, you may use the envelopes available at the church entrances or simply place your donation in the collection marked “Walk” or “March for Moms.”

Speaking of support for moms – from the first moment when a child is conceived – I ask your prayers for Washington state pharmacists. During the past year they have worked out a careful compromise which would respect the conscience of pro-life pharmacists by not obliging them to dispense “emergency contraception.” Unfortunately, some extremist groups have decided to oppose that compromise and instead, attempt to force all pharmacists to dispense this pill which can harm young moms. “Emergency contraception” does not simply prevent pregnancy, it involves taking powerful hormones which can disrupt a young woman’s body and destroy a newly conceived child.

I had an opportunity to talk to a lawyer about this assault on pro-life pharmacists. She mentioned how our society, in spite of all its talk about tolerance, has in many ways become more intolerant. She used the example of her husband who is a urologist. As a Catholic, he considers vasectomy to be morally wrong, and he does not perform that surgery. Twenty years ago his colleagues readily accepted his conscientious concerns, and they had no problem finding ways of working together as medical professionals. Today, we often do not see that level of tolerance. If the Washington State Pharmacy Board rejects the compromise which would respect the conscience of pro-life pharmacists, it would, in effect, mean that those professionals could not practice in our state. Such intolerance would be a tremendous loss for all of us. Because this is such an important issue, I have included in our bulletin a letter from Dr. William Perez who explains what is at stake.

Finally, I invite you to join our Soup Suppers. Even Samwise attended last Friday. A couple of parishioners have provided him with vests to help alleviate the sore which has developed on the pressure point of his chest. Here he models his new camouflage vest.

El próximo sábado habrá nuestra Caminata anual a la Catedral. Saldremos a las 6:30 a.m. desde nuestro templo (salida de Roxbury). A las 11 a.m. celebraré una misa en la Capilla de Nuestra Señora en la Catedral (809 9th Ave, esquina de Marion y Novena Avenida). Todos son bienvenidos. El tema de la Caminata es “Marchar para nuestra Madres.” Ofrecemos las oraciones, alegrías y sacrificios de esta Caminata para mamás en todas sus alegrías y desafíos. En vista de ese tema, pido una donación de $10 de todo adulto que irá para apoyar “Birthright” (Derecho de Nacer) de nuestra parroquia y el Centro Mary Bloom en Perú. Si Vd. desea hacer una contribución especial, se puede usar los sobres a las entradas del templo o poner una donación en la colecta, con la nota “Caminata” o “Marcha para Mamás.”

También pido sus oraciones por los farmacéuticos de nuestro estado. He escrito en la parte inglesa sobre su lucha para defender el derecho de conciencia de los farmacéuticos pro-vida en relación a lo que se llama “Contracepción de Emergencia.” El nombre no es exacto porque esta droga puede no solamente prevenir contracepción sino destruir un embrión, es decir un niño humano ya concebido.

En las próximas semanas habrá más sobre la Campaña Capital. El 26 de marzo tendremos una recepción para los nuevos miembros hispanos de nuestra parroquia después de la misa de 9:30 a.m. Agradezco su apoyo que ha hecho y sigue haciendo posible importantes proyectos para el bien (y la sobrevivencia) de la parroquia.