From the Editor

From the Editor

August: A month to celebrate wellness

Each month Bayou Catholic magazine strives to inform, inspire, challenge and evangelize the Catholic faithful of the diocese with informative, inspirational stories, guest columns and articles to help them grow in their faith.

The month of August is designated to celebrate health and wellness nationally. In this issue there is a special section dedicated to wellness. There are many articles on promoting a healthy lifestyle through eating healthy foods which include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. There is a guest column from a diocesan priest who explains how he found a way to energize his spiritual life while he started an exercise and fitness program aimed to improve his physical fitness.

Our wellness cover story is from a local doctor who explains how osteoporosis is a silent disease and ways that it can be treated. There are other guest columns with topics including diabetes, cancer, and general health and wellness.

I feel one of the most important guest columns comes from a local doctor explaining the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. He goes on to explain that these vaccines were developed through the required clinical trials and have been determined to be safe and effective. Vaccines are most effective when all healthy individuals get vaccinated and become much less likely to pass the virus on to more vulnerable people.

By choosing to get the vaccine, you can protect yourself from getting seriously ill. Non-vaccinated individuals are more likely to be hospitalized and have serious complications resulting from infection, according to the local doctor.

There is much misinformation concerning COVID-19 and the vaccine. Anyone who has doubts about whether the vaccine is safe or right for them should consult their family physician.

As of press time, new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are up 69 percent. Hospitalizations are up 36 percent and deaths are up 26 percent. Cases of COVID-19 have tripled over the past three weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths are rising among unvaccinated people. As cases continue to rise, U.S. health officials are voicing concerns over reversing trend lines, according to Associated Press reports.

Louisiana is ranked near the bottom of states with individuals being vaccinated against COVID-19. Our own area, comprised of Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes, which makes up most of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux, has just under one third of its population vaccinated against the virus.

On Dec. 21, 2020, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF), issued a statement noting it is “morally acceptable” for Catholic’s to take vaccines against COVID-19. Among other things, the CDF stated:

“All vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive” ... “The morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good. In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the pandemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed.”

Thus, it makes sense to receive a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for the sake of ourselves, our loved ones and the common good.

If some of the faithful choose not to take the vaccine for reasons of conscience, the Vatican says those persons “must do their utmost to avoid ... becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent.”

Visit vaccine.gov to find a COVID-19 vaccine location near you.

Remember, after reading Bayou Catholic, pass it on to a friend or relative who might not be attending Mass. It’s one of the great ways to do your part in spreading the Good News. BC

Lawrence

Lawrence Chatagnier Editor & General Manager

Church Life

St. Kateri honored at Mass

A Mass honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha was celebrated recently at Holy Family Church in Grand Caillou. Bishop Shelton J. Fabre was the main celebrant of the Mass which was concelebrated by priests of the diocese. The Mass featured traditional American Indian dancing and regalia as well as an Order of Blessing a married couple within a Mass on the anniversary of marriage with an American Indian Blanket Ceremony.

Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier