The Journey Continues BY BISHOP JOSEPH COFFEY
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s readers of the Salute magazine know, one of my responsibilities as the Vicar for Veterans Affairs for the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) is to make pastoral visits to the Catholic priestchaplains who staff the over 150 VAMCs (Veterans Affairs Medical Centers) around our great country. In late September, I was able to visit the priests who serve our Veterans in the western New York and Finger Lakes regions in Buffalo, Batavia, Canandaigua, and Bath. It is a beautiful area of the country, and I was fortunate to have blue skies with sunny and warm weather; perfect for late summer. At the Buffalo, New York VAMC, I concelebrated Mass with priest-chaplains Father Jim Bastian and Father Joe Porpiglia, as well as members of the medical staff. I then had the great privilege of attending the grand opening of a new VA Cemetery in Corfu, New York,
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