"The pleas of gravely ill persons who sometimes ask for death are not to be understood as implying a true desire for euthanasia; in fact it is almost always a case of an anguished plea for help and love. What a sick person needs, besides medical care, is love, the human and supernatural warmth with which the sick person can and ought to be surrounded by those close to him or her, parents and children, doctors and nurses."[283]     The sick person who feels surrounded by a loving human and Christian presence does not give way to...

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FCC News Desk Here's a recap of some of the developments that took place this week at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. To read more, click on the link under the text.   New USCCB President, Vice-president Elected Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during the Fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Archbishop Gomez has served as vice president of the Conference since 2016. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit was elected as USCCB vice president. Both th...

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Bishop, Conference, Catholic

The Cathedral of St. Patrick will host the Annual Candlelight Concert.  November 17th 7:30PM Enjoy the beauty of the Cathedral and the sound of the Norwich Diocesan Choir in a program of music that we hope will be an instrument of peace.  The evening will conclude with Compline (night prayer) sung in candlelight. A few music selections on the program include Psalm 150 by César Franck and Ave Verum by Camille Saint-Saëns. This Event is Free

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FCC News Desk On November 3rd the St. Andrew Parish family worked together to pack 21,600 meals to send to the Philippines. It was a wonderful intergenerational service day with the pastor, Father Marek Masnicki, parochial vicar, Father Richard Breton, and Deacon, Michael Puscas, all working alongside parishioners from small children to the elderly.  Parishioners were also joined by Father Brian Maxwell. Under the direction of Harvest Pack, this took only about one hour from start to finish. There were parishioners from nearly all ministries and all grade...

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Norwich, Catholic

  Dear Faithful Readers . . .  Once a year we appeal to your generosity to help defray the production costs of our print, online, and email newsletter editions of the Four County Catholic.  Thank you in advance for responding to our annual appeal. We are grateful for your generous support, prayers, and encouragement. Your help makes it possible for us to continue bringing the good news from around the diocese to you. In the past year, we have expanded our online presence on the NorwichDiocese.org website with the addition of Photo and Video G...

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, Communications

By Liza Roach Christmas is right around the corner. Do you feel like I do – behind already?  You have to make sure the house is decorated, the crèche is out for all to see, the Christmas tree is up in all its glory, the wreath on the door looks festive and inviting, and let’s not forget buying presents for everyone you know in the world!  Overwhelmed enough yet?  We can’t forget to take the perfect family picture for the all-important Christmas Card!  If yours looks like mine, the dog is licking my face as I am reaching down to pick ...

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advent, FaithSparks

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a common religious experience involving children and adults in which the religious values of childhood, primarily those values of contemplation and enjoyment of God, are predominant. This experience is shared in a place particularly prepared for the religious life of children called the Atrium. Join us on Saturday, December 7 St. Patrick Church, Mystic 9 am-12 pm Come learn new “hands on” methods and techniques to help children come to know God personally. Come listen to catechists speak about the techniques ...

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Bishop Cote, (on the right of the photo) along with other New England Bishops, met with Pope Francis in the papal library. The two-hour meeting took place on November 7th as part of the “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to pray at the tombs of the apostles and report on the status of their dioceses.  By Cindy Wooden Catholic Herald Bishops from New England have shared with Pope Francis some of the joys, challenges and sufferings of the church in the Northeast and, really, throughout the United States, bishops said. Nearing the end of their “...

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Norwich, Catholic, Pope

FCC News Desk St. Joseph School in North Grosvenordale recently held its inaugural Holiday Shopping Event in conjunction with a morning breakfast on Sunday, November 3. Altogether, there were 24 local vendors that attracted numerous breakfast patrons for a head start on the holiday shopping season.  Vendors had their merchandise for sale from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., while the breakfast was held in the school cafeteria from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Net proceeds from the Breakfast/Holiday Shopping Event totaled $3,829. “As with other fun...

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Norwich, Catholic

Bishop Michael R. Cote, along with other bishops from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont began their “ad limina” visits with Pope Francis and Vatican officials November 4, 2019. An “ad limina apostolorum” visit is a papal meeting required for every diocesan bishop in the world to provide an update on the state of one’s diocese. The trip to Rome, usually made together with all the bishops from a country or region, also serves as a pilgrimage to “the threshold of the apostles,” giving th...

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