[Excerpt]

About 80 people representing multiple local Catholic churches and other denominations met at All Saints Catholic Church in the Heights with training sessions in English and Spanish on being called to be “One Body.” They also learned how to lead small groups and listen to identify new leaders. They focused on practical measures such as “pressures on families”....

Sister Maureen O’Connell, OP, Archdiocesan director for the secretariat of social concerns, said,

“Historically, people have seen the Church as a refuge. But that has eroded. Now we need to go out to the people and help them with their issues of education, transportation, and housing.”

Bishop Dell’Oro, also spoke to the local trainees [saying]....“Through TMO activity, we can grow in a spirit of solidarity that brings us together. When we represent as a group, we have more sway to make people’s lives better.”

[In photo, Bishops Italo Dell'Oro (Galveston-Houston) and Mark Seitz (El Paso) react to Daniel Cardinal DiNardo while Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller (San Antonio), Valley Interfaith leader Eddie Anaya and West/Southwest IAF Director Joe Rubio look on at a regional gathering in San Antonio.]

Parish Leadership Training Focuses on Pope's Call for 'Recognizing the Stranger', The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston [pdf]