Hello and welcome,
I have been concerned for several months about the situation that has developed in Nicaragua in anticipation of their national elections. Many of the opposition leaders were summarily arrested and imprisoned. Among them was Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa, who lived in Washington and whose parents were very close friends of mine. His family owns El Diario las Americas and have been leaders of the Hispanic community in United States as well as in Nicaragua.
So, I have been closely following that situation, and I was recently contacted by Consuelo Cruz, the sister of opposition leader Arturo Cruz, who was probably the main opposition leader leading up to the elections. Many of the families of these political prisoners have banded together and come out with a statement, which you can read in its original Spanish here.
For those who do not speak Spanish here is an excerpt in English:
Unquestionably, we all yearn for lasting peace and genuine unity, but that peace and unity will elude us as long as our 170 prisoners are not released. We Nicaraguans, after all, are a compassionate and Christian people and therefore are a people incapable of forgetting those who are in cells, isolated from their loved ones. In fact, the relatives of political prisoners have experienced very intensely the kind solidarity of the Nicaraguan people, because along with the many prayers we receive daily, we receive messages from all over and from people that we sometimes do not even know, expressing their personal and persistent concern for our prisoners.
These prayers and messages, which we wholeheartedly appreciate, have ultimately convinced us that the release of political prisoners can serve as a kind of liberation shared by all Nicaraguans, because it is obvious that the imprisonment of these 170 brothers and sisters has been like a parallel imprisonment of the great family.
Faced with this situation, we appeal to the rulers and the active forces of the nation, as well as to our Church, to lead and support a process of citizen unification, willing to build bridges; willing to listen to each other in order to begin to disarm the mutual distrust that has divided us for centuries.
We plainly make our call to this constructive task out of deep love for our prisoners, but let there be no doubt that we are also moved by a serious commitment to our homeland, for which we wish more hope and less anguish in all its spheres – spiritual, economic, civic, social, and political.
We certainly are very concerned about the welfare of these individuals, many of whom have been imprisoned for eight months now with very little contact with the outside world. Their families are fearful for their lives, and we are anxious that their situation be resolved soon.
Recently, we’ve had a number of meetings of the working groups of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. 
We are considering next steps following the convocation we had in December to discuss the rights of victims in canonical procedures. We also continue to discuss the future of the commission and the possible establishment of an office of the Holy See.
Last Friday morning, I visited with Jennifer Wortham, whom I have known for several years and who is currently serving as a Research Associate for the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. Last November, on the final morning of the USCCB’s Fall Meeting, Jennifer organized a walk with interfaith leaders and survivors of clergy abuse to promote awareness and foster collaboration among the faith community along the path to healing. 
Jennifer is now working on plans for an expanded observance of survivors’ journey of healing that will be held on November 18 this year, the date of the European Day for Protection of Children Against Child Sexual Abuse. Jennifer also works closely with the Catholic University of America in planning and promoting these initiatives. I look forward to continued collaboration with her efforts.
Saturday, all events were canceled because we had a blizzard here in Boston.
I wanted to share this photo particularly with those readers who are in the southern climes, so that they can be jealous of the winter wonderland of Massachusetts!
Sunday, I was visited by Bishop Paul Schmitz, who was arriving in Boston for some medical tests. Bishop Paul is a classmate of mine who is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Bluefields, Nicaragua. He was accompanied by a wonderful young priest from Valencia, Spain, who is working in Bluefields.
Monday, I went to Charlestown for the funeral of Tom Deeley, the brother of Bishop Robert Deeley and Father Kevin Deeley. The funeral was to have been held on Saturday but, like many other events that day, it was postponed because of the blizzard.
It was held at St. Mary’s Church, where Tom was a daily communicant and active parishioner. Bishop Deeley was the principal celebrant, and Father Kevin was the homilist. Of course, many other members of the Deeley family were there, along with the pastor of St. Mary’s, Father Jim Ronan, and a number of his fellow parishioners.
In addition to being a retired captain of the Belmont Fire Dept., Tom was also a veteran, so his burial was held on Wednesday at the National Cemetery in Bourne.
Wednesday morning, I was happy to visit with the First Communion class of St. Agnes School in Arlington via Zoom. Their pastor, Father Marc Bishop, was there along with their teachers.
I read them a First Communion Story, after which we had a time for questions and answers. And then we ended with a blessing.
It was a delightful visit, and it was wonderful to be able to spend some time talking with the children.
Then, I went to Regina Cleri to celebrate a Jubilee Mass with our senior priests. For many years, Candlemas was the ordination day for the Archdiocese of Boston. So, many older priests celebrate the anniversary of their ordination on February 2.
Four of the men were celebrating their 60th jubilee and another four were celebrating 65th jubilee. All told, there were 22 priests who were celebrating the anniversary of their ordinations that day. It was a great joy to be there to celebrate with them.
On Tuesday, Thomas Driscoll, recently named Order of Malta Boston Area Chair, succeeding Craig and Nancy Gibson, and Christopher Lee, the Order’s coordinator for the Malta Walks to assist the homeless, came to the cathedral to speak about plans for the order’s activities and programs during the coming year. 
Thomas, known to most as Tommy, and his wife Jane are long-time members of the Order. Together they have participated in many of the pilgrimages to Lourdes and also have supported the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation. In recent years, Ed Delaney, the Communications Chair for the Boston Area, invited Tommy to attend the cathedral’s Malta Walks, which Tommy has embraced as an opportunity to bring the presence of the Lord to those at the margins in Boston neighborhoods. We look forward to working with Tommy and all the Members of the Order going forward.
On Wednesday, I was also visited by the executive director of our Clergy Trust, Mike Scannell, and the head of the board, Mark Vachon.
It was an opportunity to receive an update on their activities and to review initial plans for our Celebration of the Priesthood event that will be held this fall.
Until next week,
Cardinal Seán