Grateful to Diocese for good 2 years

Nov. 1, 2007

My dear sister and brothers in Christ,

TWO YEARS On Halloween, October 31, 2005, I received a call that changed my life. The Holy Father's representative in the United States called to tell me that our new Pope, Benedict XVI, had appointed me the new Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City. The official announcement would be made on November 10, 2005 and I would be ordained a bishop on January 20, 2006. Halloween can sometimes be a scary and frightening day for children. Halloween 2005, became a frightening and scary day for me, a priest called to be a successor to the Apostles and to lead the Diocese of Sioux City. Although I am still overwhelmed and humbled by the appointment, I am so grateful for your patience, love, understanding and support of me as your Bishop. I have not regretted one day of being with you and I ask for your continued prayers as we seek to do God's will together.

CATHOLIC RADIO

One of the first things I learned about the Diocese of Sioux City when I arrived was that a group of dedicated lay people in Carroll, Iowa wanted to start small Catholic Radio Station. That station 103 FM continues to be strong and I have blessed the studio on a visit to Carroll. Catholic radio is becoming more and more popular in our country. Omaha has had a station for some time and recently Catholic radio began in Des Moines. The good news for us in the Sioux City area is that a group called "St. Gabriel Communications" is soon to start a station here. It will be KFHC on 88.1 FM. The station call letters are a reference to the late Father Harold Cooper. In this issue of the Globe you will find a brochure describing the mission of the station and asking for your support. I am pleased to endorse the station and again thank the fine group of laity who has enabled another Catholic radio station to begin broadcasting. They will need our financial assistance to continue operation and I hope you will be as generous as you can. I see great opportunities for evangelization through the radio. KFHC hopes to extend its signal to other parts of the diocese in the near future. Please listen and support their efforts in any way possible.

REVIEW BOARD

All of us are aware of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has been addressed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and by each diocese in our country. One of the responses of the Bishops was to establish what is called the "Dallas Charter." This is a document issued by the Bishops to do all we can to protect children and youth from sexual abuse. The Charter requires that every year each diocese conduct an audit to determine compliance with the requirements. This audit was recently held for the Diocese of Sioux City. Once again, our diocese was found to be fully compliant. I wish to thank in a special way, Monsignor R. Mark Duchaine, V.G. and our Review Board for their dedicated work to ensure that all reports of sexual abuse of children by any members of our diocese, are dealt with in a just and compassionate manner. I also thank and commend Mr. Kevin Vickery, our superintendent of Catholic Schools and his staff, for their work in insuring that the background checks and ongoing training is done well in all our parishes and schools. I again encourage and invite anyone who has been victimized by sexual abuse to contact our offices so that we may offer our assistance and help in dealing with the horrible offenses of child sexual abuse. Our Victim Assistance Coordinator may be reached at (712) 279-5610.

IOWA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE Last week I attended another meeting of the Board of the Iowa Catholic Conference. This is a group composed of all the bishops of our state and representatives from each of the four dioceses. We discussed a number of important issues concerning our legislature and Catholic Church in the state of Iowa. We are grateful for the assistance our state provides our Catholic schools through student tuition assistance. In our diocese, the Monsignor Lafferty Foundation has been very successful and I thank all who support our school children in this way.

Other issues we discussed were marriage preparation programs, pro-life activities, rural and farming issues, communications and social outreach. IOWA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REGARDING MARRIAGE One of the most important issues we discussed at the meeting was supporting an amendment to our Iowa Constitution on definition of marriage. I joined my fellow bishops here in the state in issuing the statement of the Iowa Catholic Conference on Marriage. We feel it critically important that our legislature pass an amendment on the definition of marriage as that between one man and one woman. This takes on new meaning for us since the August 2007, decision by a Polk County District court judge to strike down a measure in our Iowa Code of Law that says "only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid" in the State of Iowa.

Our statement is found in this edition of the Globe. I encourage all of you to read it, pray about it and support our position. Even more importantly, I ask you to be in touch with your legislative representatives to encourage them to formulate and pass an amendment that would define marriage as being between one man and one woman. As we bishops stated in 2003, "Marriage is basic human and social institution. Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, it did not originate from either the church or state, but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage."

Please contact your representatives and ask them to do what they can to address this critical issue. We believe a constitutional amendment is the best way for Iowans to support the ideal of marriage as a stable union of one man and one woman. More details about this may be found on the Iowa Catholic Conference website: www.iowacatholicconference.org .

OUR CATHOLIC YOUTH

Recent Confirmation celebrations throughout the diocese and last Sunday's High School Youth Convention continue to remind me of the treasure we have in the Catholic young people of our diocese. They are filled with vigor, enthusiasm and faith. Let us all continue to pray for them, encourage them and give them good example in living out our faith. Thank you to Jessica LaFleur Malm and all who helped with the recent gathering of 1000 youth in Spencer.

FINAL REMARKS

I want to thank all of those who attended and supported our recent Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Schools. Kristie Arlt and her staff, along with Pat and Dick Collins, did an extraordinary job in planning and executing this wonderful event. Soledad O'Brien was truly an inspiration.

As I near the second anniversary of serving as your bishop, I hope you can see why I feel so blessed to be your shepherd. Our priests, deacons, consecrated persons and faithful laity are truly inspirations to me. My ministry as bishop is a joy and a blessing because of all of you. Thank you for all your support in so many ways, but especially thank you for your friendship and prayers. May God continue to bless us. I will remember all of your beloved dead in my Mass on All Souls Day. May they rest in peace.

By the way, the Colorado Rockies were just giving witness to the "humility" the Lord demanded in last Sunday's Gospel!

May the Lord give you peace.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City