By Marnie McAllister,

The U.S. bishops are calling on Catholics to be civil to all people, root their convictions with clarity in the Gospel and encounter all people with compassion.

These are the foundations of “Civilize It: Dignity Beyond the Debate,” a campaign sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It begins in November, exactly one year ahead of the next presidential election.

In announcements about the campaign, the bishops note the vitriolic language that has overwhelmed political discourse — and they note, we still have another year to go.



Promotional materials, available at  civilizeit.org , begin with a question, “What does it mean to love our neighbors in the midst of such a divisive climate?”

The bishops go on to explain, “Catholics are called to bring the best of ourselves and our faith to the public square — and yet today, many shy away from such involvement because our national and local conversations are filled with anger and harsh language, often directed at people themselves.

“When personal attacks replace honest debate, no one wins. This kind of attack, no matter the reason, only serves to further divide our communities. As Catholics, we must model a better way.”

That bears repeating: As Catholics, we must find a better way.

As Thanksgiving approaches, and the spectre of dinner-table conversations with extended family loom with it, keeping things civil is more important than ever.

The “Civilize It” campaign comes with several tools for parishes and families. It includes a pastoral aid for parishes, bulletin announcements, social media images and a prayer.

It also provides a pledge for families, individuals and communities to take, committing themselves to honoring... Read More

By Tim Tomes

In the October 17 issue of The Record, Ruby Thomas pulled together the facts and details of a nearly five-year journey of mine to restore an important 1824 Kentucky painting, The Dead Christ Mourned (The Three Maries ) after Carracci by beloved portrait artist, Matthew Harris Jouett. I call it my Indiana Jones adventure, and by all means it was. I am uncomfortable calling it my adventure, however, because so many people willingly (and thankfully) came along for the ride. 

When this adventure began in 2015, several years had passed since I last saw the painting. Since then it had been moved and suffered significant damage. When I saw the painting again after all those years, I was moved deeply. Even before I really knew what I was getting myself into, I had decided this painting had to be fixed one way or the other. The painting, which illustrates what it might have been like for our Virgin Mother to hold her only Son one last time, is so unique and special. I knew we only had one shot to get it right. 

My first thought was to call in the professionals at Louisville’s Speed Art Museum whom the Archdiocese had previously worked with on another large painting restoration. I left a message with the then new-to-Louisville-transplant, Erika Holmquist-Wall, the Mary & Barry Bingham Sr., Curator of European & American Painting & Sculpture. Her title is a mile long and after getting to know Erika these past years and learning about her passion to promote art, she deserves every bit of it.

After a short time, she returned my message, and we set a time to meet. I wish I could go back and listen to that original voice message; wondering what I might have said to pique her interest. I showed Erika the painting and she, like me, was taken aback by not only its massive size, but also by the subject, the figures, the emotion, and the damage. In other words, we recognized the good, the bad, and the ugly. With her curator-trained eye she looked closely at the tears, the paint loss, and the overall sad condition. The original frame was no better. Clearly, the painting was in rough shape, but she was encouraged that it could be saved and told me who could make it happen. She suggested Cleveland’s ICA - Art Conservation (for the painting) and Washington D.C.’s Gold Leaf Studios (for the frame). After thorough research, the project was awarded to these two miracle-making conservation organizations.

The restored painting was unveiled at the Speed Art Museum to a gallery packed full of supporters on October 12. An entire half gallery is dedicated to telling the story of this remarkable journey – that in itself is a testament to the commitment made by the Speed Art Museum to this project - to reach out beyond their walls and share their expertise and talents with the larger community. Of the list of things I am thankful for, the opportunity to continue and deepen the special relationship between the Archdiocese of Louisville and the Speed Art Museum is at the top. Because of this relationship, we collaborated to hit a home run and created something really wonderful. 

The Dead Christ Mourned (The Three Maries) after Carracci is on loan to the Speed Art Museum for five years and will be on display through May 2020 in Gallery #1. This is a must-see painting. Don’t wait to see it. You will be glad you did.  

Tim Tomes is the Archivist for the Archdiocese of Louisville.

This year as part of the Catholic Services Appeal, donors have the option of making an additional gift to support the Seminarian Education Fund. This fund supports the fourteen men that are in formation to become future priests for the Archdiocese of Louisville. One of these men, Cole McDowell, is a Pre-Theology II student at Theological College in Washington, D.C. To learn more about the Seminarian Education Fund and the other ministries supported by the Catholic Services Appeal, please visit  www.archlou.org/CSA .

This Q&A originally appeared in a special section of The Record published in the November 7 edition during Vocation Awareness Week. To see more from this special section, click here .