Worth Reading General Worth Assembly #1089 Fort Worth, Texas Newsletter for July 2018 Navigator’s Compass The passing of the gavel from FN Adrian Romero to incoming Navigator SK Ron Harris occurred at our Installation & Awards Dinner the evening of June 8th, held at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church Parish Hall. It was well attended by both the fine Master Staff of our awesome Third District Master Pat Conway, and our Members along with our faithful and supportive wives, with a total of almost sixty. The delicious meal was provided and served again by Luby’s Catering, with entrees of Angus beef, roasted turkey and chicken cordon bleu, and good variety of deserts. Not everyone who was receiving awards this year was able to attend this function, so they received their awards at following Assembly meetings. These awards included: SK Michael Smerick—60 years of Service to General Worth Assembly SK George Webster—Honorary Life Membership Top Sword Award—Michael Echevarria Family of the Year Award—Ron and Priscilla Harris The Month of May ended in a big way with all of the Memorial Day celebrations, the primary ones being the Honor Guard standings at both the National Cemetery in Dallas, and Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth, where dignitaries included the Mayor and the Navy Commander and Navy Chaplain of the Joint Reserve Naval Air Station, who even accompanied us for the Annual Toss of a wreath into the Trinity River from the Bridge. As a special treat, our Lady Knights posed with the Mayor of Fort Worth. The Assembly Officers decided this year to have an Officers Transition Meeting with the purpose of assisting each of the incoming Officers with understanding the roles and responsibilities of their new offices, as well as a time to discuss the Calendar of Events for the upcoming year to work out conflicts and discuss ideas for changes and improvements. This meeting was held on Saturday morning, 9:00am at the Council 4101 Hall behind St. Peter the Apostle CC. It began with a quality time of the Officers briefly sharing their personal story to help to know and understand each other better. We then discussed a good number of ideas and suggestions not only for events, but also for ways to get better involvement and participation of Assembly Members. One important discussion was about recruiting uninvolved Members to assist with a single function so they feel needed and have a reason to attend and participate in meetings. We believe the accomplishments of this Transition Meeting will bear fruit this coming year and following. The Comptroller and Trustees also met prior to complete the Annual Audit. One final news item: at the Installation, District Master Pat Conway asked me as incoming Navigator to set up a perpetual email to be used ongoing by successive Navigators. So all email correspondence to and from me as Navigator is to use the following: [email protected] I look forward to serving you this year as your Faithful Navigator, and May God richly bless all of you! SK Ron Harris Faithful Navigator 807-307-2742 Pope and Macron Meet at Vatican, Discuss Migration (this story originally appeared on June 26) VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron held lengthy private talks at the Vatican Tuesday to discuss immigration and to reflect on Europe's prospects amid growing challenges to the continent's unity. Tensions in the European Union over how to share the responsibilities of mass migration are testing the bloc's staying power. Looming over a key EU meeting later this week are clashing views among members on how to handle the crisis caused by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Francis and Macron spoke for 57 minutes in the pope's library in the Apostolic Palace. Originally, the pope's schedule called for 45 minutes with the French leader. After they emerged from their closed-door talks, Macron put a hand on Francis' shoulder, and then kissed him on both cheeks. Francis reciprocated the warmth, gripping the French leader's arm and then shaking his hands vigorously and smiling broadly as he said goodbye. He also took the hand of Macron's wife, Brigitte. The Vatican described the talks as "cordial," saying they highlighted "the good existing bilateral relations." It said the two discussed global issues, including migration, the environment and conflict prevention and resolution, especially disarmament. "The conversation also permitted an exchange of views on various situations of conflict, particularly in the Middle East and in Africa. Finally, there was a joint reflection on the prospects of the European project." For his part, Macron described his meeting with Francis as "extremely rich and intense." He told the pope the "progressive" way to handle the migrant crisis was through "a true policy of development for Africa," the president recounted at a news conference. Last week, Francis urged nations to welcome all the refugees they could properly integrate into society. The pope said governments should also work to improve the lives of people in Africa rather than continue viewing the continent as ripe for exploitation. Coming at a time of testy French-Italian relations, Macron's visit was officially strictly Vatican-related, with no meetings scheduled with Italian government leaders. But Italy's new premier, Giuseppe Conte, did meet in Paris with Macron earlier this month for talks that risked being scuttled after France scathingly criticized Italy for not allowing a private rescue boat with more than 600 migrants aboard to dock in Italian ports. Italy's new leaders had retorted that France sends back migrants who illegally enter France from Italy and shouldn't be giving Rome any lectures. Spain eventually gave the ship safe harbor. Italy has allowed some 600,000 migrants, rescued at sea in the last few years from smugglers' boats setting out from Libya, to step onto its soil. But the new right-wing interior minister, Matteo Salvini, says Italy can no longer be "the refugee camp" for Europe. As is his custom with guests, Francis gave Macron a medal depicting St. Martin of Tours, who gave his cloak to a poor man. The medal "aims at underlining the vocation of those who govern in helping the poor," Francis told Macron. "We are all poor." He also gave Macron copies of his various writings, including his encyclical on the fragility of the Earth, and his last message marking the Church's World Peace Day. Macron, who was accompanied by his wife, Brigitte, presented Francis with a copy of "The Diary of a Country Priest" by Georges Bernanos. The book recounts the story of a young French priest who learns humility in tending to the faithful. "I already read it. Many times." said Francis. "It did me well to read it." Earlier, the president met with officials from the Rome-based Catholic charity, the Sant'Egidio Community. The group has organized humanitarian flights of Syrian refugees to Italy so that those fleeing war will have an alternative to risky journeys across the Mediterranean to reach safety in Europe and to life in crowded refugee camps in the Middle East. Community president Marco Impagliazzo said they "spoke above all of a European solution to this migration crisis that is not only a crisis of the flow of migrants but also a problem of what to do with the people when they arrive in Europe, what will they do, how will they be inserted into society." Pope appoints 14 new cardinals (this story originally appeared o June 28) Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis appointed 14 new cardinals Thursday, a diverse selection from all over the world including Iraq, Pakistan, Madagascar and Japan whom he warned to avoid the kind of "palace intrigues" which have plagued the Vatican over the years. The appointments come as the Argentine pontiff gradually shapes a less European college of cardinals. Before the ceremony marking their appointment, Francis warned the new batch of cardinals that they must not get involved in "palace intrigues" within the Vatican but focus on "those who are hungry, the forgotten, the prisoner, the sick, the addict, the abandoned person". Among the new "princes" of the church is Iraq's Louis Raphael Sako who has often met Pope Francis to discuss the situation in the war-torn country and the plight of the dwindling Christian community. From Pakistan comes Joseph Coutts of Karachi who promotes dialogue between Christians and Muslims. Coutts fights the abusive use of the crime of blasphemy in a country where churches are under police protection due to threats from extremist Muslim groups. Desire Tsarahazana from Toamasina in Madagascar is the only African among the new cardinals. "The people are suffering and need support," he said of his appointment. We were there before Muslims The Pope also appointed Thomas Aquinas Manyo from Osaka in Japan. Among the three Latin American prelates is Archbishop Pedro Barreto of Huancayo, Peru. Barreto fights for the rights of the communities living in the Amazon forest and has received death threats for denouncing working conditions in illegal mines. Seven European cardinals were also appointed, including Italy's Giuseppe Petrocchi, archbishop of L'Aquila, a city destroyed nine years ago by a violent earthquake. As well as having the key role of choosing a new pope, cardinals often also hold the highest administrative offices in the church. Each new appointee knelt in front of Pope Francis who placed the cardinal's hat on their heads during the ceremony at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.