Drug addiction and drug overdoses, especially involving opioids, are real and rampant in New Orleans. It’s a trend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noticed since 1999, with opioid overdoses quadrupling and opioids now involved in more than six out of 10 drug overdoses.

By Peter Finney Jr. Dave Baranowski was a corporate hot-shot with Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, charged with making sure the beer company’s $1 billion annual marketing budget pounded home the mantra that the buying public could find no greater refreshment and satisfaction than “The King of Beers.” “I was fortunate to work for ‘The King of Beers’ for 30 years,” Baranowski told 200 people who attended a Catholic evangelization workshop Sept. 9 sponsored by the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Office of Evangelization.

By Archbishop Gregory M. AYMOND To: Clergy, Religious and Laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: It is our archdiocesan tradition to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation, better known as confession, on a weekday evening near the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

In the south, we learn to make summer vacations toward the start of summer. As a child, I always associated the start of summer with a family vacation. At the time, I figured it was because June is the month of birthdays: mine and my siblings, as well as my mom’s – and certainly, that was part of the reason.

Ron Brocato SPORTS Cabrini athletes are preparing their minds and bodies for competition through a multifaceted program that focuses on strength and conditioning and a holistic approach to sports psychology, physiology of the body, nutrition, facing adversity and leadership.

The Catholic Communication Campaign will be taken up in all parishes of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Sept. 16-17. The collection supports the evangelizing work of the church throughout the world by supporting media: newspapers, television, radio and digital or online media.

By Father Rodney Kissinger, S.J. Diocese of Lafayette It is said that the good die young and the smart leave. That says an awful lot about me. Yes, I am a witness to the Gospel truth that God chooses the weak to confound the strong and the foolish to confound the learned.

Making a Difference It’s that special time of the year again when kids start heading back to school. And for those who have discovered the fun of learning, school is an adventure! But for millions of working children worldwide, the adventures of a new school year remain but a dream.

Greg Erlandson, Guest Column One of the most common comments I heard about the crowd of storm trooper wannabes marching with backyard tiki torches and wooden shields through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, was how many young people were among them.

By Beth Donze If not for the oak trees lining both sides of Ursulines Avenue, the French Gothic Revival building with dormer windows crowned by leaved stone finials might be mistaken for a convent located somewhere in Europe.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Sept. 14-Oct. 8 EVENTS ST. RITA (HARAHAN) MARY GROUP , with MIR, monthly Peace Mass, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m. with celebrant Dominican Father Peter Damien Harris, parochial vicar of St. Dominic Parish.

By Clarion Herald Several different young adult organizations have announced upcoming plans. The New Orleans chapter of Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) Executive Speaker Series will feature Craig Cuccia at Café Reconcile, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans.

If there is one glimmer of hope we can share with our Texas neighbors right now, it is this: the darkness will lift. We know. And we will be there for you, just as you were there for us. In the 1960s, when Moon Landrieu was mayor of New Orleans, citizens enviously looked west and wondered why New Orleans could not have a more sensible property tax base like Houston’s that would properly fund public schools, city services, parks, playgrounds and libraries.

A: El Clero, Religiosos, y Laicos de la Arquidiócesisde Nueva Orleáns, Queridos hermanas, y hermanos en Cristo: Es nuestra tradición en nuestra Arquidiócesis, ofrecer el Sacramento de Reconciliación, mejor conocido como confesión, un día de la semana por la tarde, cerca al día de la Festividad de la Exaltación de la Cruz.

God wants people to live with hope and joy – not bitterness – and to dream with him of a better world, Pope Francis said. “Please, make sure we do not pay attention to disappointed and unhappy people; let us not listen to those who cynically plead not to cultivate hope in life,” he said Aug. 30 during his weekly general audience.

It was a strange dream. New Orleans woke up early in 2018, and the Saints were looking for a new head coach and quarterback. Without playoffs this season, that dream could become reality. Here’s how the Saints can make the leap back into the league’s upper tier: For starters, quarterback Drew Brees needs to have another season like the last.

By Ron Brocato One new chapter of high school football history in New Orleans will be made and an old rivalry will be renewed on Sept. 8 when Tulane’s Yulman Stadium hosts a non-district game between former Catholic League rivals St. Augustine and De La Salle.

By Margaret Baglow, St. Scholastica Academy My house flooded in Hurricane Katrina. Five weeks after my family had moved from the northshore to the southshore, our new house in Metairie flooded in that horrible hurricane.

By Peter Finney Jr. and  Christine Bordelon Archbishop Gregory Aymond has contacted Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to assure him of the prayers and financial support of the Archdiocese of New Orleans for the flood victims in Texas and southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

As we prepare for our Louisiana Priests’ Convention Sept. 19-21, I am very enthusiastic that about 400 priests will be attending. This gathering is to give us, as priests and bishops, an opportunity to pray together, spend time together, take part in continuing education and strengthen our fellowship.