Holy Spirit Parish- New Castle issued the following announcement on Oct 17.

These are very painful and challenging times. So many people are divided and the political atmosphere, with its lack of civility, only serves to further the divide. On this Sunday, we hear our Savior tell us, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but give to God what belongs to God.” —Matthew 22: 21 As a parish and as a community, let us heed the words of our Savior. Let us put aside our political differences and points of view and turn to our Lord for guidance, peace— and ultimately our eternal salvation. Today, we heed also the words of Our Lady of Fatima who told the children, and through them the world, to pray the rosary for peace. It was during a time of great upheaval throughout the world and the looming of world wars. This is a very dangerous and volatile time for us also. 

When Our Lady appeared to those children in Portugal, it was during World War I. World War II was yet to come and which was even more violent, devastating and all-encompassing. None of us know what the future holds or what the fallout from this very contentious political election will be, no matter which side wins. In some ways, we all lose! It is time for us to put aside the wrangling and turn to God in prayer. Today, we establish a new tradition for Holy Spirit Parish with a Rosary Walk from St. Vitus Church to St. Mary Church. We will process with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. We will pray the holy rosary for peace in our world, for guidance, and for protection from the evil one. We will pray for peace and charity among all people. We will pray for the respect of human life at all stages and for the future of America. Let us strive to rise above the strife and conflict, television and social media, and focus on Christ! With our attention fixed on Him and through the intercession of our Blessed Lady, let us replace our fears, anger and frustration with peace and trust in Christ and His power to save us. May our praying together and witnessing to the wider community of our passion embolden others to do the same. 

Our Lady of Fatima encouraged us to pray for the conversion of Russia. In our day, there is a great need for conversion, not only of the Russian and Chinese people and governments, but perhaps even more, the conversion of our political leaders and our people! There are those who boldly desire to remove God from our country’s consciousness. They want to eliminate Judeo-Christian values from our legal system and our public debate over laws and regulations. They desire to rewrite the history of our land. This nation came to birth because of a desire of our forefathers for a nation under God. They desired a nation where God could be worshipped freely and openly without harassment or limitation by an oppressive government. 

Changing hearts is even more important and more difficult than changing laws. We begin with prayer, but we must continue to witness to others the importance of our faith, the demand for justice, and to hold those in power accountable for their behavior. Remember the story of St. Thomas More? He was the Chancellor of England when Henry VIII was King. He was forced to choose between being faithful and loyal to God or faithful and loyal to the King. He chose God—and the King put him to death. This story is told in the award-winning movie, Man for all Seasons. I recommend it to you and encourage you and your family to watch it in light of today’s gospel and our present situation. Remember, it is Christ alone who is our Savior, not the Republicans, or the Democrats, not professional sports teams or labor unions; it is Christ and He alone! We all must choose—beware the choice you make! Believe, pray, and put your faith into action.  God love you,

Original source can be found here.