An interesting film lurking behind an exploitative title, Republic Pictures’ 1953 western “Woman They Almost Lynched” is set in early 1865 in “Border City,” a fictitious Ozarks town bisected by the…
Arkansas
Arkansas priest credits face time with Pope Francis to serving immigrants
NEW YORK – When Father Joseph Friend had about 20 seconds to greet Pope Francis near the end of a recent retreat for parish priests in Rome, he spoke about the work he does with immigrants in his community, to which he said the pontiff replied, “Continue to work with the immigrant, continue to work with them and love them!”
The interaction took place in Spanish, something Friend credits to those he serves.
“When I got to speak to him, and I serve many Mexican immigrants, I thought about how cool it is that there’s the spirit of the poor, the spirit of the marginalized, the spirit of those who struggle, but it is through the immigrant that I was able to speak to the Holy Father in his native tongue,” Friend told Crux.
Friend’s personal moment with Pope Francis came on the last day of the April 28-May 2 retreat, when the pontiff visited with the approximate 200 parish priests from around the world in attendance. Friend, who is the pastoral administrator of Holy Cross Church. Holy Spirit Church, and Our Lady of the Lake Church in the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas, was one of five American priests in attendance.
Other than brief, individual greetings with each priest, Friend said Pope Francis spent an hour and a half speaking to them in a question-and-answer format. Friend said Pope Franics told them to be better brother priests and be better connected to their bishops, warned how gossip can destroy a presbyterate, spoke about discernment, and emphasized the spirit of synodality and the spirit of mission.
“Gosh, the Holy Spirit was so present in his voice. I was just crying the whole time. I was sitting there, thinking ‘this is the vicar of Christ, and we get to sit in front of him and listen to him for an hour and a half,’” Friend said. “It was so clear the spirit was with him. Everything he was saying was needed.”
Related to the spirit of mission, Friend said Pope Francis pushed them to really get out into their communities and live out the faith, and to embrace the gifts the laity bring to the faith community.
“I really am inspired to bring that missionary spirit back to our parish, and I think synodality makes the most sense in the grassroots,” Friend explained.
“People are trying to look up and get a clear definition of it, but it’s more of a reality to be lived where you are, sitting down with your people, asking them where the holes are, who’s in need, how can we serve them, what are our spiritual needs, what are we lacking in our prayer life and how can we better respond as a church.”
Before the time with Pope Francis, the priests had already had four days together.
Friend said he knew the retreat would be an amazing experience from the moment the priests gathered near St. Peter’s Basilica to get their passports checked by the Swiss Guard, and load on to buses to head over to the retreat location outside of Rome. Friend said the first people he met when he arrived, suitcase still in hand, were priests from China, the Congo, Japan, Argentina, and Paraguay.
“Just think of the map of airplanes going all across the world and priests on these different airplanes and all converging at St. Peter’s [Square]. How beautiful is that?” Friend asked. “15 hour flights, 9 hour flights, 10 hour flights, and all of the sudden we’re walking with our bags up to each other.”
“It was amazing,” Friend added.
Once the retreat got underway, Friend said they started everyday with breakfast at 7 a.m., followed by prayer at 8 a.m. From there they spent time in their small groups responding to a central question presented to them each day, and also responding to questions posed in different presentations.
Friend said his group included a priest from Mexico, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Malta, Ireland, England, Scotland and two from the Philippines. He also said he met a priest from Iraq whose parish was destroyed by ISIS, a priest from Russia who talked about the parishes that have been taken by the government, and a priest from Sri Lanka who was in the parish that was bombed in the 2019 Easter bombing.
However, no matter where the priests were from, Friend said they all faced the same challenges – nihilism, individualism, and hedonism in their communities. He said he heard those three words from priests from all over the world time and time again.
Another takeaway from the retreat, Friend said, is the universality of the church in the sense that the priesthood is a brotherhood, and they’re not “individual popes in our little counties.”
“We have to be together as brothers, and I think in our dioceses that was cultivated in the seminary and it’s highly cultivated now,” Friend said. “It’s not to say the spirit hasn’t been working, and I think we’ve done a lot of good things as steps in formation, but this just gives me all the more zeal to work with my brother priests and to realize that we’re together on a mission.”
Crux spoke with Friend on May 9, a week after the conclusion of the retreat. He said when he returned, he was able to thank the immigrants in his community for giving him a special moment he had with Pope Francis. And he has spoken to a few of his brother priests about helping to keep him more accountable in speaking about others.
In general though, Friend said he’s being prudent in how he shares what he learned with his community.
“We were tasked with being missionaries of synodality. And I can certainly come back and force the message down people’s throats … but that’s going to be determined, what does it mean to be a missionary of synodality?” Friend asked.
“That’s something I’m taking very seriously in prayer, and asking for the guidance of the spirit, and to be prudent in the next steps I take as a missionary of synodality.”
Reflecting on the fact that the retreat even happened, he said it’s a sign of health in the church.
“How cool is it that [Pope Francis] selected a few guys from the grassroots level to be able to experience that. Whereas before, when would this have happened in the synodal process?” Friend wondered.
“Obviously, it’s a thing for bishops and cardinals and God bless them and I thank them for their ministry, but for the average guy living in the Delta in Arkansas, this is probably the first time in history, probably, that we were invited to do something like this and maybe there’s some health in that,” Friend said.
Follow John Lavenburg on X: @johnlavenburg
Arkansas
AIRE Arkansas now operates from a brick-and-mortar space in Springdale | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Dustin Staggs
Dustin Staggs is a features writer for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where he covers arts, entertainment and community stories that showcase the vibrant culture of Northwest Arkansas. Dustin, a University of Arkansas graduate, joined the Democrat-Gazette features team in July 2024. During his time at the university, Dustin’s magazine story was named a Story of the Year finalist in the “In-Depth News Story” category by the Associated Collegiate Press, making him the only Arkansas college student to earn this recognition that year. At the Democrat-Gazette, Dustin has cultivated strong connections within the local arts and entertainment community and finds joy in spotlighting the creative talents and inspiring stories of the region.
Arkansas
ARKANSAS A-Z: Arkansas plays role in ‘Woman They Almost Lynched’ | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Arkansas
Kendra Duggar arrested on Arkansas child endangerment, false imprisonment charges days after husband’s arrest | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
TONTITOWN — Police on Friday arrested the wife of a former reality TV personality who was himself arrested only two days before.
Tontitown police arrested Kendra Duggar, 27, on misdemeanor state charges, including four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment.
Kendra Duggar is the wife of Joseph Garrett Duggar, 31, who was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child sexual abuse that authorities say occurred in Florida, according to a Tontitown Police Department news release.
Kendra Duggar, of Silver Birch Street in Tontitown, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center at 4:56 p.m. Friday and released on $1,470 bond at 6:19 p.m.
Joseph Duggar is facing the same state charges in addition to awaiting extradition to Florida related to the sex crimes accusations against him. Joseph Duggar’s booking sheet at the Washington County Detention Center was updated Friday to reflect the Arkansas charges.
Both Kendra and Joseph Duggar were given April 29 court dates in Elm Springs District Court.
Tontitown police are being tight-lipped about the case because minors are involved.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation. Arkansas law strictly limits the information that may be released in cases involving minors and other sensitive circumstances,” according to the release. “To protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved, no further details will be provided at this time.”
Additional information will be released as permitted by law and as the investigation allows, the release states.
INITIAL ARREST
Joseph Duggar was arrested Wednesday by Tontitown police on suspicion of lewd and lascivious behavior – molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older, according to a news release posted on Facebook by the Bay County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.
Duggar is awaiting extradition to Bay County, where the reported activity occurred, according to the release.
A Tontitown police detective contacted Bay County investigators Wednesday regarding a report of sexual abuse, the release states.
The 14-year-old girl who made the report participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, Fla., when she was 9 years old, the release states.
The girl reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket, at which time Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar also continued to rub his hands on her thighs, according to the release.
“The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology,” the release states.
The girl’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents Tuesday. Duggar admitted his actions to the girl’s father and Tontitown detectives, according to the release.
The Tontitown Police Department, in a separate news release, stated its officers received a warrant from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for Duggar about 3 p.m. Wednesday. The department noted the reported criminal activity did not occur in Tontitown.
“The Tontitown Police Department wants the community to know that this matter is being handled with the highest level of professionalism, compassion, and diligence,” the release states.
Duggar is known for being part of his family’s cable television reality show “19 Kids and Counting” on TLC. The show, which chronicled the Duggar family’s home life, was canceled in 2015 after it became public knowledge one of Duggar’s brothers — Josh Duggar — confessed to molesting four of his sisters and another girl while he was a teenager.
JOSH DUGGAR’S CHILD PORN CASE
Josh Duggar was convicted Dec. 9, 2021, of possessing child pornography by a federal court jury in Fayetteville. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks to 12½ years in federal prison on May 25, 2022. Duggar also was ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release after his prison term and to pay a $10,000 fine. Brooks assessed fees totaling $40,100.
Prosecutors accused Duggar in early 2021 of using the internet to download and view child pornography, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children younger than 12, according to court documents. They told jurors child pornography was repeatedly downloaded on the computer at Duggar’s used car lot May 14-16, 2019.
He was charged in federal court with two counts involving receiving and possessing child pornography. The jury found him guilty on both counts after more than six hours of deliberation over two days. Duggar was sentenced on the single count of receiving child pornography because possession of child pornography is considered a lesser included offense under federal law.
He is currently seeking to appeal his conviction contending he was denied a fair trial and his constitutional rights were violated. He filed the initial motion without the help of a lawyer. Duggar has been denied post-conviction relief by local judges, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Beau B. Brindley, a Chicago lawyer who previously represented singer R. Kelly, recently filed a motion asking to represent Duggar in that appeal.
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