Arkansas

Arkansas priest credits face time with Pope Francis to serving immigrants

Published

2 years ago

May 11, 2024

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

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Arkansas

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

Published

6 hours ago

April 22, 2026

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#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 24 Arkansas (27-15) used an eight-run eighth inning, punctuated by home runs from Ryder Helfrick and TJ Pompey, to race past Missouri State (26-12) in a 12-4 win Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With their win in the rematch against the Bears, the Razorbacks improved to 9-2 in midweek games, including a 7-1 mark in midweek matchups at home, this season. Arkansas will conclude its midweek slate next week with a double midweek series against Northwestern State from April 28-29 inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

Entering the bottom of the eighth tied at four, the Hogs exploded for eight runs on seven hits, including four extra-base hits, to blow the game open. Carter Rutenbar’s go-ahead two-run single through the right side put Arkansas up 6-4 and set the table for Camden Kozeal’s RBI double, Helfrick’s three-run blast and Pompey’s two-run shot later in the frame.

When the bottom of the eighth was all said and done, the Razorbacks had opened a commanding 12-4 lead after they were shut out through the game’s first five innings. Kozeal finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI to lead Arkansas offensively and raise his season slash line to .305/.394/.604 with 11 homers and a team-high 48 RBI.

Helfrick, meanwhile, swatted his team-leading 14th home run in Tuesday night’s win against the Bears. The Razorbacks’ superstar catcher is now slashing .293/.430/.626 with 14 homers and 40 RBI through his 41 games played this season.

In addition to Kozeal, Nolan Souza (3-for-5), Reese Robinett (2-for-5, 2B) and Kuhio Aloy (2-for-4, RB) logged multi-hit games. Along with Helfrick and Kozeal, Rutenbar (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Pompey (1-for-1, HR, RBI) tallied multiple RBI.

On the mound, Tate McGuire made his third start of the season for Arkansas and worked 3.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. In relief, Colin Fisher (3.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 SO), Steele Eaves (0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO), Parker Coil (0.2 IP) and Cooper Dossett (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for 5.1 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with eight strikeouts to seal the win.

Up next, the Hogs will hit the road for an SEC weekend series from April 23-25 in Columbia, Mo. First pitch in the series opener between Arkansas and Missouri (20-21) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on SEC Network.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

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Arkansas

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

Published

19 hours ago

April 21, 2026

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Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

A legislative panel rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have eliminated former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri’s job as an adviser to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A top lawmaker also suggested that Profiri may return to his job overseeing the state prison system, two years after he was fired by the state Board of Corrections as part of a dispute with Sanders.

The proposal rejected by the Joint Budget Committee’s personnel subcommittee would have written into the appropriation for Sanders’ office language eliminating Profiri’s position from the Republican governor’s staff. Subcommittee members voted 9-6 against the amendment, with Rep. Lane Jean not casting a vote.

Republican Sen. Terry Rice introduced the proposal last week, a little over six months after Profiri didn’t appear at a hearing on the now-stalled Franklin County prison project before a committee that Rice co-chairs.

Rice called this a “major trust-breaker.”

“The Board of Corrections members asked Mr. Profiri to share his intended plans as secretary, and they would work with him. He ignored multiple attempts,” Rice said. “I was told during that meeting, he was in the Capitol, had been seen in the hall at the same time. He didn’t even reply and chose to snub legislators’ questions.”

Profiri was fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections as the leader of the state’s prison agency in 2024, following months of increasing tensions between the constitutionally-independent board and Sanders over opening new beds when the Department of Corrections already struggled to find sufficient staffing. Those tensions eventually resulted in lawsuits, which are still unresolved, and Profiri’s firing.

After he was fired, the Republican governor hired Profiri as a senior advisor, making him the highest paid staffer in her office. Profiri is paid $183,699.98 a year, according to the Arkansas transparency portal.

Jean, a Republican from Magnolia who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee, asked Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson and Board of Corrections member Lee Watson “what the timeline was” for Sanders to rehire Profiri as corrections secretary, pointing to the new makeup of the board.

“I don’t think there’s any objection to the board, or certainly a majority of the board, to hire him (again). What are we waiting on?” Jean asked.

“What I can say is Secretary (Lindsay) Wallace, she is the secretary, and she will continue as secretary until the governor decides she’s not secretary,” Hudson said. “In the interim, (Profiri) continues to do his job as an adviser to the governor.”

The ongoing lawsuit between the Board of Corrections and Sanders centers on who has the authority to fire the corrections secretary. A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the board does. Sanders appealed the ruling.

The board’s new Sanders-appointed majority voted to accept a settlement agreement accepting her position that she is the one with firing authority earlier this month, though the lower court order remains in force until the Arkansas Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Sam Dubke, Sanders’ spokesperson, referred the Advocate to Hudson’s remarks when asked for comment on whether Profiri would be rehired as corrections secretary.

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Arkansas

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla –The Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, on April 19, 2026 at ONEOK Field and The Sporting Tribune’s Robert Sloter was there to capture the following TST Images.

Luke Fox #15 of the Tulsa Drillers throws a pitch during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.