March 17, 2000

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March

Volume

atholic NEWS HERALD

8 OSS

9 t

&

2000

17,

Number 28

Serving Catholics

Ins id

in

Western North Carolina

in

the Diocese of Charlotte

With 'mea culpa/ pope culminates church's examination of conscience

Embracing Stewardship Regional workshop highlights giving of time, talent, treasure

...Page

3

St. Patrick

scholarsees

Qv JOHN irtUM TUAWIC By THAVIS News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope John Paul II made an unprecedented apology for the sins of Christians through the ages, the culmination of Catholic

the church's "examination of con-

more than a

science" for the jubilee year.

saint for party

culpa"

...Page

7

The

pope's long-awaited "mea 12 was echoed by local

March

churches in the United States and elsewhere and generally welcomed by non-Catholics around the world.

The pope's idea of a day of atonement, which met some resistance even Living the Faith

inside the Vatican, was designed to acknowledge shortcomings in the

Philadelphia prepares to honor a saint of

its

own

church's past, in order to give Cathosense of reconciliation and make future evangelization more credible. lics a

...Page

16

"We

forgive and we ask forgiveness!" the pope said during a historic

Lenten liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica. seven top Vatican officials pronounced a "request for pardon" for

Local News

He and

sins against Christian unity, the use

Getting to the bottom of

of violence

Teen Summit 2000 ...Page

4

Bringing

and wrongs

abortion against society's weakest members. The pope said the church has had like

many

saints, but some of its members have shown disobedience to God and inconsistency with the faith in the past and present. "For the part that each of us, with his behavior, has had in these evils that have disfigured the face of the church,

biblical

women to life

...Page

serving the truth, hostility toward Jews and other religions, the marginalization of women, in

5

we humbly ask forgiveness," he said. Pronouncing the apology for Christian intolerance in the past was

CNS

photo from Reuters

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger lights a lamp symbolizing one of the seven petitions for forgiveness at the jubilee "request for pardon" service in St. Peter's Basilica March 12. Pope John Paul II solemnly asked for pardon for the past and present sins of Christians during the service. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was created more

than 450 years ago under a different to run the Inquisition. "Even men of the church, in the name of faith and morals, have sometimes used methods not in keeping with the Gospel in the solemn duty of defending the truth," the cardinal said. Other Vatican officials expressed

name

regret for actions by Christians that have aggravated ecumenical divisions, increased discrimination

against minority and ethnic groups, "humiliated and marginalized" women, and shown contempt for local

cultures and religious traditions.

The pope called for "genuine brotherhood" between Christians and Jews, telling Jewish people that "we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer." At the conclusion of the apology .

pope embraced and kissed the crucifix and, in a final blessing, declared that "never again" should such sins be committed. Thousands of people attended the service, packing the basilica and watching on giantliturgy, the

screen

TV in See

the square outside.

"MEA CULPA,"

page

8

Network helps Greensboro families find their way home By

ALESHA

Entertainment

M. PRICE

Staff Writer

GREENSBORO

Pages 10-11

In the early-

Karen Olson felt compelled to give a sandwich to a homeless woman in a subway station in New York. After she talked to the woman and learned about her life, she and her two sons began delivering sandwiches in and around New York and New Jersey. When area churches became aware of Olson's efforts, that is how '80s,

Editorials

& Columns Pages 12-13

The Season of Lent "Living Lent is a matter of attitude"

A column by Father Trrrance Hyland, O.S.A.

the first Interfaith Hospitality Netto be formed in October

work came 1986 ity

in

New

Jersey.

The National Interfaith HospitalNetwork (NIHN) was later orga-

nized, which oversees the approximately 73 local networks throughout

the country. One of those 73 networks includes a group of Greensboro churches the Greensboro Interfaith Hospitality Network (GIHN) all trying to help homeless families in that area to find their own shelter from the storm. "This is a grass roots organization in which churches pair together to provide housing for families and provide transportation for them and their belongings to and from the host church," explained Jeanie Roberts-

GIHN director. GIHN beea n in

Wyatt, the

The

October

1999 to accommodate up to 14 people, or about five families, in a rotating schedule with the host churches using their facilities for five

weeks during the

The network was created through the efforts of Bruce Bergen, now, the president of the GIHN Board of Trustees, and a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Greensboro. He attended a meeting with members who wanted to start a local network, and because of his prior ecumenical work, he and others went to churches to pitch the idea. "The churches are not shelters but are' safe places. We aren't just feeding them; we are having dinner with them and trying to bring some hope to their lives," said Bergen. "For year.

the people of the churches, this puts a gentler face on homelessness because

See INTERFAITH, page

14


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