I C ATHOLIC = SAN FRANCISCO
Fear and faith Chaplain from San Francisco sees and feels the reality of Iraq war By Evelyn Zappia The flight attendant's announcement, "Please don 't store your rifles in the overhead bins , " sounded odd to Jesuit Father Michael Barber, the only passenger on the plane who was not armed. The soon-to-be Chaplain for 7,000 Marines was on his way to somewhere in Kuwait. One look at his Kuwaiti campsite brought back a horrifying piece of history to the Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve. It was the base the Iraqi soldiers "took" in 1990 , confiscating all the weapons of the enlisted Kuwaiti soldiers then letting them go home - but executing the officers , and sticking their bodies to poles. "The evil of the regime really set in, and how close we were to Iraq, " he said. The huge 700-tent city, occupied by "a vast majority of men and some women " was much worse than he imagined. "I wondered how I would deal with it , " he thought. "The water, the bathing, the toilets - it was Father Barber about as bad as it could be." The chaplain learned quickly the art of putting on his chemical gear and running for cover in just "60 seconds." That was all the time the radar detector allotted for incoming missiles. His first night, the sirens blared eight times. Father Barber counted them. g The missiles "were either intercepted by Patriot missiles, or " he said. /. missed their targets and landed in the desert or the sea, Father Barber described himself "like a fireman on duty, laying on my cot fully clothed with my chemical gear all laid out beside me." ( '¦::
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A Marine doctor holds a girl separated from her family during a firefight with Iraqi soldiers who appeared to use her family as human shields. Marines told Father Barber about similar experiences.
BARBER, page 18
Encyclical's message: Eucharist 'unites heaven and earth' By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Eucharist is the greatest gift Christ left his church, a gift that makes the sacrifice of his life present for all time and gives strength and hope to the world , Pope John Paul II wrote in a new encyclical letter. Whether in a grand basilica or a small countiy church, the pope said, "the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. " Christ's sacrifice on the cross—his offering of love to God the Father — embraces and redeems all creation and offers it back to God, the pope said. . "The church draws her life from Christ in the Eucharist; by him she is fed and by him she is enlightened," the pope wrote.
In the letter, the pope reaffirmed the traditional teaching of the church on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, on the need for validly ordained ministers for its celebration, and on the importance of following the church's'liturgical norms. The 82-year-old pope also used the encyclical to express how important the Eucharist has been in his life and to offer a reflection on the Blessed Virgin Mary, "woman of the Eucharist, " From the day he was ordained in 1946 , he said, as a priest , "I have been able to celebrate Holy Mass I bishop, cardinal and pope, built along mountain paths, on lakeshores and seachapels in g. city s coasts; I have celebrated it on altars built in stadiums and ¦ - • ¦' ¦ • 0 E squares. " "This is no metaphorical food, " he said, quoting the Gospel of 1John: "My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. " & EUCHARIST, page 7
Pioneering Daughters
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Charity ~ Pages 14 -15 ~ Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Faith ~ Pages 10-11 ~
Pope Criticizes Crackdown in Cuba
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Update on Charter
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Father John Reilly Dies . . . 8 Force of Law, Law of Force
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Datebook
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New Mercy Leaders
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