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Pastor cautions flock on sin of speaking ill of others
AIDS official warns on discrimination in Africa
Gold rush pastor did not know the word ‘fail’
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
www.catholic-sf.org
Serving San Francisco, Marin & San Mateo Counties
August 1, 2014
$1.00 | eEdition 5
‘SHAMEFUL’:
Pope calls for prayers as militants chase Iraqi Christians from Mosul Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
(CNS photo/Ahmed Malik, Reuters)
An Iraqi man carrying a cross and a Quran attends Mass at Mar Girgis Church in Baghdad July 20. Pope Francis called for prayers, dialogue, and peace, as the last Iraqi Christians flee the Iraqi city of Mosul.
VATICAN CITY – As the last Iraqi Christians in Mosul fled the city, Pope Francis urgently called for prayers, dialogue and peace. “Violence isn’t overcome with violence. Violence is conquered with peace,” the pope said before leading thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square in a moment of silent prayer July 20. “Our brothers and sisters are persecuted, they are chased away,” he said, as he assured Christians in all of Iraq and the Middle East of his “constant prayers.” The pope’s plea came as the last Christian families living in Mosul were forced from the city after facing increasing threats, violence and intimidation. The Islamic State group, which has taken control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, was threatening to kill any Christians who did not convert to Islam see Mosul, page 14
With passion for projects, Franciscan works to give Hondurans options David Agren Catholic News Service
JUTICALPA, Honduras – Franciscan Father Alberto Gauci’s field of dreams unfolds in a remote corner of Central America, far from the limelight of the recently concluded World Cup. His soccer stadium sports a full-size pitch, floodlights for night games and covered seating for 20,000 screaming fans. There’s even a parking lot. It is nearing completion, more than five years after the priest first convinced parents, parishioners and local leaders they should construct a stadium in a rugged region marked by emigration, corruption and increasing cocaine shipments touching down as traffickers carry cargo from South America to the United States. Even more improbably, Father Gauci found $40 million Lempiras (US$1.9 million) to fund the stadium – which still lacks a turf and finishing touches and will eventually host youth leagues and the local second-division soccer squad, Juticalpa F.C. “I told parents: We have to do something about drugs,” he said from the stands of the stadium as workers pushed wheelbarrows across the pitch. “It’s hard to tell a kid to stay off of drugs. You have
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(CNS photo/David Agren)
Franciscan Father Alberto Gauci spends time with a pair of seniors living in a home for the elderly he founded in Honduras. to give them another option,” he added. Father Gauci is a futbol fan, foreigner and Franciscan living a vow of poverty, embodying Pope Francis’ vision for a poor church serving the poor and creating a culture of charity and generosity in an area rife with mistrust, inequality and injustice. The Maltese priest also has a passion for social projects, which include an orphanage, home for the
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elderly, kindergarten, nutrition center and even a prison – all constructed with contributions largely collected from a population considered impoverished and politicians prone to misappropriating public money. He is understated about his accomplishments, but concerned about crime and corruption in his adopted country and why it careens from crisis to crisis – currently an outflow of thousands of children heading, unaccompanied, to the United States. “After 40 years here, I’ve often thought, ‘This should be one of the richest countries on earth,’” he said at his residence, a single room in the minor seminary he shares with a Rottweiler he received from a family after delivering a ransom to rescue their kidnapped relative. “For them it’s not corruption,” he said of those misappropriating money. “No one goes to confession about it.” The skinny, chain-smoking Franciscan, 67, drives around the Diocese of Juticalpa in an aging Toyota Land Cruiser. He wears shorts, sandals and a singlet in the scorching hot temperatures of Juticalpa, saying, “I’d die wearing a habit.”
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Index Archdiocese . . . . . . . . . 4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 12