stamps:
year of mercy:
Vatican Christmas designs feature 15th-century art
catholic charities:
Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan writes new songs for jubilee year
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Maurice lives fuller life with agency’s help
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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
www.catholic-sf.org
Serving San Francisco, Marin & San Mateo Counties
December 3, 2015
$1.00 | VOL. 17 NO. 31
Pope: Open doors of mercy, counter violence with love Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)
A U.N. peacekeeper stands guard as children wait for Pope Francis’ arrival for a meeting with the Muslim community at the Koudoukou mosque in Bangui, Central African Republic, Nov. 30.
BANGUI, Central African Republic – Put down the weapons of war and work for justice, Pope Francis urged the people of the Central African Republic. “Even when the powers of hell are unleashed, Christians must rise to the summons, their heads held high, and be ready to brave blows in this battle over which God will have the last word. And that word will be love and peace,” the pope said in an evening homily Nov. 29 at Bangui’s cathedral. A civil war that began in 2013 and ongoing outbursts of violence, including between mainly Muslim and mainly Christian militias, have sown terror in the Central African Republic, which already was on most lists of the five poorest countries in Africa. A fifth of the country’s population has fled abroad or is living in camps for displaced people. Explaining to people outside the Bangui cathedral that their city was, for the day, “the spiritual capital of the world,” Pope Francis prayed for the mercy and grace of peace as he used both hands and his body weight to push open the Holy Door of the cathedral. The main opening of the Year of Mercy will be Dec. 8 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. see pope, page 13
Pastoral leaders discuss church response to homeless crisis Christina Gray Catholic San Francisco
How can the local church best respond to the unprecedented rise in the numbers of homeless people – in particular the number of homeless families and children – in all three counties of the Archdiocese of San Francisco? That’s the question Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice posed to pastors, deacons, religious and other concerned pastoral workers who gathered at the archdiocese’s Pastoral Center on Nov. 20 to listen to a panel of advocates discuss their work with San Francisco’s homeless population, 40 percent of whom are members of homeless families. Bishop Justice called a local church
(Photo by Christina Gray/Catholic San Francisco)
Joyce Calagos from Church of the Epiphany shared her thoughts with Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice at a meeting Nov. 20 in the archdiocesan Pastoral Center to discuss the homelessness crisis in San Francisco. About 50 clergy, religious and community leaders met to listen to homeless advocates present facts and myths about homelessness as a first step to creating a strategic church response.
response to homelessness “a challenge, but also a gift.” “We wanted to gather together and hear what the agencies are doing and what they need, and then discuss among ourselves what we can do,” he said. Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition for Homelessness in San Francisco and one of the day’s four presenters, said there are over 3,000 homeless children in San Francisco – more than double that of only five years ago. Skyrocketing housing costs and evictions are displacing families rapidly, she said, and shelters, geared toward single adults, aren’t prepared to accommodate them.
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see homelessness, page 12
Index On the Street . . . . . . . . 4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 19