Vatican confirms Obama will
visit pope in March
By CindyWooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Fran-
cis will meet with U.S. President Barack
Obama at the Vatican March 27, the
White House announced and the Vatican
confirmed.
The spring meeting would be
Obamaʼs second visit to the Vatican as
president, but his first with Pope Francis,
who was elected March 13, 2013.
The White House said the Vatican
visit would be part of a presidential trip
to the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
“The president looks forward to dis-
cussing with Pope Francis their shared
commitment to fighting poverty and
growing inequality,” said the Jan. 21
White House statement.
During the same trip, Obama will par-
ticipate in a summit in the Netherlands
on nuclear security, visit the presidents of
the European Council and the European
Commission in Brussels, and hold talks
in Rome with Italian President Giorgio
Napolitano and Prime Minister Enrico
Letta.
After U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry met his Vatican counterpart, Cardi-
nal-designate Pietro Parolin, at the Vati-
can Jan. 14, he told reporters, “I know
that the Holy Father is anticipating the
visit of President Obama here, and the
president is looking forward to coming
here to meet with him.”
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi,
Vatican spokesman, told reporters that
Cardinal-designate Parolin and Kerry
had discussed, among other subjects,
“themes that have been the object of con-
cern and discussion by the U.S. bishops,”
particularly “the health care reform and
its relationship to guarantees of religious
freedom” -- an apparent reference to the
contraception mandate that has proven
a major point of tension between the
Obama administration and the church.
See obamavisits pope, page 17
Bishop Morin dedicates
Holy Family Church
Bishop Roger Morin dedicated Holy Family Church in Pass Christian on Jan. 25.
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed St. Paul Catholic Church on the beachfront,
St. Paul Parish merged with Our Lady of Lourdes Parish to form Holy Family
Parish. Until now, the parishioners had been worshipping in Our Lady of
Lourdes Church. Now parishioners will gather in a beautiful, spacious new
church. However, Bishop Morin, pictured above with concelebrating priests, told
parishioners, “It is the people who are the Church. We’ve become so accustomed
to referring to the physical structure, the edifice, the building, whether grand or
simple, whether big or small, as the Church and sometimes forget that the people
are the Church, those who are called together to witness to their faith and to give
praise to God for all the blessings bestowed upon them.” For more photos, see
pages 14-15.
Photo/Terry Dickson
Court continues injunction
protecting Little Sisters from
HHS mandate
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Su-
preme Court Jan. 24 issued a three-sen-
tence order affirming -- for the time being
-- an injunction blocking enforcement
against the Little Sisters of the Poor and
the Christian Brothers benefits organiza-
tion of a mandate to provide contracep-
tive coverage in employee health insur-
ance.
The order released late in the after-
noon affirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayorʼs
Dec. 31 order in the case. It temporar-
ily blocks the federal government from
requiring the Denver-based sisters and
their co-plaintiffs at Christian Brothers
Services from having to meet that re-
quirement of the Affordable Care Act.
The attorney for the Little Sisters and
the president of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops welcomed the order.
See Little sisters, page 17
Gulf Pine
Catholic
Volume 31 / Number 11
January 31, 2014
