G
ulf
P
ine
C
atholic
Volume 31 / Number 23
JULY 18, 2014
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish celebrates 100 years
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, located on Division Street in Biloxi, celebrated its 100th anniversary on July 13. Bishop Roger
Morin, center, was principal celebrant for the Mass. Pictured, l-r, are Father Steve Wilson, CSsR, who served as pastor of
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish for nine years before departing for a new assignment earlier this month; Father Harry Grille,
CSsR, provincial Superior for the Redemptorists of the Denver Province; Father William Norvel, SSJ, Superior General of
the Josephites and Father Gil Enderle, CSsR, Superior of the local Redemptorist community. Assisting the bishop, at right, is
Deacon M.J. Landry. Our Mother of Sorrows was established in 1914 by the Josephite priests of Baltimore and is currently
staffed by the Redemptorists of the Denver Province. Father Chuong Cao, CSsR, is the newly appointed pastor.
Photo/David
Tisdale
By Catholic News Service
BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- Loui-
siana’s Supreme Court has ruled that a
priest may be compelled to testify as to
what he heard in the confessional in 2008
concerning an abuse case.
The priest, Father Jeff Bayhi, faces au-
tomatic excommunication if he breaks the
seal of the confessional. But he also could
face jailing if found to be in contempt of
the court should he refuse to testify.
In the case, a girl who was 14 in 2008
said she told her parish priest -- Father
Bayhi, pastor of St. John the Baptist Par-
ish in Zachary -- in the confessional that
she was abused by a now-dead lay mem-
ber of the parish.
The girl’s parents sued Father Bayhi
and the Diocese of Baton Rouge for fail-
ing to report the abuse. The parents won
at the district court level about compelling
the priest to testify, but lost in Louisiana’s
First Circuit Court of Appeals, before the
state’s highest court reversed and vacated
the appellate court’s decision.
“As you know, one of the great sac-
raments of healing in the church is the
sacrament of reconciliation/confession. It
has given hope and comfort to all Catho-
lics throughout the centuries and contin-
ues to do so today,” Father Bayhi said in a
July 7 statement.
“The seal of confession is one that can
never be broken. Through its use the faith-
ful must always be protected, so much so,
that as a priest I cannot even say someone
has come to confession, let alone divulge
the contents of what was revealed.”
Court may
compel priest to
break
confessional seal
in abuse case
See CONFESSION
RULING, page 15
By David Tisdale
BILOXI -- A landmark Biloxi church celebrated a century of
service to God and the Mississippi Gulf Coast July 13 when Our
Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church marked its 100th anniver-
sary.
Our Mother of Sorrows was established in 1914 by the Jo-
sephite Priests of Baltimore and is currently staffed by the Re-
demptorists of the Denver Province. It has been an important and
historic element of the Biloxi and Gulf Coast African American
communities.
In August 1917, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament came
to Biloxi to teach at the new parish school on Reynoir Street. A
parish high school opened in 1932. As diocesan schools assumed
the responsibility for providing Catholic education for African
American children in the 1960s, the high school closed in 1960
and the elementary school closed in 1967.
An overflow crowd was in attendance for the Mass, which
was celebrated by Bishop Roger Morin who expressed his ap-
preciation to the Josephites and Redemptorists for their service
to the parish throughout the century, and to the generations of
parishioners who celebrated joy and endured tragedy through the
century, while sacrificing for the church “to bring us to this par-
ticular occasion,” he said.
It was Father Steven Wilson’s last Mass at Our Mother of
Sorrows, as he leaves to take on a new assignment in the Bronx,
N.Y. With nine years of service, he is the longest serving pastor
in parish history. Although he was scheduled to leave for New
York before July, he requested to remain a few weeks longer to
be on hand to celebrate the parish’s milestone.
Father Choung Cao, CSsR, is the newly appointed pastor.
Noting his assignment to the church came at the same time
as Hurricane Katrina struck, Father Wilson said that Our Mother
of Sorrows continues, even through challenges brought both by
mankind and Mother Nature.
“It has been a tremendous joy to be a part of your history,”
Father Wilson said. “When you think of all the ups and downs
the church has been through, it still persists as we look to its next
100 years. I cannot think of any better honor than to be here for
this anniversary.”
Bishop Morin thanked Father Wilson for his service and
wished him well in his new assignment. “He has been a delight,”
Bishop Morin said.
Father William Norvel, SSJ, Superior General of the Jo-
sephites and a native of Pascagoula, was one of the concelebrants
of the anniversary Mass, and brought greetings from the Josephite
order to the congregation in recognition of the anniversary. He
also expressed his own gratitude to the church for providing him
with a school and spiritual home in his youth.
See our mother of sorrows, page 20
