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Gulf Pine Catholic
•
July 28, 2017
Pascagoula Catholics represent diocese at
National Black Catholic Congress in Orlando
St. Peter the Apostle Parish took parishio-
ners to the next level with attendance at the
National Black Catholic Congress XII in
Orlando, Florida, July 6-9. The roots of the
Black Catholic Congress started in 1889 with
journalist Daniel Rudd. He was instrumental in
100 black Catholic men coming together and
sharing issues affecting their race which ulti-
mately initiated a course of action while stand-
ing behind the Catholic Church and its values.
The gathering of 2,200 Catholics was an oppor-
tunity to come together, learn, grow, and fellow-
ship. Our visionary leader and pastor, Father
Joseph Benjamin, SSJ, travelled with Joycelyn
Lett, Parish Youth Advisor; chaperones Clara
Barial and Lawanna Stringfield; and three
youth: Carolyn Williams, Caleb Lett, and
Phelicity Moore. They were all first time attend-
ees.
The theme was
“The Spirit of the Lord is
Upon Me: Act justly, love goodness, and walk
humbly with your God.”
The general sessions
and workshops were held to explore these inspirational
thoughts aligned with our daily obligation to serve the
Lord.
Clara Barial stated what a memorable experience to
aid in strengthening the church ministries. The homilies
were uplifting and inspirational, as was the wonderful
choir.
Joycelyn Lett said the Congress was so spiritually
motivating and filled with much information of how to
communicate with many types of adversity, how to
serve the youth of our worldly community, how to
apply prayer effectively in today’s society, and many
other topics. It was astounding to witness the system-
atic technique accomplished during this occasion. “The
participation of the youth was so enlightening and
rewarding until it filled my heart with joy,” said Lett.
“One of the most phenomenally orchestrated events of
the whole congress was the undertaking of transporting
over 2,200 people by bus from the hotel to the Basilica
and back. This was truly amazing.”
Lawanna Stringfeld said every moment increased
many levels of awareness communicated through the
cardinals, bishops, priests, and speakers emphasizing
justice, human dignity, unity, and reconciliation form-
ing a foundation for the mind and soul. In addition, the
Congress afforded her the opportunity to walk humbly
with God and live in a communion of faith, share with
one another the life of solidarity, step beyond division,
and realize we all have differences. Again, the message
inspired her to practice patience, reconciliation, and
peace.
The youth enjoyed the experience of meeting new
friends and look forward to the opportunity to
attend future Catholic teen conferences, includ-
ing the next Congress in five years. The youth
attended sessions on
“Dealing with Anger,”
“Black Catholic History,” “You are Never Too
Young to be Pro-Life”
and
“The Next
Generation.”
Brian Greenfield engaged the youth in a
general session on
“Returning to the Father”
and explored a powerful message to adults of
“Why Others Aren’t Inspired: Being Intentional
with Your Faith.”
He told the adults that the
parish is the key and there is no time for games.
Your life is the only scripture that others know.
He asked us not to negotiate with evil because
the devil will keep us asleep, misunderstood,
and lost rather than allowing the Lord to heal,
restore, and bless us. He also inspired all to be
encouraged and share our testimonies including
interacting with our brothers/sisters to become
the Word in body and spirit.
On Thursday evening, we were treated to a
sneak preview of the
Tolton Drama
with actor Andrea
Goodnight. It was powerful. The play will start in
October.
The Opening Eucharistic Liturgy was held on
Friday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary,
Queen of the Universe, with standing room only. His
Eminence, Peter Kodwo Cardinal Turkson, was the
celebrant of the Mass. Cardinal Turkson also set the
tone in the general session and discussed how the
“Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me: Act justly, love good-
ness and walk humbly with Your God.”
The NBCC XII concluded with Mass on Sunday.
We were all challenged to go out and do our ministries,
do them good and stay in your lane. We were commis-
sioned to return to our parishes to carry out the plan.
Youth from St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Pascagoula, attended
the National Black Catholic Congress in Orlando, Fla. They are,
from left to right: Father Joseph Benjamin, SSJ, pastor; Carolyn
Williams; Clara Barial; Phelicity Moore; Lawanna Stringfield;
Caleb Lett; and Joycelyn Lett.
Land O Lakes
From page 13
Critics have primarily focused on this sentence: “To
perform its teaching and research functions effectively
the Catholic university must have a true autonomy and
academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever
kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic commu-
nity itself.”
Leaders in Catholic higher education who spoke to
Catholic News Service
said the document should be
judged on its entirety and by what it helped to promote
-- the success of Catholic colleges in today’s academic
environment.
Michael Galligan-Stierle, president and CEO of the
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, said
the group that gathered at Land O’ Lakes, “wasn’t a
bunch of renegades or people who didn’t love the
church and didn’t want Catholic education to advance.”
He also said the document should be examined and
compared to
“Ex Corde Ecclesiae”
(
“From the Heart
of the Church”
), an apostolic constitution issued in
1990 by St. John Paul II that outlines the identity and
mission of Catholic colleges and universities and pro-
vided universal norms to ensure colleges maintain
these standards.
At its essence, Galligan-Stierle said the statement
was meant to be a “a way to strengthen our schools” to
be competitive with other universities and provide
options for students to want credible degrees.
The fruit of the document, he said, is in the success
today of Catholic colleges and universities -- where
enrollment has doubled from what it was when the
document was written. Another testimony to what
Catholic colleges are doing today, he said, are studies
that show Catholic college graduates are often active
lay leaders in their parish.
Marc Pugliese, assistant professor of theology and
religion at St. Leo University near Tampa, Florida, said
before the document was written, Catholic universities
were already taking some of the steps it outlined, par-
ticularly in making their governing boards and theology
staffs include more lay people.
He said one weakness of the document is that it says
Catholic colleges and universities need to be a strong
Catholic presence but it is vague about what that
means.
But the document itself acknowledged it wasn’t
covering all the bases. The text’s preamble says it “does
not pretend to present a full philosophy or description
of the Catholic university. It is selectively and deliber-
ately incomplete.”
SEE LAND O LAKES, PAGE 15