Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 9, 2018 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) March 9, 2018 Volume 35, Issue 14 The GULF PINE CATHOLIC , published every other week, is an official publication of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi. Editorial offices are located at 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532. Periodical postage paid at Gulfport, MS. —POSTMASTER— Send address changes to: The GULF PINE CATHOLIC 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 —PUBLISHER— Most Rev. Louis F. Kihneman —EDITOR— Terry Dickson —PRODUCTION / ADVERTISING — Shirley M c Cusker —CIRCULATION— Debbie Mowrey —PHOTOGRAPHY— Juliana Skelton —OFFICEHOURS— 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday —PHONE NUMBERS— Editor: 228-702-2126 Production /Advertising: 228-702-2109 Circulation: 228-702-2127 Photography: 228-702-2172 FAX: 228-702-2128 —EMAIL— News: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org Production / Advertising: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Circulation: dmowrey@biloxidiocese.org Photography: jskelton@biloxidiocese.org —OFFICEAND MAILINGADDRESS — 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 —WEBSITE— www.biloxidiocese.org —SUBSCRIPTIONS — Subscription rate is $18.00 per year. When changing address, renewing or inquiring about a subscription, customer should include a recent address label with old address and new address. Allow three weeks for changes of address. —DEADLINES for MARCH 23 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due MARCH 15, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due MARCH 15, 10 a.m. March 10 Vigil Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 4 p.m. March 11 Mass & Parish Visit, Most Holy Trinity, Pass Christian, 11 a.m. March 15 Finance Council, 2 p.m. March 18 Mass & Feast Day, St. Joseph the Worker, Moss Point, 10 a.m. March 19 St. Joseph Altar, Nativity BVM Cathedral, noon March 21 Confirmation Mass, Sacred Heart Parish, Pascagoula March 22 Mass, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Ocean Springs March 23 Opening Diocesan Youth Conference, MS Gulf Coast Convention Center, 8 p.m. Cardinal Parolin: Palliative care means accompanying, not abandoning VATICAN CITY ( CNA/EWTN News ) -- Palliative care is a reminder that love for those who are dying means accompaniment, not abandonment, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday. In a Feb. 28 letter, the Holy See’s Secre- tary of State told the Congress on Palliative Care that medicine is based on an “untiring commitment” for new knowledge, but must also recognize the limits of disease and ill- ness. “And this means not abandoning sick people, but rather being close to them and accompanying them in the difficult test that makes itself present at the end of life.” He said the mutual dependence of love “emerges with particular emphasis in mo- ments of sickness and suffering, especially at the end of life, but which in reality per- meates all human relationships and indeed constitutes their most specific feature.” The cardinal cited St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans about “the continuing debt to love one an- other, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” The Congress on Palliative Care, orga- nized by the Pontifical Academy for Life, is taking place in Rome from Feb. 28 to March 1. On the agenda of the congress was a presentation of the project PAL-Life, orga- nized by the Pontifical Academy for Life, to disseminate palliative care practices glob- ally.  The congress and the PAL-Life project aim to promote dialogue and cooperation between those involved in performing and promoting palliative care Cardinal Parolin told the congress that palliative care is “a task in which believers can find like-minded companions in many people of good will.” He said it was signifi- cant that representatives of different religions and cultures were present at the congress. There is a “human and theological dig- nity” that does not cease, even when one los- es one’s health, one’s social role, or control over one’s body. Palliative care is valuable for medical practice, and for human existence as a whole, because it reminds humanity of the basic dig- nity at the root of every caring relationship, he said. Cardinal Parolin noted the importance of the family in palliative care because of its unique role showing “solidarity between the generations.” The family is where mutual aid is experienced in times of suffering or illness. He suggested there is a bridge between the care one receives at the beginning of life and the care “to be given responsibly to oth- ers, in the succession of generations so as to embrace the whole human family.” When all the resources of action seem to be exhausted, the cardinal said, the “most important aspect” of human relations emerg- es: that of “being,” including “being present, being close, being welcoming.” “This also involves sharing in the impo- tence of those who reach the extreme point of life,” Cardinal Parolin said. When this shar- ing happens, the meaning of the limit of life can change: “It is no longer a place of sepa- ration and solitude, but rather an opportunity for meeting and communion.” “Death itself is introduced into a symbol- ic horizon within which it can appear not so much as the term against which life breaks and succumbs, but rather as the fulfillment of a freely received and lovingly shared ex- istence.” Discussing pain relief, the cardinal noted how Pope Pius XII distinguished it from eu- thanasia. It may be administered for unbear- able pain not otherwise treatable even if it may cause a shortening of life. With the advent of new sedative drugs, the cardinal explained, “the ethical criterion does not change, but the use of these proce- dures always requires careful discernment and great prudence.” Deep sedation runs the risk of removing the “relational and commu- nicative dimension” that is crucial in accom- panying palliative care. “It is therefore always at least partially unsatisfactory, so it must be considered as an extreme remedy, after having carefully ex- amined and clarified the indications.” The cardinal’s letter closed saying that Pope Francis imparted his blessing to the congress and asked prayers for his ministry. The Congress on Palliative Care consid- ered several topics: how palliative care con- tributes to medicine, healthcare and society; the spread of palliative care practices; how different religious faiths and spiritual per- spectives relate to the care for the dying; and palliative care’s political and economic im- plications. Las Misas Celebradas en Español/ Masses Celebrated in Spanish Sábado/Saturday Pascagoula: Sacred Heart Parish, 6 p.m. Domingo/Sunday Laurel: Immaculate Conception Parish, 4 p.m. Hattiesburg: Sacred Heart Parish, 1:30 p.m. Picayune: St. Charles Borromeo Parish, 7 p.m. Gulfport: St. John the Evangelist Parish, 2 p.m. Ocean Springs: St. Alphonsus Parish, 2 p.m. Lunes/Monday Biloxi: Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 6 p.m.