Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • December 27, 2019 19 There will be a Co-Ed Arise #11 on March 6-8 at the Kelley Retreat Center, Bay St. Louis. Leaders will be announced. Spiritual advisors will be Fr. Andoh Godfrey, Blessed Seelos and Our Mother of Sorrows, Biloxi and Deacon Norm Cantrelle, Mot Holy Trinity Parish, Pass Christian. Arise is a retreat weekend geared toward Non-Catholics who are curious about the Catholic Church, non-Catholic spouses of Catholics, fallen-away Catholics who want to come back, RCIA candidates and any Catholics who want to learn more about the Catholic Church. You can attend an Arise multiple times if you desire. For more information about the Cursillo Movement, contact us at: The Catholic Cursillo Movement of South Mississippi - Biloxi Diocese Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7450, D’Iberville, MS 39540 Phone: (228) 348-0203 Email: secretariat@southms-cursillo.org Or visit the Cursillo website at www.biloxicursillo. org or the Facebook group page www.facebook.com/ groups/143859282440170/ Cursillo 283 From page 15 2019 Goal: $1.40 Million 2019 to Date: $1.22 Million As we joyfully celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, we also take a moment to give thanks for His many blessings in our lives and in our diocese. On behalf of the people and ministries that your gener- osity to the Catholic Sharing Appeal has helped so much this year, we wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you would like to give an End-of- Year gift to the 2019 Catholic Sharing Appeal, please mail your tax deductible gift to: CSA 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 Or give securely online at: www.biloxidiocese.org/catholic-sharing- appeal Questions about CSA may be submitted via email to dwyrwich@biloxidiocese.org. Dave Wyrwich is the Director of the Office of Stewardship and Development. Catholic Sharing Appeal Corner Dave Wyrwich Diocesan Briefs From page 2 February 15 HTCS Announces Coastal Charm Event BAY ST. LOUIS -- Who will win the key to the room? That’s the buzz around Holy Trinity Catholic School (HTCS) in Bay St. Louis these days. Holy Trinity will launch its fundraising event, Coastal Charm, on Sat., Feb. 15, 2020, featuring “The Room.” According to HTCS PTO President Julie Holmes, “The Room,” valued at more than $10,000, will be furnished exclusively by businesses along the Gulf Coast with furniture and accessories fitting the Coastal Charm theme. Raffle tickets are $100 and only 150 will be available for purchase. One lucky winner will be drawn the night of the event. The Coastal Charm event will also host live music, a silent auction, beverages and food. The event will be held from 7-11 p.m. at Our Lady of the Gulf Community Center on Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis. Holmes adds, “This is a Coast-wide event so we are encourag- ing participation with all of our Coast communities.” Room raffle tickets and event admission tickets can be purchased on the school website holytrinitycatholic. net or by calling the school office at (228) 467-5158. Mexican president says church-state separation should be left alone BY DAVID AGREN Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has expressed disapproval of a proposal that would scrap some of the restrictions sepa- rating church and state, but also could have broken the seal of confession. “I think it’s a subject that shouldn’t be touched,” Lopez Obrador said at a Dec. 18 news conference. “It’s been resolved for more than a century and a half,” he added. “The majority of Mexicans are in agreement with the lay state prevailing, what the con- stitution establishes.” Controversy erupted in Mexico after a senator with the president’s Morena party introduced a law that would have allowed for an expansion of privileges pro- vided to religious organizations. The expanded privileges would have included an ability to own and operate radio and TV stations, pro- vide protections for conscientious objections, allow the government and religious associations to forge partner- ships and grant permission for chaplains to operate openly on military bases and with security forces. The law also would have required church officials to immediately report any knowledge of wrongdoing to the authorities. This could potentially break the seal of confession, said Rodolfo Soriano-Nunez, a sociologist who studies the Catholic Church. Mexican clergy have stayed mum on the proposed law, though Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City came out in support of the president. The Mexican state has long championed a strict separation of church and state. Mexico established rela- tions with the Vatican in 1992 and removed many restrictions on religious organizations. The proposal comes as Lopez Obrador has courted closer relations with some evangelical congregations and even tapped them to help distribute a government- published book on morals and citizenship through their churches.