Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • February 7, 2020 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) February 7, 2020 Volume 37, Issue 12 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: 228-702-2144 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 FEBRUARY 21 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due FEBRUARY 13, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due FEBRUARY 13, 10 a.m. Feb. 8 Installation Mass Fr. Khoa Vo, Sacred Heart Parish, Dedeaux, 4 p.m. Feb. 9 Mass & Pastoral Visit, Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 12 Association of Priests, Hattiesburg, 11 a.m. Feb. 13 Presbyteral Council, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18 St. Stanislaus School Mass & Visit, Our Lady of the Gulf, 8:30 a.m. Feb. 19 St. Charles Borromeo Elem. School Mass & Visit, St. Charles Borromeo Church, 9 a.m. Update: Trump tells March for Life crowd he welcomes their commitment BY DENNIS SADOWSKI Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Don- ald Trump credited attendees at the 47th an- nual March for Life for their commitment to protect the life of unborn and born children. “Together we are the voice for the voice- less,” Trump told tens of thousands of people gathered at a noontime rally Jan. 24 on the National Mall. “You stand for life each and every day. You provide housing, education, jobs and medical care for the women that you serve,” the president said. Trump was the first president to speak in person in the 47-year history of the March for Life. He spoke for about 10 minutes at the start of the rally and before attendees began their march to the Supreme Court. “Today, as president of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you. We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right for every child, born and unborn, to ful- fill their God-given potential,” Trump said. He also credited the young people who made up a large portion of the crowd for their commitment to life, saying they were “the heart of the March for Life.” “It’s your generation that is making this a People walk up Constitution Avenue headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court while participating in the 47th annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 24 CNS photo/ Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic pro-life nation,” the president said, adding, “You are pow- ered by prayer and motivated by pure unselfish love.” Trump’s speech before the largely supportive crowd was punctuated by applause and cheers. Calls of “Four more years” welcomed him to the podium. The pro-life movement has been buoyed by Trump’s appointment of two con- servative justices to the Su- preme Court. Their goal has been a reversal of the court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, addressed the rally in a video recorded in Rome prior to Trump’s arrival at the rally. Pence met with Pope Francis earlier in the day. He said in the video that he thanked the pope “for all that he and Catholic Americans have done to defend the sanctity of human life in the history of this movement.” Karen Pence thanked attendees for their witness and compassion for the unborn. “Thank you for standing for life,” she said. “We cannot be more proud to be on this jour- ney with you.” The vice president called Trump the “most pro-life president in American his- tory” and a “champion for the movement.” “So keep standing strong and stand with that love and compassion that has always de- fined the movement for life,” Pence said. Not all participants in the rally agreed with the single-issue stance of Trump and Pence. A group of Franciscan friars and their supporters held signs aloft outside of the se- curity barrier with messages reading “I am 100% Pro-Life.” “Care for the Unborn.” “Protect the Earth” and “Seek Justice for the Poor.” Franciscan Father Jud Weiksnar, pastor of Sts. Columba Brigid Parish in Buffalo, New York, said he attended the March for Life to encourage people to embrace a wider call in support of life, including care for the envi- ronment and peace. “I’m very deeply convinced that my reli- gious calling calls me to something like the March for Life,” he told Catholic News Ser- vice in a phone call from a point just off the Mall. His group included about 20 people, among them priests, men in formation and laypeople. His friend, Franciscan Father Jacek Orzechowski of Maryland, said he joined the march and rally “to remind others about what it means to be authentically pro-life.” “It’s not enough to say that a person is against abortion, but especially about other concerns at this time when we as humanity are standing on the verge of ecological catas- trophe,” he explained. “I’m not willing to fall into a false choice in caring four our common home or caring for the unborn.” Rally-goers also heard from members of Congress and several other speakers, includ- ing women who survived attempted abor- tions, over the course of an hour following the president’s appearance. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, urged the audience to support the Born-Alive Abor- tion Survivors Protection Act that has been introduced in Congress. The bill would en- sure that any child born alive after an abor- tion received medical care. It would also in- stitute penalties for doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a new- born. He said he is working to bring the bill to a vote in the House of Representatives by fil- ing a discharge petition, meaning it would by pass committee action and go directly to the full House. He said 204 House members have signed the petition -- all 197 Republi- cans and seven Democrats -- and that he is working to gain 14 more Democrats to gain a majority that would force a vote on the bill. He encouraged those at the rally to contact their member of Congress to express support for the petition and the bill. SEE LIFE MARCH SPEAKERS, PAGE 8