Gulf Pine Catholic

2 Gulf Pine Catholic • April 2, 2021 D iocesan E vents CONTACT INFORMATION FOR OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISH IN BILOXI The email address for Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Biloxi is fatima@cableone.net and the new website is www.olfatima-biloxi.com. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SACRED HEART PARISH IN DIBERVILLE The new email address for Sacred Heart Parish in D’Iberville is shdiberville@gmail.com . April 3 Breakfast with the Bunny BILOXI -- Nativity BVM School is hosting a drive-thru breakfast with the bunny event on our school campus on Saturday, April 3, from 8-10 a.m. April 8 An Hour of Grace BILOXI -- Blessed Seelos Church will host an Hour of Grace Thur., April 8, at 6 p.m. During Hour of Grace, we adore His presence and open ourselves to His Graces which flow from the Eucharist. Abandon yourself to Jesus in this “Sacrament of Love.” He will refresh you! The more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will come away feeling renewed and healed! We will continue to follow the “safe distancing” policy. Please wear your mask while in church. For more information, please call (228) 435-0007. April 11 Divine Mercy Sunday BAY ST. LOUIS -- Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at Our Lady of the Gulf Church, Bay St. Louis. Priests will be available for Confession from 2-3 p.m. followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet, Solemn Blessing of the Image of Divine Mercy and Mass with celebrant Fr. Michael O’Connor. The ceremony will conclude with Veneration of the Image. Diocese of Biloxi launches Courage and EnCourage Apostolates Do you have same sex attraction or know someone who does? Courage is an in- ternational apostolate of the Catholic Church which ministers to persons with same- sex attractions and a chapter is coming to the Biloxi Diocese. In 1980, the Servant of God Terence Cardinal Cooke recognized the need for the Church to extend her maternal charity to a group of people who often feel estranged from the Church, if not rejected. These good souls struggle with the meeting of the teachings of the Catholic Church with the challenges to those teachings posed by the times. You can read more about the mission of Courage and the five goals its members seek to live out on the website: couragerc.org . If you think Courage is for you or someone you know, contact their chaplain, Fr. Mark Ropel at ropesolt@yahoo.com or call 601-264-5192. The EnCourage apostolate is a support group for parents, family and friends of those with same sex attraction. If you think EnCourage might be for you or someone you know, contact their chaplain, Fr. Mark Ropel at ropesolt@yahoo.com or call 601-264-5192. Church must build culture of transparency on abuse, USCCB committee says By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Members of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People have agreed with the National Review Board’s call that the Catholic Church must continue to build a culture of accountability and transparency regarding clergy sexual abuse. Bishop James V. Johnson Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, committee chairman, said in a state- ment that the members also agree with the all-lay review board “on the need to identify, address and cor- rect systemic failures which hinder the best response to allegations.” The reaction was posted in March on the commit- tee’s page on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, www.usccb.org . It came in response to a Dec. 16 National Review Board statement following the release of the Vatican’s report on its investigation into how former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick was able to rise up the Catholic hierarchical structure despite the repeated rumors, anonymous letters, allegations and even settlements with alleged victims of abuse. The review board, chaired by Suzanne Healy, said in its statement that the Vatican report, while “prece- dent setting and a commendable step in addressing clerical abuse ... points out woeful and systemic fail- ures in the lack of oversight and inaction in handling former allegations at many levels.” Pews are seen in this illustration photo. CNS photo/ Tyler Orsburn