Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 2, 2021 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) April 2, 2021 Volume 38, Issue 16 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— Aimee McLendon —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: amclendon@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 APRIL16 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due APRIL 8, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due APRIL 8, 10 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule April 3 Easter Vigil, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 8 p.m. April 8 Confirmation, Sacred Heart Parish, Hattiesburg, 6 p.m. April 10 Installation of Acolytes - Diaconate, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 4 p.m. April 11 Confirmation, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 11 a.m. April 13 Confirmation, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hattiesburg, 6 p.m. April 15 Presbyteral Council, 10:30 a.m. Suicide bomb attack disrupts Palm Sunday Mass at Indonesian cathedral BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE MAKASSAR, Indonesia (CNS) -- A sui- cide bomb attack on a Catholic cathedral compound shattered the calm of Palm Sun- day Mass, leaving two bombers dead and at least 20 people wounded. A destroyed motorbike and the body parts of a man and a woman were found after the bombers attacked the main gate of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral around 10:30 a.m. March 28, reported ucanews.com . “We were suspicious because two perpe- trators riding a motorbike tried to get into the churchyard, but our security guard stopped them, and several seconds later the bomb ex- ploded,” Father Wilhelmus Tulak, who wit- nessed the incident, told ucanews.com. Father Tulak, parish priest of the ca- thedral, said five cathedral security guards and several congregation members suffered burns and injuries from the blast, but no one was killed. South Sulawesi provincial police chief Merdisyam said, “We have coordinated with church leaders in the province to tighten se- curity during Holy Week Masses until Easter, so such an incident doesn’t happen again.” Father Fransiskus Nipa, judicial vicar of the Makassar Archdiocese, condemned the incident and called on Catholics to remain calm, reported ucanews.com . “We handed over the case to the security forces,” he said, adding that Holy Week ser- Police emergency personnel carry an injured man to an ambulance following a suicide bomb attack during Palm SundayMass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral inMakassar, Indonesia, March 28. CNS photo/Arnas Padda, Antara Foto via Reuters vices would be held. Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, president of the Indonesian bishops’ conference, also condemned the attack. “The bomb blast doesn’t only hurt Catho- lics but also all Indonesian people and hu- manity,” the prelate told ucanews.com . “May the incident encourage all of us tirelessly to build true fraternity among fellow citizens of the nation. We leave it to security officers to handle the case well to protect all people.” Anwar Abbas, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulama Council, called the blast an attack on humanity and said it cannot be tolerated because it contradicted religious values. Stanislaus Riyanta, an intelligence ana- lyst from the University of Indonesia, tied the attackers to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group. The terror group bombed three churches in Sura- baya, Indonesia, in 2018 and a cathedral in Jolo, Philippines, in 2019. He said the incident was connected to the arrest of dozens of terrorists in several re- gions in the country by the police anti-terror squad since January. President Joko Widodo condemned the incident and said terrorism is a crime against humanity. “I ask society to stay calm and to contin- ue holding worship services because the state ensures religious people’s life,” he said. Pope Francis invited prayers for the vic- tims at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. We want to print your news! Please send your parish, student and school news items to: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org ; or fax to: (228) 702-2128; mail to: Gulf Pine Catholic, 1790 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39532. Advertising deadline is 10 am, news deadline is 4 pm Thursdays, 8 days before publication date.