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News & Herald
Volume 7 Number 43
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
August
»
21, 1998
Pope, Irish Church Leaders Condemn Northern Ireland Bombing —
By CHRISTENA COCLOUGH BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNS) Irish
church leaders and Pope John
15 bombing, which hit a busy
shoppmg disOmagh, 50 miles west of Belfast,
such a tragic and senseless way," and asked
trict in
blessings on the injured, the families in
sary of the
iirst
deployment of British troops
Northern Ireland.
sure these people that these evil ones
who
people will turn away from vio-
was believed
be the work of Irish Republican Army who oppose the peace process. At the papal summer home in Castel Gandolfo Aug. 16, Pope John Paul said, to
Staff Writer
much
and ideological conno-
laughs into the phone receiver in response
tation as religious.
to his trans- Adantic caller; he's
Their hometowns in County Fermanagh, some 75 miles southwest of Belfast, are remote from much of the re-
up on things back
Kingdom. At the kitchen
home
table,
checking United
in the
Gary
McGowan
waits for Dilworth to finish his ter six
weeks
go home
in
call.
Af-
in Charlotte, the teens will
a couple of days.
The
16-year-
olds will return with souvenirs, a bit of a
sunburn, and cherished memories of sum-
mertime
fun.
But
this trip
has been no
ordinary sojourn.
Dilworth
is
Catholic. Their
Protestant,
McGowan
a
home is Northern Ireland,
where warring sectarian groups have caused a cycle of fear and violence for
many
like so
others in their native land
are
—
steadfast in their conviction that friend-
ship
is
the
way
McGowan
to peace.
and Dilworth have come United States as part of Children's Friendship Project for Northern Ireland, Inc. The non-profit organization promotes peace in Northern Ireland by pairing Catholic and Protestant teen-agers in American homes. Organizers hope the neutral atmosphere allows the teens to to the
ing to
again, blind violence
impede
is
attempt-
the difficult path of peace
"The family They are just
said:
Monahan is survived by her husband, Michael, two daughters and a son. Her eldest child
is 6.
The bomb victims were herded
into
bomb after an inaccurate warning was given. Acting on a telephone tip, police evacuated the shoppers to the end of the street, where the bomb eventually exploded.
Police, firefighters
ambulance crews and for hours to move
worked
those injured by the blast to local hospi-
and productive harmony which most dis-
focus on their similarities and establish lasting friendships
— building blocks
for
a future of harmony.
and no difference,"
"Basically, (with) the Catholics
—
cent bloodshed. Yet the teens
them were killed. Archbishop Brady
See Bombing, page 3
— and Teach — Lesson of Hope
words
Protestant and Catholic carry as political, social,
at the time of the blast with her 30-year-old daughter Avirl Monahan, who was pregnant with twins, and Avirl's 18-month-old daughter, Maura. All of
the path of the
dissidents
"Once
in
Omagh
so shocked."
Police said the car bomb
CHARLOTTE — Matthew Dilworth
was shopping
65,
are just totally devastated.
that
members
bombing.
Mary Grimes,
bishop Brady said. "People had begun to dare to hope that scenes like this had disappeared. It will open up old wounds. We can only lence," he said.
a place where the
in the
carried out this will not succeed," Arch-
hope
It is
mourning and "all who continue to put their trust in dialogue and agreement." In the late afternoon Aug. 16, Archbishop Brady, primate of all Ireland, traveled to Beragh, near Omagh, to visit a family that lost several family
Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, visibly shaken from the atrocity, said churchgoers must unite in prayer and not lose hope that the peace process will triumph. "Words are not very useful. We must support people by (our) presence and as-
decades.
succumb to violence and that they will
on which the whole future depends," he said. The pope prayed for those killed "in
to
JIMMY ROSTAR
not
who visited the scene of the Aug.
200 people were injured by the 500-pound car bomb, which came on the 29th anniver-
By
people of good will
that peaceful coexistence
spoke of confusion, numbness and grief. At least 28 people were killed and more than
Northern Ireland Teens Learn
that Irish
persevere with determination in building
Priests
Parishioner Agnes Rogers shares a laugh with Father Joseph Kelleher at Our Lady of the Assumption Church's 50th anniversary celebration held Aug. 14. Rogers is a founding member of the parish. Father Kelleher served as Our Lady of the Assumption pastor from 1 977-1 986. The parish consisted of 40 people in 1948 and now boasts 2,300 members. See related story, page 2.
possible.
is
earnest hope for that beloved
is
urging people to reject violence and continue to seek peace.
Church's Golden Anniversary
"My country
II condemned the bloodiest terrorist bombing in Northern Ireland's history,
Paul
A
cerning people are convinced
the Protestants, there's
McGowan. "There shouldn't be any
says
"People need to stop the killing and look forward to the future," adds
Katy Volponi
hosting another pair.
Host families agree
to
pay for airfare room and
board, and include them as family bers. Itineraries are
up
mem-
to individual fami-
them on fundraising opportunities. The project is open nes, and organizers advise
Dilworth. is
a regional coordina-
She and her husband, former hosts. "When you understand who and what a human being is on an individual level," she says, "then you dispel some prejudgement about them. It's a matter of education and broadening horizons." More than 1 20 teens aged 15-18 have tor for the project. Phil, are also
ily is
for the teens, provide their
divide lines."
...
been hosted in 14 states this summer. In western North Carolina, three pairs of young men and women are spending their time in Charlotte; a Blowing Rock fam-
to host families of all faiths.
Dilworth and
McGowan
say their
belief in interaction rather than segrega-
been reinforced. At home, each has Catholic and Protestant friends. They tion has
share a love for sports, technology, art
See Northern
Ireland,
page 3