February 4, 2005
The Catholic News & Herald 1
www.charlottediocese.org
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte
Mystery of the Mass, Part 6; Pope: attending Mass is essential to Christian living
Established Jan. 12, 1972 by Pope Paul VI February 4, 2005
At Gemelli Hospital, a forest of tripods, antennae and well-wishers
| Page 7 Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
vOLUME 14
no. 18
Voting in freedom for the first time Iraqi church officials laud country’s election
Pope returns to hospital for seventh time in 26 years
by CAROL GLATZ catholic news service
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE ROME — As soon as news of Pope John Paul II’s hospitalization spread beyond Vatican City, journalists based in Rome flocked to Gemelli Hospital to cover the story. What looked like a forest of camera tripods and satellite antennae quickly sprouted up outside the Rome hospital Feb. 2. Well-wishers and pilgrims added to the media crowd, with all eyes and lenses focused on the 10th floor, where the pope has his own private room. Only Vatican officials and Rome VIPs were allowed access to the hospital’s upper levels to relay their wishes for the pope’s full recovery from respiratory complications from the flu. Pope John Paul was hos-
ROME — Every Iraqi who cast a vote on Jan. 30 amid continued chaos and violence showed that democracy will win over terrorism, said a top Iraqi church official. “This is a big lesson to terrorism, a great message that says we are not afraid” of terrorists and “we will rebuild our country,” said Father Philip Najim, the Rome-based representative of the Chaldean-rite Baghdad Patriarchate. The greater-than-expected voter turnout is “a positive sign” as it marks a turning point in Iraq’s future, he said. “It shows the whole world how educated the Iraqi people are and that we are capable of reaching freedom and democracy,” the Iraqi-born priest told Catholic News Service Jan. 31.
See POPE, page 6
See IRAQ, page 8
by
Year of the Eucharist
CNS photo by Karen Callaway, Northwest Indiana Catholic
Ramen Amma,10, an Assyrian Catholic from Des Plaines, Ill., waves the Assyrian and American flags in celebration Jan. 30 outside the polling station in Skokie, Ill., near Chicago, on the last day of the out-of-country voting period for the Iraqi election. More than 20,000 Iraqis cast votes at polls in five U.S. cities Jan. 28-30, according to polling officials.
Uncommon grounds
Catholic Schools Week
Parishioners opt for coffee with a difference by
Students and their teacher at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School in Charlotte review their work in this 2003 photograph. Catholic Schools Week, this year themed “Faith in Every Student,” runs Jan. 30-Feb. 5. Look for expanded coverage in the next issue of The Catholic News & Herald. Courtesy Photo Illustration by Mike Ford
JOANITA M. NELLENBACH correspondent
MURPHY — A new social justice initiative is brewing in western North Carolina. Fair Trade coffee is on the menu at St. William Church in Murphy and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville. St. William parishioners dipped into Fair Trade coffee,
lining up after Mass Jan. 9 to sample the product and to buy more than $500 worth of it. St. William and Immaculate Heart of Mary churches will continue to sell the coffee, as well as use it in church functions. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) says that “Fair Trade is a trading partnership ... that See COFFEE, page 5
Feminists for Life
Perspectives
Parish Profile
Speaker to bring unique antiabortion message to diocese
Communion for Celiac sufferers; familiar words, different results
St. Margaret Mary Church — a thriving parish in Swannanoa
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