www.charlottediecesc.ors
Thus says the Lord: myself will look after and tend my sheep. As
McCreesh Place
a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattend my tered sheep, so will will rescue them from sheep. every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
to help break the
I
cycle of poverty
I
I
NEWS
Ezekiel 34:11-12
mm
NOVEMBER 22,
HERALD
&
SERVING CATHOLICS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA IN THE DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE
2002
4
...PAGE
VOLUME
12
N9
10
Sudanese bishop journeys to find the Lost Boys By KEVIN
E.
MURRAY
have been enslaved. But there are those who have survived and fled the country. "Our third objective was to meet some of you," said Bishop Majak to a room of almost 30 young men at the old diocesan refugee office in Char-
Associate Editor
CHARLOTTE
—
The
two
Sudanese bishops had three reasons for visiting the United States last month. "We've come to the United States to thank the dioceses, churches and communities for their work, moral support, prayers and efforts for
lotte.
Even though most are now in young men are still known as "the Lost Boys of Sudan." They are among hundreds of Lost Boys who began resettling in the their 20s, the
peace," said Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak, bishop of Wau, the oldest diocese in Sudan. He and Bishop Paride Taban of Torit also met with members of the
United States
last year,
many
in
Charlotte, Greensboro and High
government "to encourage them work for peace (in Sudan)," said Bishop Majak. "We encourage them U.S.
Point.
to
— members of the Dinka
especially to protect the civilian population." Sudan's 18-year civil war, described by the bishops as a "holocaust," -originally pitted Christian and animist African rebels in the South against the Arab Muslim government in the North. It has since evolved into a nationwide conflict fu-
Catholic, Bishop Majak' s visit to the
While only some of the Lost Boys
a
home,
are
welcomed one; he was
familiar face
who brought
a Photo by Kevin
as well as hope.
estimated 2 million have been killed and another 4 million displaced in the South, while reports persist that captured southerners
Murray
Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak (near center), bishop of the Diocese of Wau in Sudan, visits with "the Lost Boys of Sudan," young men who were forced to flee their country's civil war and have been resettled in Charlotte.
—
you you are not alone," said Bishop Majak to the group. "We have not forgotten you, and we hope that you have not forgotten us." Forgetting is something the Lost Boys cannot do. "We have not forgotten the
An
E.
stories of
"Ofif thoughts are with
eled by religion, ethnicity, oil and ide-
ology.
was
office
—
tribe
by the war. We dream about cannot forget about Sudan."
tized
We
southern Sudan in 1987. It was part of an Islamic regime's campaign to
it.
quash rebels and impose Islamic law there. Many of the boys were herding animals in the fields when they heard
The long walk Most of these Lost Boys were barely 10 years old when government troops raided villages across
people of Sudan," Gabriel Choi, 26, told the bishop. "We've been trauma-
See LOST BOYS, page 11
Prison ministry: Through the eyes of a former inmate By JOANITA M. in
Correspondent
thing
ASHEVILLE pretty
"There was a
NELLENBACH
good
— "My
life is
right now," said Ri-
chard Donnelly.
Things weren't so
spiritual
void
my life," he said. "It was someI'd
thought
refused to recognize.
I'd
could solve any and
all
I
down and really looked at it. Then you hear
problems, until
I
sat
voice in your head say-
bright.
that
little
Donnelly, 49, a former certified
ing,
'Have you had enough?'"
was serving 36-45 months for embezzle-
Center, Donnelly completed the
ment
St.
At Buncombe
public accountant,
Donnelly had an alcohol problem and in prison was diagnosed with mild bipolar disorhe said, contributed to the embezzlement that led to
der. These,'
prison; there, he finally faced himself.
Correctional
Eugene Church Prison Min-
istry re-entry
program, taking and in-
didn't attend church regularly,
Since
and, he said, his alcohol and bi-
was under the
give you
polar problems contributed to
St.
tons of printed matter, but they
his family problems. Divorced,
said.
to the inmates.
pect you to I
think
is
They
ex-
do some work, which
those walls
is real,"
he
said. "It's
easy to just do your time and
everything
is
of,
but
When
your senwhat are you going
tence
up,
taken care
to do?'
nances and finding affordable
Donnelly describes
his reli-
gious experience as intermittent. just a jam-packed pro-
pay tribute to
Bishop Curlin 13dM3
.PAGE Zd
ifrj S
H0U33TI00 3N
summer
of 1999, in
the prison barracks, 'There
was
a sensation that
came over me,"
he
I'd
said. "I
tom.
It
to find
guess
reached bot-
came to me that I needed some way to be closer to
He
thought about his minimal contact with Catholicism and wrote a letter to the Basilica St.
4
his letter
Meyring, a St. Eugene Prison Ministry volunteer, who gave
them
to die prison's chaplain.
The
Baptist chaplain
was
uncomfortable instructing on Meyring Catholicism, so
worked with Donnelly.
God."
of
of
was forwarded there. Father Frank Cancro, pastor, gave CDs on the Eugene,
Lawrence
"I
asked a
lot
of questions,"
Donnelly said. "Jay didn't always have the answers, but he
in Asheville.
His wife was Catholic, but they
Priests TIIH
his four
Correctional
jurisdiction"
basic tenets of the faith to Jay
In the
"(The program) brought back into focus that life beyond
is
he has no contact with children.
good."
terviewing, resume writing, family relations, personal fi-
UU-biSlZ 3N
They
don't spoonfeed you.
they ask you,
"It's
Buncombe
in
gram," he
classes in job searching
housing.
"They bring
people from the outside to speak
See INMATE, page 5
SEPI trains Hispanic
Sister shares diverse
parish leaders around
knowledge through
diocese
ministry ...RAGE
10
...PAGE
12