LOS ANGELES --- Faith Communities for Families and Children is organizing a Juvenile Justice Sabbath Feb. 22-24 to draw attention to the nearly 250,000 California minors who are arrested every year.
"While we agree that youth must pay the price of their actions, that price should not be so high that they lose the hope of living a meaningful life," said Javier Stauring, policy director and archdiocesan co-director of the Office of Restorative Justice. "A justice system that transforms young offenders into hardened criminals provides no justice at all --- for any of us."
Faith Communities for Families and Children seeks to increase the opportunities for minors to receive appropriates supports before they break the law. If a crime has been committed, they advocate a restorative justice model that enables youth to make amends to their victim when possible, to redeem themselves with their community and to heal their lives.
Parishes can participate in the Juvenile Justice Sabbath at their own places of worship through prayer, education, service and action. To register for the event, visit www.fcfcla.org.
Northridge parish celebrates Lourdes 150th anniversary
NORTHRIDGE --- Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge will celebrate a special Mass on Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Mother's apparition to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France.
Father Michael Sears will preside at the Mass, to be immediately followed by a special healing service. The celebration is part of the ongoing golden anniversary observance this year at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, with additional events to take place later on.
In honor of the 150th anniversary, Pope Benedict XVI has granted a plenary indulgence to all of the faithful who visit the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France between Dec. 8, 2007 and Dec. 8, 2008. Since not everyone will have an opportunity to travel to France, the Holy Father has extended the indulgence to include those who visit a church or shrine specifically dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes from Feb. 2 to Feb. 11.
To receive this extraordinary indulgence, each person must also meet the following conditions: (1) Go to confession; (2) Have no attachment to sin; (3) Go to Mass; (4) Receive Holy Communion and (5) Pray the profession of faith, the Our Father and a Marian Prayer for the needs and intentions of the Holy Father.
For further information on the Feb. 11 event, call Our Lady of Lourdes Church, (818) 349-1500.
Mexican bishops say NAFTA is leading to country's cultural death
MEXICO CITY (CNS) --- Mexico's Catholic bishops have pleaded with the federal government to renegotiate a trade treaty with the U.S. and Canada that they say is leading to the cultural death of their nation. The bishops said the Jan. 1 abolition of agricultural tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement is putting poor Mexican farmers out of business and threatening the destruction of entire rural communities. They said farmers and their families are now being driven to migrate to cities in Mexico or to the U.S., which "currently has a very strong and anti-humane immigration program." In a mid-January statement, the bishops' social action commission called on the state to "analyze the legal possibilities and economic feasibility of renegotiating the agricultural section of the free trade agreement in order to protect more decisively the interests of the poor rural and indigenous communities who are in the majority." The statement, signed by 10 bishops, said, "There exist legal, economic and moral conditions to renegotiate this section, which should be the priority for the government and legislators."
Pope reformulates Tridentine rite's prayer for Jews
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI has reformulated a Good Friday prayer for the Jews, removing language about the "blindness" of the Jews but preserving a call for their conversion. The new prayer replaces the one contained in the 1962 Roman Missal, sometimes called the Tridentine rite, which is no longer generally used by Catholics but which may be used by some church communities under recently revised norms. The new formulation was published Feb. 5 on the front page of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, along with a brief note from the Vatican Secretariat of State. The text, made available only in Latin, begins: "Let us pray for the Jews. May the Lord Our God enlighten their hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men." It continues: "Almighty and everlasting God, you who want all men to be saved and to reach the awareness of the truth, graciously grant that, with the fullness of peoples entering into your church, all Israel may be saved." |