THE VOLUME XXI NUMBER 1 WEST TEXAS JAN. NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAN ANGELO www.san-angelo-diocese.org 2000 INSIDE Fulfilling Dream, Pope Opens Great Jubilee Of The Year 2000 Annual March For By John Thavis Catholic News Service that offers salvation to all Life, p. 3 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Fulfilling his dream to lead the church into those entering.” The pope needed to be supported on both arms as he Living The Gospel ascended the three steps to Of Life In The New the Holy Door, and at one point he began to fall back- Millennium, p. 4 ward before being steadied by an aide. “Open for me the doors Fr. Barley of justice,” he intoned before pushing on the bronze doors. Appointed New A few moments later, they Director Of were pulled open from inside and the pontiff, again sup- Vocations And Seminarians, p. 6 Bishop Opens Holy Door, Proclaims 2000 Jubilee, p. 7 Christianity’s third millennium, Pope John Paul II opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and launched the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The Christmas Eve ceremony highlighted the joy of Christ’s coming National Catholic and the universality of the modern church. An updated rite featured Asian ported by assistants, knelt in prayer string music and the flowers and fragrances of Oceania, along with tra- on the threshold. Youth Conference, ditional Latin invocations. The pope then withdrew to watch p. 12 The Mass marked the start of the busiest Christmas ever for the pope, a procession of lay faithful anoint the who also delivered a blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the door with oils and fragrances, and world) Dec. 25 and presided over a prayer service and Holy Door open- decorate it with flowers. ing at Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran. He returned to the threshold with For the 79-year-old pontiff, unsteady on his feet but as firm as ever the Gospel book in his hands and, in his resolve, the few steps through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s sym- after holding it up for all to see, en- bolized an invitation for all to enter through the door of conversion. The tered the door with labored steps. door was last opened for the Holy Year that ended in 1984. Three Nigerian laymen wearing “With joy we open the year of the great jubilee ... a year of grace and feathered headdresses blew on el- STANDARD PRESOR TED PERMIT NO 44 NO PERMIT true freedom, of reconciliation and peace,” the pope said. ephant-tusk horns, and the whole ba- SAN ANGELO, TX ANGELO, SAN NONPROFIT ORG. NONPROFIT US POSTAGEPAID US The church’s main jubilee message, the pope said, was that Christ silica echoed with low notes of joy. himself is “the door of mercy and grace, always open to sinners, a door see “POPE”, page nine Pro-life Services Planned For life gift for Christ – to have at least 2,000 people present at both rallies, each one representing one year of Christianity. San Angelo, Midland “What a wonderful way to honor Christ on his birthday by offering him this pro- Knights Of Columbus To Host Mammoth Gatherings life gift, with Mary, his mother – our By Fr. Mark Woodruff vs. Wade that legalized abortion in the The San Angelo rally will begin at mother,” the Bishop wrote to the vari- Pastor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, United States. The rallies will be held the Tom Green County courthouse on ous Knights of Columbus councils in the Odessa in Midland and San Angelo, and are Saturday, January 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Diocese. The Diocese of San Angelo is pre- being prepared by area councils of the with a prayer service and march to the The Knights of Columbus in Texas paring a pro-life gift for Christ to com- Catholic men’s organization, the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart. and around the United States are espe- memorate the 2000th birthday of Chris- Knights of Columbus. A pro-life Mass will be celebrated there cially noted for their pro-life work and tianity. Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, in The Midland rally is planned for Fri- at about 11:00 a.m. the support of pro-life causes. They are conjunction with the Diocesan Pro-Life day evening, January 21. It will be held Bishop Pfeifer has called on all his well known for erecting monuments to Office and the Knights of Columbus, at 7:00 p.m. at the Midland Center at brother Knights throughout the Diocese the unborn in the form of tombstones VICE REQUESTED VICE have scheduled two mammoth rallies to 105 N. Main. In a recent letter, Bishop of San Angelo to make a special effort and supporting other pro-life and anti- honor the gift of life. Pfeifer explained, “This (night) is the to attend, and to invite thousands of oth- abortion efforts. PO BOX 1829 BOX PO The rallies are scheduled to coincide eve of that tragic day when our U.S. Su- ers, both Catholic and Protestant, to take For more information, readers of the with the 27th anniversary of the infa- preme Court gave the death sentence to part in the gatherings. West Texas Angelus should contact their DIOCESE OF SAN ANGELO SAN OF DIOCESE local Catholic parish. SAN ANGELO TX 76902-1829 TX ANGELO SAN mous U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe the unborn.” The Bishop has set a goal for the pro- CHANGE SER CHANGE BISHOP PFEIFER True Faith Expresses Itself La Fe Verdadera Se Expresa En In Love And Service Amor Y Servicio By Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, Omi Por Obispo Miguel D. Pfeifer, OMI “Anyone who says I love God and hates his brother is a liar, since a man who “Si alguno dice amo a Dios y aborrece a su hermano, es un mentiroso, pues does not love a brother that he can see cannot love God whom he has never seen.” quien no ama a su hermano, a quien ve, no puede amar a Dios a quien no ve.” [1 Jn [1 John 4:20] 4:20] It is easy to say in word that we believe in Jesus Christ, that we accept his Es fácil decir en palabra que nosotros creemos en Jesucristo, que aceptamos su Gospel, but the proof is found in how we love one another and reach out toward one Evangelio, pero la prueba está en como amamos uno al otro y en como nos ayuda- another in service. Our love, charity, is especially expressed by the way we help the mos el uno al otro en servicio. Nuestro amor, caridad, es expresada especialmente poor, the abandoned and the unloved of our society. As we stand on the threshold of segun la manera que ayudamos a los pobres, los abandonados y los no amados de the Third Millennium, as Christians we need to seriously examine how we of the nuestra sociedad. Mientras estamos en la puerta del Tercero Milenio, como Cristia- Church are reaching out to the poor and needy. nos necesitamos examinar en serio como nosotros de la Iglesia estamos ayudando Pope John Paul II during his address at Yankee Stadium in October, 1997, of- a los pobres y necesitados. fered the following challenge: “The poor of the United States and of the world are EI Papa Juan Pablo II durante su discurso en el Estadio de los Yankees en Octu- your brothers and sisters in Christ. You must never be content to leave them just the bre, 1997, ofreció el siguiente desafio: “Los pobres de los Estados Unidos y del crumbs from the feast. You must take of your substance and not just of your abun- mundo son sus hermanos y hermanas en Cristo. Nunca deben estar contento en dance in order to help them. And you must treat them like guests at your family dejarles solamente las migajas del festín. Deben tomar de su sustancia y no sola- table.” mente de su abundancia para ayudarlos. Y deben tratarlos como sus invitados en la Our world today urgently needs Christians to express their faith in love and service. Thirty-five mesa de su familia.” thousand persons die of hunger and its consequences every day in all parts of the world. More than Nuestro mundo hoy necesita urgentemente Cristianos para expresar su fe en amor y servicio. 80 percent of the world’s people live in developing countries. They use just 20 percent of the world’s Trienta-cinco mil personas mueren de hambre y sus consecuencias cada día en todas partes del wealth. The remaining 20 percent of the world’s people live in industrialized nations and control 80 mundo. Mas de 80 porciento de la gente del mundo vive en paises desarollando. Ellos usan 20 percent of the world’s wealth. More than 35 million people, roughly 1 in every 7 Americans live in porciento de los recursos del mundo. Los otros 20 porciento de la gente del mundo vive en naciones poverty. Nearly 15 million children under age 18 live in poverty, and the number is increasing industriliazadas y controlan 80 porciento de los recursos del mundo. Mas de 35 millones de perso- steadily. Forty-four percent of African-American children and 36 percent of Latino children are nas, mas o menos 1 en cada 7 personas americanas, viven en la pobreza. Casi 15 millones de niños growing up poor. bajo la edad de 18 viven en pobreza, y el numero está creciendo constantemente. Cuarenta y cuatro Some citizens of the United States may succumb to the temptation of blaming those who are porciento de niños Africanos-Americanos y 36 porciento de niños Latinos están creciendo pobres.