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☆ The” ... Sou ? 0 ft * Diocese of Savannah mm ☆ hern (trass Vol. 80, No. 35 Thursday, October 12, 2000 Two SISTERS TAKE VOWS —SEE PAGE 6 Exclusive INTERVIEW WITH John Michael Talbot — see page 7 $.50 PER ISSUE Pope entrusts world to Mary During a ceremony in which he entrusted the world to Mary’s care, Pope John Paul II covers his eyes as he sits before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima October 8 in Saint Peter’s Square. The Holy Father preferred to use the word “entrust” rather than “consecrate” for this service (see page 2). In Holy Land\ Christians offer prayers for peace By Judith Sudilovsky Jerusalem (CNS) A t Christian churches throughout the Holy Land, wor shippers offered prayers for peace and in memory of those killed or wounded during recent violence. At noon October 8, all church bells rang out in a plea for peace and compassion. The pastoral letter to parishes that Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah issued October 2 was read in churches. It called on Christians to raise their prayers to God to ask him to “enlighten the minds” of the responsible government officials. Jamila Suleiman, 26, came to pray at the Latin-rite Holy Savior Church in the Old City of Jerusalem with her hus band Jack, 28, a restaurant bartender, and 3-year-old son Roger. “The first thing I hope and pray for is an end to this war. I hope we will live in peace because Jerusalem is a holy place for us all—Christians, Muslims and Jews,” said Jamila Suleiman. “We believe in peace, but this situation has been forced on us,” she said. Jack Suleiman, with Roger clinging to his legs, added: “The past few days have been difficult for everybody. We all think there will be a war and then there will be terrible problems. I am thinking of all the children of this land. Everybody wants peace—Jews, Christians, Muslims— because we all have children. Prayer can help because God hears everybody.” In Bethlehem, Bayt Jala and Bayt Sahur, worshippers from all the various Christian churches joined together in prayer after a peaceful procession through the streets of their towns, meeting up at Nativity Square in Bethlehem, where they joined a march of Christians and Muslims. They made their way down to Rachel's Tomb and the adjoining Israeli checkpoint, which has been the site of fiery clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. Similar gatherings were held throughout Galilee and the West Bank, with a large one held at Holy Family Catholic Church in Ramallah. At Holy Savior, 20-year-old Tamer Razak, a hotel man agement student, prayed in earnest, burying his head in his hands. A few days earlier a friend of his had been killed in the crossfire, he said. “Of course I am angry, but I still pray for peace. I pray for the power of Jesus to stop all this war. There are many people being killed, and that is a real pity,” he said. (Continued on page 3) Pilgrimage postponed B ecause of the recent violnce in Israel, the diocesan pil grimage to the Holy Land, originally planned for this week, has been rescheduled, tentatively, for January 22-February 1, 2001.