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Thursday, November 16, 2000 Bishops meet (Continued from page I) In all, the bishops were to deal with 18 main action items during the meeting. A special message on the Middle East, added to the agenda at the last minute, included explicit support for an independent Pales tinian state, something the bishops have never done before. Their concern about immigrants came up in two separate items, both submitted by the Committee on Migration. One is a resolution urging several reforms in U.S. immigration law and policy to “uphold the basic dignity and human rights of immigrants among us and preserve the unity of the immigrant family.” The other is a 52-page pastoral statement, “Unity in Diversity: Welcoming the Immigrant Church in the U.S.” “The new immigrants call us back to our ancestral heritage as descen dants of immigrants and to our bap tismal heritage as members of the body of Christ,” the statement says. It challenges church leaders and all Catholics to welcome immigrants and celebrate cultural diversity as a gift. It calls on them to work against prejudice and distrust and for the Anew way to see Hawaii. Anew way to take a cruise. Seven nights. Four beautiful islands. And five ports of call. It’s all yours aboard the newest U.S.-flagged cruise ship, the ms Patriot. We sail every Saturday from Honolulu, so call for your reservations today. Cruise fares from *809 ar* Book now for 2001 Sheila Counihan Winders Access Travel 1-800-345-8298 advancement of new immigrants to full integration in the life of the church and society. The 42-page statement, “Respon sibility, Rehabilitation and Res toration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,” sharply challenges the trend toward more prisons, stiffer sentences and more executions as the U.S. re sponse to crime. It was drafted by the bishops’ Domestic Policy Committee. “We are convinced that our tradi tion and our faith offer better alter natives that can hold offenders accountable and challenge them to change their lives, reach out to vic tims and reject vengeance,” it says. It especially questions the growing use of incarceration as American society’s main response to drug offenders, in light of studies indicat ing that programs of education and community-based treatment are more productive and cost-effective. Last November the bishops dis cussed a draft of a new statement on art and environment for worship, titled Domus Dei (“The House of God”). The final draft, which received preliminary discussion November 13, has been significantly restructured and rewritten in light of consultations with the bishops and other experts and has a new name, “Built of Living Stones.” The 108-page text, subtitled “Art, Architecture and Worship,” discuss es spatial requirements for various liturgical rites and the role of art and architecture in assisting the church at prayer. It addresses the role of bishop, pastor, parish committees, architect, liturgical consultant and others in the design of a church and its sur roundings, as well as special issues that must be faced in renovating an existing church. Among shorter statements the bishops were to vote on is one draft ed by the Committee for Pro-Life Activities titled “The U.S. Supreme Court and the Culture of Death.” It decries the high court’s persistent denial of rights to the unborn since its Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. It says the Supreme Court’s rejec tion this summer of a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortion has shattered any hope of “legal sanity on abortion” and “has brought our legal system to the brink of endors ing infanticide.” Scheduled for debate and vote later in the meeting were: —Final modifications in the statutes that will guide the new U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. —A proposal to form a new stand ing Committee on Catechesis. The bishops also have been asked to approve the concept and timeline for revising the Lectionary for Masses With Children, adoption of the Mexican Lectionary for Scripture readings in U.S. Spanish- language liturgies, and a proposal on diocesan audits. Votes for a new secretary, who becomes one of the conference’s executive officers, and for new chairmen of about one-third of the bishops’ standing committees were set for November 14. Sixteen current ad hoc committees must have their mandate renewed, “One Faith ... One Family: The Diocese of Savannah 1850-2000” A 350-page commemorative book Name: Order form Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: Parish: Please send me copies of One Faith... One Family @ $30 per copy. Check one payment option: Enclosed is my check for $ for copies, plus for home delivery (@ $8.00 per copy, if desired) Please charge my VISA/MASTERCARD # Expiration date: Signature: Return form to: Signature Publications 1600 James Street Syracuse, NY 13203 The Southern Cross, Page 11 or they will die in accord with the bishops’ three-year sunset policy for ad hoc committees. Acting unanimously, the U.S. bishops approved by a voice vote a statement on “Sudan's Cry for Peace.” The statement lamented “slavery, torture, executions, reli gious persecution” and “discrimina tory laws” by the Sudanese govern ment. “The violence and repression in Sudan cannot be allowed to con tinue,” the statement said. “Sudan’s political and military leaders must abandon their current path, which has led only to endless death and destruction” during a 16-year civil war between the Islamic government and Christian and animist popula tions in southern Sudan, it said. Responding to repeated pleas of Sudan’s bishops for peace and an end to the government’s campaign of terror against Christians, the U.S. bishops’ statement seeks to arouse greater attention by the U.S. govern ment and the international commu nity to the war that has caused the death of an estimated 2 million Sudanese and displaced twice that number. About 150 members of Soulforce, a Christian gay rights group, lined Michigan Avenue in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception November 13 in a protest against the Catholic Church’s stands on homo sexual and lesbian relationships as the bishops arrived for Mass. The group has held similar protests during the past year at national Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian and Southern Baptist meetings, bringing together hun dreds of demonstrators to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience. 'i? - 5 Om *pat6ei V ^ *i¥<M4e Catholic & Christian Books & Gifts featuring: Christian Videos for families and children, Baptismal, Holy Communion, Confirmation & RCIA gifts, Third World Gifts, Rosaries, Crucifixes and much, much more. Come Be Lifted! We Ship 1712 East Oglethorpe Blvd (next to Garganos East) Albany, GA (912) 446-0302 Fax (912) 446-2005 J