March 18: 1:30 p.m., College of Consulters

March 21: 10 a.m., Bishop's Administrative Council

March 22: 6 p.m., Knights of Columbus dinner, St. Isidore Parish, Danville

March 24: 10 a.m., Stational Mass, cathedral

March 28: 10 a.m., Bishop's Administrative Council

      7:30 p.m., Holy Thursday, cathedral

March 29: Noon, Good Friday, cathedral

March 30: 8 p.m., Easter Vigil, cathedral

April 7: 5 p.m., Confirmation, St. Mary's College, Moraga

April 9: 4:30 p.m., Priest Jubilarian Celebratione

home

Neophyte Mass

A Neophyte Mass for those newly baptized will be at 10 a.m. April 14 at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison St., Oakland, with Archbishop Alex J. Brunett presiding. All those baptized at Easter and their godparents and those previously baptized who completed the sacraments of initiation any time during the past year (through reception into full communion and/or Confirmation) are invited to join in celebrating the newly baptized. A reception will follow in the parish hall. RSVP by April 3 to Anne Marie Fourre at 510-996-9509 or afourre@sjbalameda.org.

home

Sacred music The Women's Liturgical Choir of the University of Notre Dame performed sacred music as a prelude to the March 9 Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. The choir also had engagements at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento and the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, as well as St. Dominic's Church in Benicia. MICHELE JURICH/THE CATHOLIC VOICE

home

Support for House bill

WASHINGTON — Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has asked members of the House to approve the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. Introduced March 5 by three House Republicans, the bill had 66 co-sponsors as of March 11. The bill will "help preserve the vitally important traditions of religious freedom and the right of conscience," Cardinal O'Malley said in a March 11 letter to House members.

Bishops decline support

WASHINGTON — Five bishops who lead committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a joint statement they could not support the rewritten reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law March 7. The stumbling blocks for the bishops were the references to "sexual orientation" and "gender identity. These two classifications are unnecessary to establish the just protections due to all persons. They undermine the meaning and importance of sexual difference," the five bishops said in their March 6 statement.

Curial reform 'reasonable'

INDIANAPOLIS — Reforming the Roman Curia needs to be a priority of the new pontiff. Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, who was named to Indianapolis last October and has several years of firsthand experience of working in and with the curia, said such reform "is a reasonable priority to have, not so much to avoid scandals, but to provide for a government that will help the Holy Father exercise his Petrine service. That's a struggle for a bureaucracy that has been around for the better part of two millennia," he added Feb. 21. At the same time, Archbishop Tobin takes a balanced view when reflecting on the curia — something he said he didn't always do in the past.

— Catholic News Service

home