H
HagiaSophia
Guest
"…Thousands of Roman Catholics spilled onto the streets near Buckingham Fountain on Friday afternoon, trekking a half-mile from the Hilton & Towers Hotel to Grant Park’s Butler Field for the Archdiocese of Chicago’s** first major public liturgy in five years.**
During the hourlong procession, nuns in Reeboks walked alongside mothers pushing strollers and a group of Catholics clad in bright T-shirts that read “Choose Life” to commemorate “The Year of the Eucharist.”
“It’s beautiful. It’s so spiritual,” Chicago chemist Zenaida Altamirano said as she videotaped the crowd, which archdiocesan officials estimated at 5,000.
Choirs and a brass ensemble greeted parishioners and clergy as they were ushered onto the grassy field by members of the Knights of Columbus, a national Catholic fraternal organization that co-sponsored the event.
Cardinal Francis George said the Eucharist – the unleavened bread that Catholics believe transforms into Jesus Christ’s body at mass – is about change. George said peace can only be achieved if people eliminate addictions to alcohol and drugs, gambling, pornography, anger and “our own prejudices and racism.”
"We should ask, ‘What needs to be transformed? What needs to be changed? . . . What makes us a society that is too often plagued by violence in the streets and in our neighborhoods and by corruption of various sorts in corporations, in our governments and even at times, in the church?’ " George said as young and old Catholics fanned themselves and gripped umbrellas to block the sun.
Many in the devout, diverse group were glad to meet like-minded Catholics because their conservative views on hot-button issues such as abortion and homosexuality can make them feel like outcasts.
“I think Catholics feel like we’re the least popular people in the country right now. We’re seen as the ‘horrible Christian right,’ " Rogers Park resident Suzanne Devane said. “It’s wonderful to be together in solidarity with other people of the same faith…””
suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-cath06.html
During the hourlong procession, nuns in Reeboks walked alongside mothers pushing strollers and a group of Catholics clad in bright T-shirts that read “Choose Life” to commemorate “The Year of the Eucharist.”
“It’s beautiful. It’s so spiritual,” Chicago chemist Zenaida Altamirano said as she videotaped the crowd, which archdiocesan officials estimated at 5,000.
Choirs and a brass ensemble greeted parishioners and clergy as they were ushered onto the grassy field by members of the Knights of Columbus, a national Catholic fraternal organization that co-sponsored the event.
Cardinal Francis George said the Eucharist – the unleavened bread that Catholics believe transforms into Jesus Christ’s body at mass – is about change. George said peace can only be achieved if people eliminate addictions to alcohol and drugs, gambling, pornography, anger and “our own prejudices and racism.”
"We should ask, ‘What needs to be transformed? What needs to be changed? . . . What makes us a society that is too often plagued by violence in the streets and in our neighborhoods and by corruption of various sorts in corporations, in our governments and even at times, in the church?’ " George said as young and old Catholics fanned themselves and gripped umbrellas to block the sun.
Many in the devout, diverse group were glad to meet like-minded Catholics because their conservative views on hot-button issues such as abortion and homosexuality can make them feel like outcasts.
“I think Catholics feel like we’re the least popular people in the country right now. We’re seen as the ‘horrible Christian right,’ " Rogers Park resident Suzanne Devane said. “It’s wonderful to be together in solidarity with other people of the same faith…””
suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-cath06.html
