USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - South African, African American Women To Continue Dialogue Begun in 1996

South African, African American Women To Continue Dialogue Begun in 1996

WASHINGTON (August 26, 1997) -- Fulfilling a promise made at the conclusion of historic meetings in South Africa last October to continue their dialogue, African American Catholic women will host a delegation of women from southern Africa, September 5- 7, in the Washington suburbs.

"Let the Circle Be Unbroken" is the theme of two days of formal events being planned by the Bishops' Secretariat for African American Catholics. The meeting will build on the discussions of culture and spirituality and other issues of concern to the women held in Johannesburg last year.

According to Bishop George V. Murry, an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and Chairman of the Bishops' Committee on African American Catholics, the events are designed to "enrich, inform and explore the positive influences of women within the U.S. Church."

Let the Circle Be Unbroken
Dialogue with the Women of Southern Africa

What:	Symposium of African American Catholic women together with women from southern Africa, continuing a dialogue on culture and spirituality begun in October 1996 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
When:	September 5-7, 1997
Where:	Doubletree Guest Suites, Linthicum, Maryland
Who:	Speakers include Dr. Diana L. Hayes, an associate professor at Georgetown University, who will deliver a keynote address Friday, September 5, entitled "Hagar's Daughter," and Mrs. Cecilia Moloantoa, a professional nurse who has been actively engaged in women's health care issues in South Africa and has worked for the South African Council of Churches and the Department of National Health. She has also been the national coordinator of health services for the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference. She will deliver an address on Saturday, September 6, entitled "The New South Africa and the Role of Women."

The Secretariat for African American Catholics has also arranged for the African women to see and visit with U.S. women in a variety of settings. During their stay in the United States, the African women will visit and tour Watermark, a cooperative association of more than 700 rural, North Carolina women whose handcrafted merchandise is sold through a catalog and at its Camden, North Carolina, headquarters. (Watermark receives funding from the Campaign for Human Development, the Bishops' anti-poverty agency.) They will also travel to Newark, New Jersey, to visit the facilities of New Community Corporation, a grassroots venture that operates day care centers, the St. Rose of Lima School, a shopping center, and other service-oriented businesses. New Community Corp. was founded by Msgr. William Linder as part of an effort to rebuild Newark's inner-city.

For more information on events in the Washington area, which are open to the media, contact Stephanie Greenhouse in the Secretariat for African American Catholics, 202-541-3177.