USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Media Alert

Media Alert - Worth Noting

Film to Focus on Wives of Deacons

The majority of Catholic permanent deacons are married as well as ordained. So what is it like to be the wife of a member of the Catholic clergy? The USCCB Secretariat for the Diaconate is producing a video on the wives of deacons: what they do, what they don't do, and how their husbands' ordination has affected them and their families. Through a grant from the Catholic Communications Campaign, New Media Productions of South Bend, Indiana is preparing the video. "Once completed, the video will be a valuable resource for the local church to learn more about the various states of life in which Catholic deacons live and minister," says Deacon William Ditewig, Director, USCCB Secretariat for the Diaconate. "The film should also be helpful in showing wives and families what to expect in this important vocation."

Deacon William Ditewig is available at 202/541-3038 (wditewig@usccb.org).

Gathering of Asian and Pacific Catholics at Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Heeding the call of Pope John Paul II to pray for world peace and for the first time in the Washington area, the Asian and Pacific Catholic communities will gather at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for an afternoon of the rosary, May 4, 2003. Children and adult leaders from the Bangaldeshi, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Lebanese, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese ethnic communities will lead the prayers. The four mysteries – Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious- will be said in English and in different Asian languages. A procession of the images of Our Lady of China, Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage – Birhen Ng Antipolo (Filipino), Our Lady of Good Health – Vailankanni (Indian), Our Lady of Japan, Our Lady of Lanka (Sri Lanka), Our Lady of La Vang (Vietnamese) will open the afternoon's celebration which focuses on devotions to Mary. "This event brings together East and West to celebrate our cultures and join in prayer for peace," says Rev. Anthony McGuire, Director, Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees, USCCB Migration and Refugee Services. "The images of our cultures are different, but our hopes are much the same."

Rev. Anthony McGuire may be reached at 202/541-3357 (AMcGuire@usccb.org).

Annual Communications Day to Focus on Media and Peace

Many dioceses in the United States will celebrate World Communications Day the weekend of May 17-18. The theme – "the communications media at the service of authentic peace in light of Pacem in Terris" – is particularly timely given the round-the-clock coverage of the war in Iraq. Pope John Paul II set the theme as part of the year-long commemoration of Blessed Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical in which he wrote that truth demands the impartial use of communications media so that the nations are able to know one another better. "Among the ways World Communications Day will be marked in the United States is with the Renewing the Mind of the Media Pledge," says David Early, USCCB Senior Communications Officer. "By signing a pledge card in their parishes or online, Catholics in many dioceses will be asked to encourage media leaders to exercise their responsibilities in ways that contribute to the authentic peace which John XXIII said must be 'founded on truth, justice, love, and lived out in freedom.'"

David Early is available at 202-541-3200 (dearly@usccb.org)
www.renewingmedia.org