New clergy assignment

Archbishop-designate Salvatore J. Cordileone announced Rev. Mark Amaral is appointed temporary parochial administrator of St. Augustine Parish in Oakland, effective Sept. 24.

Respect Life Sunday
The Respect Life Program begins anew each year on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday in October — this year Oct. 7. The program is highlighted in liturgies and marked by special events. The USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities publishes a program packet each year to call attention to numerous human life issues.

The 2012-2013 Respect Life Program features eight pamphlets in a series called Life Matters. Each presents convincing support for the teachings of the Catholic Church on major pro-life issues, with facts and reasoning drawn from science, history, law, sociology and other secular sources. To download these pamphlets, click here or go to www.oak4life.org and click on Respect Life Program.

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Choirs seek singers

The Cathedral Choir is expanding and open to new members, reports Cathedral Music Director Rudy DeVos. Any interested adult singers may request audition information by contacting Robert Vergas, oakdiocesemusic@gmail.com. Rehearsals are 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison St., Oakland.

Children ages 8-16 may participate in the Cathedral Children/Youth Choir. Contact Beth Hockel, CathedralYouthChoir@gmail.com, to request an interview. Rehearsals are 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at the cathedral.

The choirs will sing at the 10 a.m. Mass on Sundays and at other diocesan events.

CATHOLIC VOICE PHOTO

Changing of the seasons

Autumn has come to the halls of the Event Center at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, courtesy of the students at St. Joseph School in Pinole. The artwork displayed in the hall was made by fifth- through eighth-graders, who brainstormed ideas for a harvest theme. Fifth- and seventh-graders had two class meetings, and sixth- and eighth-graders each had one class meeting to complete the assignment. Art teacher Sabine Thompson gave students the choice of using colored pencils or watercolor pencils, or creating a collage with paper. The work will be on display through Nov. 23. At St. Joseph School, students in kindergarten through eighth grade have art class once a week.

Dexter Valencia/The CATHOLIC VOICE Last mixer of 2012 The last of the free Twilight by the Lake mixers on the Cathedral Plaza will be 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 on the Plaza of The Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison St., Oakland. The band for the final Twilight will be Vocal-ease and The Boogie Men, playing '50s and '60s music. Hundreds of people attended the Sept. 20 Twilight above, listening to the band, Fleetwood Mask playing the sounds of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks.

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Pope in Beirut Young people hold up a sign that reads "We love Jesus" as they gather for an outdoor Mass with Pope Benedict XVI on the waterfront in Beirut Sept. 16. Mohamed Azakir/cns

Against violence

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said his three-day trip to Lebanon convinced him that now is the time for Christians and Muslims to bear witness together against violence and in favor of dialogue and peace. In Lebanon, he said, Muslims "welcomed me with great respect," and their presence at each of his public events "gave me an opportunity to launch a message of dialogue and cooperation between Christianity and Islam. I believe the time has come to give a sincere and decisive witness together against divisions, against violence and against war," the pope said Sept. 19 at his weekly general audience. Reviewing his Sept. 14-16 trip to Lebanon, the pope told an estimated 7,000 people gathered in the Vatican audience hall that the "relaxed and constructive climate" of meetings with Lebanese religious leaders, government officials and crowds made up of Christians and Muslims was "a strong sign of hope for the future of humanity." The general audience opened with the reading — in six languages — of a passage from the Gospel of St. John: "My peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." Pope Benedict said that despite the current tensions in the Middle East, particularly because of the continued fighting in Syria, he was strongly committed to making the trip "because I was convinced that a father must be alongside his children when they face serious problems. I was motivated by a deep desire to proclaim the peace the Lord left his disciples."

— Catholic News Servicee

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