ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602050054
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Richmond will try to raise $1.035 million this year to support parochial schools and provide for fuel and food for the needy of Virginia. In 1995 the annual Bishop's Appeal produced nearly $975,000.
Some of the money will go to three high schools serving Tidewater cities. Catholics in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News can divide their contributions between the schools in the general fund. The remainder of the money, which comes in throughout the year, is distributed to the needy in grants for various localities, according the The Catholic Virginian diocesan newspaper.
Seminarians also receive aid from the fund as do some youth ministries. The campaign begins in Lent each year.
Lenten retreat
``Journey to the Source: An Introduction to Centering Prayer" will be the theme of a Lenten retreat March 1 and 2. Open to Christians of any faith, it will be held at the Phoebe Needles Retreat Center near Callaway in Franklin County. Leader will be the Rev. Thomas P. O'Dell, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and continue until 3 p.m. on the following day.
Cost of the retreat is $50 plus a $25 nonrefundable fee if registration is received by Feb. 16. Call 483-1518 for more information.
`Messiah' themes
Lexington Presbyterian Church will present a six-week study of the theological themes on which the Easter portion of Handel's "Messiah" is based. Programs will begin Feb. 21 at the downtown Lexington church. The Rev. William M. Klein and William McCorkle will lead the series from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The resource book costs $14. Call 463-3873 for more information.
Walk of Faith Outreach
Registration is open for a June 21-23 conference in Charlottesville sponsored by Walk of Faith Outreach Ministries, International. Especially for women of the pentecostal tradition, it will be led by Doris Terry of Richmond, Pamela W. Lipscomb and Erma Franklin of New York and Celinda Okwuosa of Albany, N.Y. For details of the conference at the Sheraton Inn on Seminole Trail, write Terry at P.O. Box 25295, Richmond, Va. 23260.
Catholic attitudes
Growing numbers of American Catholic laity are moving away from official church positions on sexual morality, women priests and a variety of other issues, according to a new study by four sociologists who teach at Catholic University, Purdue University and George Washington University. A survey covering the past six years indicates that many lay people want a more democratic church in which the non-ordained can participate at all levels. Catholics who attend Mass weekly want more say in assignment of priests as well as greater flexibility in interpreting church teachings on birth control, abortion, divorce and alternative lifestyles. The report is titled "Laity, American and Catholic: Transforming the Church."
Tobacco battle
OSSINING, N.Y. - Two religious orders have launched a battle to force RJR Nabisco Holding Corp. to separate its food company from its tobacco business.
Armed with 980 shares of stock and the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers of Ossining, N.Y., and the Glenmary Home Missioners of Cincinnati have put a spinoff resolution before RJR Nabisco's 450,000 shareholders.
``It is a moral issue,'' said the Rev. Joseph P. La Mar, assistant treasurer of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. ``We're making a statement about tobacco products. ... You can have morality and still make money.''
A vote is scheduled for the annual meeting in April.
A key concern is the growing number of young people who are being attracted to cigarettes, La Mar said recently. His group thinks tobacco companies are seeking young people to get them hooked on smoking.
RJR Nabisco's food company makes foods like Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers. The tobacco operation makes Winstons, Camels, Salems, Doral, Vantage, More and Now cigarettes.
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, with its 770 priests and brothers, is part of a worldwide Catholic missionary organization with headquarters in Ossining. The group owns 960 shares of RJR stock. Glenmary, with 90 priests and brothers, holds 20 shares.
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