Pax Christi Northern California would like to invite you to its first annual liturgy of memory and repentance for victims of nuclear attacks and accidents.
This Catholic mass of remembrance will commemorate nuclear victims, and invite the community to be in solidarity with Pope Francis as he visits Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki on November 23 – 26. At that time, the Holy Father is expected to deliver a message calling for the urgent and complete abolition of nuclear weapons.
Following the liturgical service, Pax Christi Northern California will offer a reception and panel discussion on how local groups and individuals can undertake a program of prayer-study-action for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
When: Saturday, November 23, 7:00 pm
Where: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 4025 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland (one block from MacArthur BART station)
Comes as no surprise to yours truly, Francis has as among his chief temporal opponents, a group of very hard-right-wingers calling themselves “Church Militant” who seem hell bent (my choice of words here) on preventing him from cleaning up and restoring Christ’s Church. They (the group) utilize the trappings of devotion, but their hearts would appear to be set on making Steve Bannon’s version of Catholicism the official one. Personally I see Francis’ gesture as far more than merely symbolic. He’s engaged in Reparation. A very noble act.