Bishop, parishioners discuss post-Katrina options for churches

Published: 2005-10-13

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (CNS) -- "There is much in me that wishes that we could just go back to Aug. 28," Bishop Thomas J. Rodi of Biloxi told St. Paul parishioners at an evening meeting Oct. 11 in Pass Christian. St. Paul Parish's church, rectory and school were some of the many buildings ravaged by Hurricane Katrina Aug. 29. The bishop said the purpose of the meeting was "to look at the options before us as we seek to rebuild St. Paul Parish." It was the first of several listening sessions the bishop has scheduled for parishes devastated by Katrina. "I am not here so much to give information, or to answer questions, but to listen to anything you may have to say that will help me in making a decision. ... I wish I did not have these decisions to make," he told the group gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Emotions ran high during the hour-and-a-half meeting and the general consensus was obvious -- the people wish to rebuild the church and the school on the same location where the parish has been since 1847.

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