Priests swap lives for weekend to stress parishes' post-Katrina ties

Published: 2006-02-15

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (CNS) -- As government officials continue to debate the response time for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and discuss reconstruction projects across the Gulf Coast, members of St. Isidore Parish in Bloomingdale are taking action. Father Tony Taschetta, pastor of St. Isidore, vowed while celebrating Mass Feb. 5 that his congregation would work with members of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Pascagoula, Miss., to help them rebuild a place of worship that the Aug. 29 hurricane destroyed, along with many homes in the coastal town. The suburban pastor wasn't preaching in his Illinois church, however. He was celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Parish in Pascagoula, about five miles away from the ruins of St. Peter the Apostle Church. "We want to share our lives" with the people of the Mississippi parish, he said in a Feb. 6 telephone interview with the Catholic Explorer, newspaper of the Diocese of Joliet. "We want to stand in solidarity with them. This is not about building buildings."

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