Archdiocese Invites Catholics to Come Home with Reconciliation 2000 With the Great Jubilee Year 2000 now underway, the Archdiocese of Newark is inviting Catholics to return to the Church through Reconciliation 2000. This three-month long outreach and education program, designed to encourage the faithful to take advantage of this sacrament, will culminate on Reconciliation Weekend, which will be held on April 7 and 8, 2000. Beginning January 10, 2000 and ending April 6, 2000, billboards will be on display on major highways throughout the Archdiocese, advertising a toll-free Reconciliation Line through which callers can speak with a priest about anything. The line will be open 8 a.m.- 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Reconciliation Line is for information and referral, not confession. Although conversation can cover any subject, it cannot be considered the Sacrament of Penance because confession must be done in person. Radio public service announcements will also run during the three-month period leading to Reconciliation Weekend. Also in January, direct mailers will be sent to registered Catholic homes throughout the Archdiocese. Some of the mailers, carrying the message It's the Heart of the Matter, It's a Matter of the Heart, will be delivered by the Knights of Columbus. During Reconciliation Weekend, hundreds of priests will be available to administer the Sacrament of Penance in over 80 parishes within the Archdiocese. During this weekend, Catholics will be afforded the opportunity to return to the church if they have been absent for an extended period of time. "The Archdiocese of Newark is happy to be able to mount this campaign for a re-awakening of interest in the Sacrament of Penance," commented Rev. Msgr. Edward Kavin, coordinator of Reconciliation Weekend. The chosen symbol for Reconciliation Weekend is the Good Shepherd. Catholic tradition holds that priests continue the work of Jesus here on Earth by acting as shepherds to His flock. The image of Jesus as Shepherd comes from the New Testament, in the story of John 10:1-2. In the story, love, sacrifice and knowledge define Him. Both the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of St. Louis have met success through similar programs, experiencing a re-awakening of awareness of the Sacrament of Penance in the Catholic Church. In his letter to the 1.5 million Catholics in the Archdiocese that will be mailed in January, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick encourages readers to return to the Sacrament of Penance as a key element of the Jubilee Year 2000 celebration, and to obtaining the graces of the Lord, Jesus Christ. "Pardon and peace are His gifts to us. The ongoing nature of these gifts are beautifully celebrated every time a person approaches the Sacrament of Penance," he said. Announcements describing Reconciliation 2000 will run in church bulletins and posters will be placed in local parishes. On the weekend April 1 & 2, 2000, a video explaining Reconciliation Weekend will be shown in parishes throughout the Archdiocese.
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