FLORIDACatholicYOUR FAITH. YOUR LIFE. YOUR COMMUNITY. OF PALM BEACH

WWW.THEFLORIDACATHOLIC.ORG | July 12-25, 2013 | $1.00

LINDA REEVESof the Florida Catholic sta�

PAHOKEE | Sandra Riviera struggles to provide for her fam-ily and sought the aid of a local Catholic Charities program.

As her 7-month-old baby boy, Brandon, sat in her lap, her two other sons, ages 5 and 10, stood well-behaved at her side. The widow and mother of three young children visited the Catholic Charities St. Mary Cen-ter in Pahokee June 7, where a

margorp ecnatsissa ytirahc wenaimed at helping poor families and hungry children kicked o�. Maria Rosas of Catholic Chari-ties assisted Riviera, a native of Honduras who barely speaks English, as she completed neces-sary paperwork to enroll in the new program called Angel Food “SNAC” (Serving Nutrition to Area Children).

“She is staying with family,” Rosas told the Florida Catholic about the young woman whose husband died suddenly and who lives with her grandmother in Pahokee. “There are 11 in the house.”

Catholic Charities’ new Angel Food SNAC program launched at �ve di�erent sites in the Dio-cese of Palm Beach: Guatema-lan-Maya Center in Lake Worth; St. Philip Benizi Parish in Belle Glade; San Juan Diego Pastoral Center and Notre Dame Mis-sion in Fort Pierce; and the new Catholic Charities St. Mary service center located on the grounds of St. Mary Parish.

Sanjanita Avalos visited the St. Mary center with her two chil-dren, Julio Barajas, 10, and Jen-nifer Barajas, 6. She shared that her husband is in the construc-tion business and has found it di�cult to �nd work with the poor economic situation of the country.

“This will help a lot,” she said about the supplemental food. “There are not a lot of programs out here. We are happy to get the food.”

Alex Stevens, program ad-

ministrator of Catholic Charities Hunger, Homeless and Outreach ministry, said the Angel Food SNAC program helps families have food through the weekend.

“Children eat at school and summer camp, but when they get home they may not have enough food,” he said. “We asked site li-aisons to pinpoint children who are most vulnerable.”

The food program is assisting 175 children from low-income families at this point, thanks to generous supporters who gave more than $57,000 to get the pro-

gram started. Catholic Charities is prepared to hand out food on Friday afternoons at the various locations for a year, but if �nan-cial support continues and in-creases, the program will go on

and even expand to help more hungry children.

Obviously children are vul-nerable simply because they are

Outreach goal: Feed area’s hungry children

Would you like to help a child for one month? One year? To learn more about the Angel Food SNAC Program, call Alex Stevens, Catholic Charities program ad-ministrator, at 561-360-3323.

Nathan Baltazar, 4, and Chrystal Bocanegra, 5, show o� their new knapsacks filled with food. The youngsters are part of a new Catholic Charities program designed to provide nutritious food to eligible children who might not have enough food on weekends when school and summer programs are not in session. (PHOTOS BY LINDA REEVES | FC)

Julio Barajas, 10, and his sister, Jennifer Barajas, 6, carry filled knapsacks from Catholic Charities’ Pahokee service center.

PLEASE SEE OUTREACH 2

Encyclical illustrates continuity of two

papacies 13

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Pope also clears the way for the canonization of John XXIII CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY | Pope Francis signed a decree clearing the way for the canoniza-tion of Blessed John Paul II and has decided also to ask the world’s cardinals to vote on the canonization of Blessed John XXIII, even in the absence of a miracle.

After Pope Francis met July 5 with Car-dinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congre-gation for Saints’ Causes, the Vatican pub-lished a list of decrees the pope approved related to Blessed John Paul’s canonization and 11 other sainthood causes.

Publishing the decrees, the Vatican also said, “The supreme ponti� approved the fa-vorable votes of the ordinary session of the cardinal- and bishop-fathers regarding the canonization of Blessed John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) and has decided to con-voke a consistory that will also involve the canonization of Blessed John Paul II.”

Normally, after a pope signs a decree

John Paul II to become a saint

PLEASE SEE JOHN PAUL, 10