Cleveland Bishop emeritus Anthony M. Pilla will be honored on May 13 for his many years of support of the COAR Peace Mission. COAR is the community of Oscar A. Romero in El Salvador.
Since 1980, the COAR Peace Mission has been providing quality education, health care, spiritual richness and a safe and loving home for children in that country, which is wracked by violence and beset by poverty.
The COAR Children?s Village was founded by Father Ken Myers, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Cleveland. The Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992) created a large number of refugees and orphans, and Father Myers responded to the need. Monsignor Romero, archbishop of San Salvador and an outspoken critic of the war, was assassinated early in 1980. Because of Father Myers? admiration for the man and his message of peace, he named the growing community Comunidad Oscar Arnulfo Romero (COAR).
Bishop Pilla, who headed the Cleveland diocese from 1980 to 2006, was asked recently about his ongoing support for COAR?s mission. The diocese has operated a mission in El Salvador for more than 50 years.
?(I support COAR) because they do good work,? Bishop Pilla said. ?Because that?s where we?ve got to be. The Church has never forgotten the poor. There?s no substitute. What?s the alternative? Gangs and poverty? The blessing is ours, not the other way around.?
?We are proud to be honoring Bishop emeritus Pilla for his support and for his message of hope for El Salvador,? said Mary K. Stevenson, COAR executive director. ?This occasion allows us to recognize that support and give others a chance to assist these vulnerable children,? she added.
The benefit will begin with Mass at 5 p.m. May 13 at the Center for Pastoral Leadership, 28700 Euclid Ave., Wickliffe, also the location of the COAR offices.
