SERVING . . . SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & lHE ISLANDS
t ean VOL. 24, NO. 32
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, AUGUST 7; 1980
20c, $6 Per Year
A good idea, but ...
CAMPERS ENJOY a musical interlude under the shade of tall pines and also under the loving care of (from. left) Sister Annette, Sister Lucy and Sister Therese. (Torchia Photo)
A
me~morable
"Summer Fun" promised the fliers distributed last spring at St. Peter's Church, Dighton. The promise was more than fulfilled, agreed the 50 01' so parish children, ages 4 to 14, who participated in a four-week program which concluded last Friday at the former Camp Tattapanum in Dighton. Now the property of a St. Peter parishioner, Frohman Anderson, who generously permitted its use, the camp proved ideal for a lively schedulEl of games, crafts, music and painless religious education, all efficiently administered by Sisters Annette Desmarais, Therese Gerard and musician Lucy Stonen, all Dominican Sisters of the Presentation. Young and bubbling over with energy and love for their charges, the sisters were as:sisted by a corps of parish teenagers, several of whom are also wintertime CCD teachers, plus Penny Rodriguez, visiting Dighton from the Dominican sisters' mission in Brownsville, Texas. The day The Anchor visited what the children had dubbed
summer
Camp Wilderness, the theme was "witnessing," and stories, prayers, music, drama, games and even arts and crafts were based on the story of St. Stephen, the first martyr, and how he bore witness to his faith in Christ. Nametags, worn by everyone, changed daily and also carried out the theme, said Sister Annette. Demonstrating Christ's love shared with others, on this day her tag read "Sister Annette loves you." The program centered around the former Girl Scout recreation building, set in a pine forest. At a short distance, a cluster of cabins had been transformed into religion teaching aids. "In Kingdom Road" the children learned about the sacraments and "Mary's House" the role of our Lady in the church, while in "Heavenly Temple" there was the opportunity for quiet private prayer. The sisters paid tribute to Greg Mendes, the 16-year-old brother of Mary Mendes, one of the camp counselors, who took several days from his summer job to help clear years of grass
and weeds from long disused camp paths. Sister Therese has been religious education coordinator at St. Peter's for four years and developed the summer program three years ago, previously holding it at her community's provincial house, also in Dighton. But she and Sister Annette, who will take over the coordinator's job in the fall, agreed that the camp facilities have added immeasureably to the program resources. "It's so peaceful here-and it shows in the kids," they said. Among special camp projects were a Mary Day, centered around Mary's House, and a Balloon Day, when balloons containing prayers were released and each child received a personal letter "from God." "I'm going to frame mine and keep it forever," declared one little boy. One day the children studied Moses, solemnly t~ing off their shoes as they reenacted his reaction at sight of the burning bush, then playing a maze game Turn to Page Six
Clergy and Catholic editorial writers have welcomed the recent Vatican document which' calls for a redistribution of the world's priests, but have also pointed out difficulties involved. "I think it's a good idea," said Auxiliary Bishop Walter Schoenherr of Detroit, who was archdiocesan delegate for the clergy from 1968 to 1977. "But in light of the human implications in- . volved, I think it would be difficult to implement." Bishop Schoenherr pointed out that most priests in the United States have adjusted to an urban metropolis and have roots there. He also noted that the proportion of priests to Catholics has diminished in the United States. "About 10 years ago, for instance, Detroit had one priest for every 500 families. Today that's more like one priest for every 1,500 families."
Father James Zelinski, director of missions for the DetroitMidwest province of the Capuchins, said temporary service by priests in priest-poor areas is almost a necessity, but added, "I hope that the redistribution plan is not the Vatican's way of avoiding the celibacy issue in foreign lands." He explained that the Capuchins have 30 priests in Nicaraguan missions, aided by some 1,000 catechists who baptize and conduct funerals. All that is keeping them from being priests, he said, is' that they're married.
He added: "We have an archdiocesan mission in Recife, Brazil, and nobody is interested in going there." An editorial in The Catholic Standard and Time, Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper, noted that areas which once had an abundance of priestly vocations no longer do. "In some U.S. dioceses," it said, "three or four times as many priests are dying and retiring as are being ordained, and the dilemma for American bishops is not where to place the clergy they have but how to cut back." Father Januarius Carillo of the Verona Fathers office in Montclair, N.J., described the Vatican document as a step in the right direction, but also pointed out: "I am afraid it's impossible to just tell a priest to leave a place like Montclair and go to Brazil." Father Carillo said missionaries see a waste of priestly manpower in the eastern United States. He cited parishes where no priest has to say more than one weekend Mass. He noted also that many priests are doing work which could be done by lay persons. Father 'Carl Arico, director of priest personnel for the Newark Archdiocese, noted that distribution of priests is a delicate issue. At times, he said, the archdiocese has had difficulty finding priests willing to go to Newark or Hudson County parishes. "It's obvious that in some parishes priests are overburdened," Father Arico said. "There are two ways to solve this - additional priests or sister-pastoral associates."
- "Should the official discussion of the Roman Rite's discipline on priestly celibacy be resumed? That ~, is it time to re.:open the door on a married clergy, as the Indonesian bishops asked recently?"
An editorial in the Catholic Voice, Oakland, Calif., diocesan newspaper, by Dan Morris, editor-in-chief, suggested considering such questions as these:
- "Can - or should - we look to the permanent diaconate to take up the slack?
In an editorial in The Beacon, Patrson, N.J. diocesan newspaper, Gerald M. Costello, executive editor, said: "I confess to some misgivings about the new document in its treatment - or its lack of treatment - of the expanded role of the laity and the religious women in providing pastoral and spiritual leadership. It says, by implication, that the way to meet the spiritual needs of priest-poor areas such as Latin America is to deploy priests from other sections of the world to serve them. This single remedy ignores the dramatic strides made by the Latin American church in fostering lay leadership, particularly through the communidades de base - small Christian communities - which have mushroomed in Central and South America." In these communities, Costello said, lay leaders "have emerged as a prophetic expression of the real faith of the people." In teaching, preaching and bringing the sacraments, they are representing Christ," he said. These small Christian communities "are a fact of life in urban slums and country villages throughout the Latin American church - encouraged by the bishops, who see in their astonishing growth a Christian answer to the faith needs of their people," he continued.