Onthe·roadagain: The Cavs left Tuesday morning, on their way to Kansas City to represent District 19, for the second straight year, in the NA/A National Tournament. On Wednesday, Cabrini was defeated by seventh seeded Marycrest College (30-5) located in Davonport, Iowa. The tournament's championship game will be played on Tuesday, March 19. See picture story on the NA/A District 19's championship game on page 6. (photo by Cara Graham)
friday,mar.15, 1985
cabrinicollege,radnor,pa. 19087
yol. xxxi, no. 19
Church:issuesevokemixedfeelings by Virginia A. Smith
Within the last few months, the Roman Catholic Church has been under the watchful eye of the media. Major theological issues are popping up as cover stories for news magazines such as "Time" or "Newsweek." From questions on the authority of the Pope, the relevance of Church ritual, and the ordination of women in religious orders, to the controversial signing of the New York times advertisement (Oct '84) by 24 religious sisters acknowledging the diversity of Catholic opinion regarding abortions, the institution of the Church is being debated, probed, re-examined. The questions are in fact so much a concern that the Pope is summoning a special council of international bishops to meet in November to reexamine Vatican II interpretations. As students attending a Catholic institution, are we affected by, or even aware of, the questioning within the institutional Church? Does it have any bearing on our experience of the Catholic faith? Are we questioning views on Church authority, rules, rituals and teachings as much as the American bishops are?
"I don't really keep up on Vatican issues," said one senior education major, "because it really doesn't concern me. What does it matter if there's a world-wide conference in Rome? Here in Pennsylvania I'll still be following my same beliefs at my same parish." "The Pope is the head of the Church and a very holy man, so he must know what's best for us," said a freshman biology major. "I believe that he knows what he's talking about, so why should I question him when I haven't studied theology?" "The Pope seems to be talking only to the theologians when he discusses the details of church law," said junior Barbara Colantuono. "He's not gearing himself to the common people. Not everyone will follow the Pope - even many religious go against his decisions on the role of women, birth control, etc. But not believing in every statement the Pope says doesn't make you any less of a Catholic." Pope John Paul II, on the other hand, has stated that Catholics should be unquestioning in their allegiance where basic doctrine is concerned. His critics arguethat this demand is a denial of intellectual freedom.
''It's important for the Church to take a stand to guide its people," said Arthur Young, director for the Center of Academic Reinforcement (CARe), "but that stand can't eliminate free will. The Church needs to inform the Catholic community on its basis for the stand, and to allow the opportunity for questioning - which is a natural process, especially among students. Questioning is so necessary for them to understand the beliefs and accept them as their own." , Interviewing one student about her religious practices and compliance with church laws on mass attendance and confession spurred spontaneous contributions from nearby people who were intrigued by the conversation. "I still attend mass because it's something I really feel good about. It's a peaceful time for me," said. Claire Swann, sophomore. "Even ifit weren't required, I'd go." Swann added that she doesn't mind the repetitious prayers and rituals, "because I enjoy the traditions behind them. I've learned the reasons why we stand at this point and why we say that response, and that makes a real difference."
''It's important to go to the mass for the celebration of the Eucharist," said junior Bernadette Demski, "but if you should miss a mass, even just by sleeping late, I don't think it's a horrible sin. Why should you have to go every Sunday if you can give God some time each day in the privacy of your own room? Some people give God that one hour on Sunday and forget about Him the rest of the .week. Which is more Christian?" "I don't go to mass anymore, unless I'm around my parents," said a male senior, ''but I still consider myself a Catholic. I just haven't found the right Catholic service that inspires me. I have, however, found Protestant services I like, but I probably won't convert." Concerning the issues of the sisters who signed the Times article, Dr. Margaret Reher, professor of religion, thinks that, " there should've been some'sort of dialogue or conference askil1g the reasons why the women signed. After all, it wasn't the action of radical youths - the average age of the sisters was 50. But there was no
more CHURCH on p.3
LittleTheaterundergoingsafety renovations by Randy T. Lefko
There are stage lights on the floor, old sets are lined up along the wall, and costumes are shoved in the back corner. The Little Theater in Grace Hall, after 10 years of service, has been undergoing major renovations in order to provide a safer, more versable arena for its theatrical productions. Mike Caranfa, director, physical plant, said the renovations are being done in order to make the theater fire-safe and to clean up much of the clutter from old sets, hanging wires, and other debris found in the theater. Caranfa's interest was spurned by a minor complaint by a viewer of the recent Peter Pan production. "A theater patron had complained that the exit lights were not on and that the clutter within the theater was dangerous and could be a problem if there ever was a fire," Caranfa said. "We went down to investigate the lights and it was simply a blown fuse," Caranfa said, "While we were there, we took
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a look around and I decided that it might be a good idea to theater. The dance classes are under the physical education close the theater after the presentation and do a little department and the class could easily be held on the stage renovating." in the gym." The nature of the work,' according to Dr. Joseph Romano, . A new control room is being designed to give the produc• vice president, includes rewiring all the electrical outlets, tion personnel more versatility with the lighting and replacement of sound wires in the ceiling, and removing sound. A new control board, which is used to coordinate the some of the clutter, which is the major problem. lights and sounds, is also in the plans. "After 21 years of productions, the theater has accumu''Alighting engineer is checking the old board to see if it's lated a lot of clutter," Dan Perna, theater director, said. "I still safe for use," Perna said. "The electrical codes have hate to throw old sets away and there are always a pile of changed since its purchase, and we want to see if we can costumes after a production. It would be a waste of money to save some money by not having to buy a brand new board." just throw them away." Virginia Smith, sophomore, who has starred in many productions in the Little Theater, feels that after 21 years of In order to alleviate this problem of storage, some of the proven service, it is about time a little of the money that the costumes are being stored in the Mansion and the showers theater earns is being used to renovate it. that occupied the back of the stage are being removed. "The theater has been a successful, money making source Perna feels the these renovations may not be enough. for Cabrini for 21 years," Smith said. "Now the money that "The storage problem could be solved if the dance room, is made is finally being used for the purpose of making it which is used for the dance classes, is given back to the even better."
Minstrelshow a -tradition
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Final update on Superthon
Practice for the Irish Minstrel Show,a Cabrini tradition, is well under way. For a story oi;i this year's show, see the features section, page 4. (photo by Mark ; Magner)
The final updated Superthon schedule of events appears on the SGA page. The Superthon is this weekend and will be highlighted by a concert by John Eddie and the Front Street Ri.mners on Friday and the St. Patrick's Day dance on Saturday . (photo courtesy of David Carroll)