Diocese of Fall River
The Anchor
F riday , January 6, 2012
Mass. Medical Society opposes doctor-prescribed death B y Christine M. Williams A nchor C orrespondent
BOSTON — When a group of Massachusetts doctors voted to uphold a long-standing policy against physician-assisted suicide, they did so because “physicians are healers and not harmers.” Last month, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates voted 178 to 56 against doctors’ providing lethal doses of medication to their terminally ill patients. The policy, in effect since 1996, comes up for a vote every seven years. At the same meeting, the house unanimously passed language endorsing quality end-of-life care. The society, the oldest continuously operating medical association in the country, currently includes more than 23,000 members. The renewal vote coincided with the announcement that a citizens’ initiative petition in favor of physician-assisted suicide had garnered enough
signatures to appear on the 2012 ballot. On December 7, the coalition for the so-called Death with Dignity Act submitted more than 86,000 certified signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; 68,911 were required. The Massachusetts state legislature will have until May to choose whether or not to act on the proposal before it would appear on the ballot later this year. “The proposed Death with Dignity ballot question would give terminally ill patients greater peace of mind, choice and control in their final days of life. It would allow individuals with six months or less to live to request and self-administer, under strict safeguards, a prescription for life-ending medication,” the pro-euthanasia coalition said in a statement. The law would require that two doctors verify the mental competence of patients and that there be a 15-day waiting Turn to page 13
preaching to all the nations — Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Christmas message "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican December 25. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
‘Rolling with the changes’ 2011: A year in review
By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
FALL RIVER — Looking back at 2011, it could best be described as a year marked by change. Diocesan priests, parochial staff and laity attended various workshops throughout the year to prepare for the implementation of the third edition English translation of the Roman Missal, which was adopted on the first Sunday of Advent. More than 440 faithful — many of them catechetical and liturgical leaders — representing some 65 parishes from the Fall River Diocese attended an
instructional workshop entitled “Welcoming the Roman Missal” at the Taunton Inn and Conference Center in March. The four-hour workshop was led by Msgr. James P. Moroney, of the Diocese Worcester. A faculty member at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Msgr. Moroney is also former executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy and executive secretary of the Vox Clara Committee, the Vatican group that advised Pope Benedict XVI on this latest English translation of the Roman Missal.
During the summer, Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield and director of the diocesan Office for Worship, conducted a series of presentations on the third edition of the Roman Missal while a series of workshops were also offered later in the year on liturgical musical options for the revised Mass. Calling for Christians everywhere to support and strengthen each other, the newly-elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Bechara Peter Rai, addressed a standing-room-only congregation inside St. Anthony of the DesTurn to page 18
often traveled from his home in Montreal to the Fall River and New Bedford area to visit rela-
tives, some of whom are still in the area. The founder of St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal in Montreal was the first Holy Cross Brother to be canonized. He is known for his intense piety, famed for miraculous cures and praised for his dedication to seeing the oratory built. He was born Alfred Bessette Aug. 9, 1845, near Montreal. He was one of 12 children and suffered from a chronic stomach ailment that kept him out of school and often without work. His father died when he was nine and his mother died when he was 12. Turn to page 15
Congregation of Holy Cross celebrates year of thanksgiving for canonization of St. André Bessette By Dave Jolivet, Editor
IN GOOD HANDS — Pictured is Dr. Madonna Wojaszek-Healy, along with her husband and their four children. After her four children were diagnosed with ADD and with two also being diagnosed with autism, she became a tireless advocate for children with disabilities and recently presented two workshops at this year’s Faith Formation Ministry Convention. Story on page 14.
NORTH DARTMOUTH — The theme they chose was “Lives Given to God, Love Given to All.” In a nutshell, it describes what St. André Bessette was all about. The Congregation of Holy Cross selected the theme for its first-ever “Year of the Brother,” that began Oct. 17, 2010, the oneyear anniversary date St. André was canonized, lasting until Oct. 17, 2012. The celebration is in thanksgiving for the canonization of one of their own, St. André Bessette, whose feast day is today. St. André, the first saint to come from the congregation,
humble man — A bust of St. André Bessette at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)