t eanc 0 VOL. 37, NO.1.
Friday, January 8, 1993 --
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS _
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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During National Migration Week
U .8. door shut to Cubans, Haitians By Catholic News Service Tomorrow the U.S. Catholic Church concludes 'National Migration Week, established in 1980 by the U.S. bishops to highlight needs of refugees and immigrants. Concurrently, the U.S. government has discontinued a resettlement program for Cubans and Haitians. The decision is a "disaster in the making," said Jesuit Father Richard Ryscavage, executive director of the bishops' department of Migration and Refugee Services. He referred to the recent announcement of the U.S. Justice Department that its Community Relations Service, which provides the only resettlement program for Haitian and Cuban refugees, will discontinue its services, saying Congress did not allocate enough funds for the program. "It's just another example of the government shooting itself in the foot," Father Ryscavage told Catholic News Service. "Such a small amount of money goes to this program yet it affects hundreds of lives." The federal resettlement program has been in place since 1981. Since then, USCe's Migrationand Refugee Services has worked with Community Relations Service to help refugees obtain· housing, food, clothing, employment and medical assistance. "To end this program now, especially after the devastation created by Hurricane Andrew has left many Cubans and Haitians
homeless, is irresponsible," said Father Ryscavage. Noting that an excessive burden would fall on local governments, particularly in Florida, he called on the Justice Department to continue full funding of the program. In 1992 alone, 10,500 Haitians were brought to the United States from the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the Coast Guard brought them after intercepting them at sea. Currently 8,000 of these refugees remain in south Florida. The rest have been resettled across the country. At least 2,000 Haitian refugees were left homeless after Hurricane Andrew. They will not be helped as the resettlement program phases out its services. "With cuts in funding, this is effective immediately," said Raul Hernandez, assistant director for special programs for MRS in Miami. In a telephone interview with Catholic News Service, Hernandez said the homeless Haitians have "no resources, no documentation and now no one to help them." They will "simply re~ain homeless
INSIDE Page 8 A Hispanic fiesta in honor of ~he Three Kings
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and become a tremendous burden to the local community." MRS officials estimate that another 2,000 to 3,000 Cubans will arrive on' Florida shores by raft during the current fiscal year and will not receive services. "They have literally risked their lives to come to the land of the free, and we won't be able to help them," said Hernandez. Echoing him, Father Ryscavage said, "as usual the most vulnerable people get the raw end of the deal." "N ot to have a program to resettle people is insane from a mana,gerial point of view," he said. "And as a church it is unconscionable to let it happen; we can't turn our backs on these people." Resettles One-Third In connection with Migration Week, Father Ryscavage said that the Catholic Church resettles onethird of refugees coming to the United States, but more must be done to welcome them as part of the church family. "If people of many cultures are to unite as one family, we must all give more than a passing welcome to each other," he said in a letter to pastors concerning Migration Week. The priest said the face of the U.S. Catholic Church is changing, noting that 9 million refugees and immigrants have settled in this country over the past decade. "National Migration Week 1993 begins another year of welcoming the stranger among us," he added.
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A MOTHER AND CHILD are returned to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, by Coast Guard cutter after they had fled their impoverished country, (CNSj Reuters photo)
THIS MINNESOTA monument memorializes aborted babies. Its touching story IS on page 3. (CNS photo)
1,000,000 letters, postcards the goal
Pro-lifers mount 20th Right-to-Life campaign With CNS and local news reports As the 20th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand, nears, pro-life activity on the diocesan and national scene is increasing. The four Massachusetts dioceses are participating in a postcard and letter-writing campaign on Jan. 24, which has been designated National Project Life Sunday. On that day churchgoers across the nation will be asked' to sign postcards or write letters asking members of Congress to oppose FOCA, the Freedom of Choice Act that would outlaw state regulations on abortion. It is hoped that at least one million pieces of mail will reach the capital as a result of the drive, sponsored by the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities and the National Committee fora Human Life Amendment. President Bush has opposed the Freedom of Choice Act, but President-elect Clinton said he would sign it if Congress approves it. The bilL as introduced in Congress in 1992, said that "a state 'may not restrict the right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy - I) before fetal viability; or 2) at any time, if such termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman." Supporters argue that the bill would only codify legislatively the abortion rights declared by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. Opponents argue that it would invalidate many popular state laws
that have been enacted since 1973 and found constitutional by the Supreme Court, such as informed consent, a waiting period and parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion. Some opponents have also criticized it for a lack of provisions to protect the rights of conscience of medical providers who oppose abortion. Michael Taylor. executive director of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, said the bill "represents the extreme views of 10 or II percent of Americans at most. ... It gives no evidence that Americans care to protect any unborn life at any time during pregnancy for any reason." Since the bill would require states to permit abortion at any time during pregnancy for the sake of the woman's health, including mental heillth, its opponents argue that in practice it would legalize abortion virtually on demand 'even into the ninth month of pregnancy. "American Catholics have a responsibility to speak out against Turn to Page 11
DIOCESAN seminarians Andre Faria and Charles Jodoin will be ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Sean P. O'Malley at 11 a.m. Mass tomorrow at St. Mary's Cathedral. All are invited to attend.
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