FALL RIVER DIOCESAN ,NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
- VOL. 31, NO.2.
Friday, January 9, 1987
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Migrants co~cern Church Related stories pages 2, 8, and 9 donca, vicar general, in pastoral Migrants are a major concern of ministry to Portuguese immithe Church, with their problems grants. He noted participation a brought to the fore during National few years ago in a Bristol ComMigration Week, now in progress. munity College program in Fall River, that featured a presentation World Migrant Day, said Father by Father Silvano M. Tomasi, John J. Oliveira of St. Michael's Migration and Tourism Commitparish, Fall River, is celebrated in tee director. various countries at different times Father Oliveira said that parthroughout the year. In Portugal, for instance, it comes in summer, ishes throughout the diocese offer in connection with a pilgrimage to Portuguese-language prayer groups; and that the Catholic Fatima. Adult Religious Enrichment proHere, however, it is associated grams currently being offered at with National Migration Week and $t. Michael's for area parishes will the U.S. Bishops' Migration and be presented in both English and Tourism Committee has concur- Portuguese. rently issued the annual Migrant Day message of Pope John Paul Papal Message. II. Excerpts from the pope's Father Oliveira is associated Migrant Day message follow:. with the bishops' committee as "The annual celebration of the liaison for the Portuguese aposto- World Day of the Migrant, bringlate in Massachusetts and Rhode 'ing us to reflect once again on the Island. As such he was at a condition of thousands of migrant December committee meetingIn brothers and on their often grave Washington, attended by liaisons and painful problems, turns our and multiethnic coordinators from gaze in a special way towards famiacross the nation. He said the lies involved in migration. We are young Migrant and Tourism faced with complex situations, difCommittee serv~s all ethnic groups ficult to resolve, which are found except Hispanics, who are served at the core of many problems and by the bishops' Secretariat for which constitute the most sensiHispanic Affairs. tive, acute and painful focus of the In the Fall River diocese he . vast phenomenon of human works with Msgr.Luiz G. Menmigration. The family, in fact,
seems to be the most fragile and vulnerable of structures and the point at which the most thorny and negative aspects of migration concentrate their attack. This is evident whether one considers the conditions which afflict families left behind by migrants or reflects on the difficulties offamilies which migrate as a compact unit or which are formed in foreign lands or, finally, if one thinks of the numerous problems which surface for' those family units which result from the union of persons. of dif- . ferent cultures, languages, religions and customs. "For all these reasons the family of the migrant constitutes a special phenomenon which is of interest to the Church because of the pastoral care she is obliged to offer all her members and specially those who find themselves in grave situations; all the more so because the condition of the families of migrants has profound repercussions both on the original ecclesial community and, may be even more so, on the community where they arrive, are received and take root.
Migrant Fa'milies "Migrants often find themselves in a paradoxical situation: obliged to make a courageous decision for Turn to Page Six
AMONG FALL RIVER area members of the Bishop's Ball committee are from left, David Motta, honorary ball cochairman; Mrs. Manuel Nogueira, hospitality committee; Mrs. Aubrey Armstrong, honorary ball cochairman; and her husband, serving on the decorating committee. Decorations for the glittering social event will be put in place at 4 p.m. Sunday, while presentees will rehearse at 6 p,m. The ball itself, with a Land of Liberty theme and a ted. white'and blue color scheme, will take place from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. FridaY,Jan. 16, at Lincoln Park Ballroom, North Dartmouth. Highlights will be the presentee ceremony. a grand march and an address by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. Tickets will be available at the d09r.
NC I U PI¡Reuler photo
Cardinal O'Connor with King Hussein of Jordan
On balance, Israel trip successful By NC News Service Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York ended a diplomatic controversy that marred his trip to Israel by meeting with top officials in their residences rather than i'n their offices. Afterward, he said the trip helped clarify Vatican-Israeli relations. The meetings represented an apparent compromise after Cardinal O'Connor, citing Vatican policy, canceled planned encounters with officials in their Jerusalem workplaces. -The cardinal met in Jerusalem with President Chaim HerzogJan. 4 and with Foreign Minister Shihon Peres Jan. 5 before departing for Rome. Previously he had met in Amman with King Hussein of Jordan. Some Israelis previously critical of the trip praised its outcome. Jewish leaders in New York also praised the meetings. At the Vatican, a spokesman said Jan. 5 that the meetings fell within Vatican policy because they were "acts of courtesy," not political encounters. At the same time, the Vatican underlined the issues dividing the Holy See and Israel. The spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said those problems regard "the status of the city of Jerusalem, the issue of the occupied territory and the Palestinian problem. "I believe that the acts of courte'sy of Cardinal O'Connor do not involve these problems, which are dealt with in the proper places," Navarro-Valls said. Cardinal O'Connor made the trip as presi-
dent of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Speaking Jan. 6 at a Rome press conference, the cardinal said his trip ended with a' "turnaround" that helped clarify issues involved in Vatican-Israeli relations. He said that when he met with Israeli officials, he did so with "the trust of the highest authorities of _ the Holy See." "I have yet to hear from the Holy See any slightest evidence of displeasure" over the visit, he said, "I don't see that the relationship between the Holy See and Israel has been even remotely damaged." On Dec. 30, Navarro-Valls publicly spelled out, for the first time, the Vatican's policy against official meetings in Jerusalem between churchmen and Israeli officials. The statement appeared to reflect concern that such visits might be seen as recognizing Israel's control over the disputed city, part of which has been considered occupied territory by Arabs since it was captured from Jordan after the 1967 Middle East war. The Vatican does not recognize Israel's claim to Jerusalem as its capital and has called for international guarantees to protect the city as sacred to Christians, Jews and Moslems. When he canceled his planned meetings with Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in late December, Cardinal O'Connor said he had "failed to check Vatican protocol." The move prompted criticism among Israeli leaders and among Turn to Page 16