•
t eanc Of VOL. 35, NO.3-
Friday, January 18, 1991
FALL RIVER, MAS~.
FALLIRIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST: MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
-
$11 Per Year
Pope, NCCB head make urgent plea for peace VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope JJ ohn Paul II, in personal letters to
the presidents of the United States and Iraq, pleaded for peace hours before the deadline for Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait. In his letters to U.S. President f,Jeorge Bush and Iraqi President ~addam Hussein, the pope said the consequences of war would be tragic and prayed that· the leaders would be inspired by God's wisdom. The pope repeated his call to addam to make some sort of gesure for peace and encouraged . ush to support an international onference to discuss the situation n the Gulf and the entire Middle ast. The letters were given to the lJ .S. and Iraqi ambassadors to the Vatican during a Jan. 15 meeting
t ~
with Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Section for Relations with States of the Vatican Secretariat of State. "A demonstration of readiness on your part cannot fail to bring you honor before your beloved country, the region and the whole world," the letter to Saddam said. The pope said he was writing to Bush as "the leader of the nation which is most involved, from the standpoint of personnel and equipm~nt, in the military operation now taking place in the Gulf region.
Archbishop Pilarczyk As the Anchor went to press, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement appealing to Saddam
Hussein to abandon asgres~,ion, calling for constant prayers, and noting that "the apparent failure of recent diplomatic! efforts, the congressional actions Of the passing of this Jan. 15 dea,dline dCi not relieve our nation anq our leaders of the terrible resPQnsibility of clearly meeting the If\oral tests to justify the resort to wilt." The stateme.nt wa~ released to the press and delivered to the White House on Jan. 15. "Saddam Hussein'spresence [in Kuwait] is a continuing act of aggression which the world must resist and reverse," Archbii;hop Pilarczyk stated. He went on to say "Our faith calls us not to yield to the certa.inty of violence, to the impossibilil:Y of dialogue, to the inevitability of
war." He called for "the continuing quest for justice, the constant pursuit of peace and fervent prayer..." Archbishop Pilarczyk recalled that the bishops' conference "has strongly condemned Iraq's agression, actively supported the determined global pressure to reverse it and clearly acknowled.ged ~hat the deployment of military force can add credibility and effectiveness to the ec.onomic and political pressures we support." Nevertheless, referring to the church's traditional prindples for a just war, the archbishop added that "we believe that offemive force in this situation would likely violate the principles of last resort and proportionality." "The presumption in my view,"
said the NCCB president, "is still for blockades, not bombs; diplomacy, not destruction; words, not war."
Local Initiatives Within the Fall River diocese, many Catholic schools observed, Jan. 15 and preceding days with I special prayers, vigils and other observances (see page 15 of this issue of the Anchor). As Pax Christi International, launched a last-minute apl1e.al for peace on Jan. 14 with identical telegrams to Bush and Hussein froml Cardinal Godfried Danneels of . Malines-Brussels, Belgium, president of the international peace group, members of Pax Christi of Southeastern Massachusetts ofTurn to Page 10
I
Project Life campaign begins Project Life. explained that it is a opportunity to change ~his and it is national, grass-roots informational essential we do so now." Gerald D'Avolio, executive and lobbying effort designed to Bishop Cronin has authorized director of the Massachusetts Cathinfluence legislators through the participation in Project Life at all olic Conference. and Maureen collective voice of the pro-life diocesan parishes, said Father Curley, a consultant to the confermovement. Fernandes. At Masses this weekence, hope that members of the In Massachusetts, the focus of end, pastors and parish pro-life Fall River diocese will keep post the project is to support pro-life representatives will make availaoffices very busy this weekend. legislation at the state level, Ms. ble copies of the letter reproduced They were in New Bedford last on pages 8 and 9 of this issue of the Curley explained. week to explain Project Life. a "In Massachusetts, 36 to 40 Anchor. letter-writing campaign to state Parishioners will need only to thousand babies are aborted every legislators to be cond&cted in conyear. Your tax dollars pay for date the letter, address it to their nection with TuesdaY'$ anniversary more than 20 percent of these local congressman, and sign their of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court own name and address. abortions." she said. decision legalizing Roe v. Wade. Ms. Curley also encouraged Project Life's aim'is "to activate At a program at, St. James . sending of handwritten letters, to lobby their state parishioners Church coordinated by diocesan which tend to have more impact representatives to pass pro-life bills pro-life director Fatrer Stephen on legisl.ators. before the Massachuse:tts state A. Fernandes, D'Avqlio and Ms. Parish representatives will collegislature." Curley explained PrQject Life to lect the letters and mail them to the Many state legislators vote in parish pro-life representatives and Massachusetts Catholic Conference favor of pro-abortion legislation members of Massachusetts Citiwhich will arrange to hand-deliver . because they hear more often from zens for Life. Ms. Curley, Ma~sachusetts their pro-abortion con:itituents, them to state legislators. Catholic Conference:, director of said Ms. Curley. "We have an Turn to Page Eight
.By Marcie Hickey
MEETING RECENTLY with diocesan pro-life representatives to launch a Project Life-sponsored letter writing campaign were Gerald D'Avolio (second left), executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference; diocesan pro-life director Father Stephen A. Fernandes; and Maureen Curley (far right), Project Life director. Among parish pro-life representatives in attendance were Louise Bolton (far left) bfSt. John Neumann parish, East Freetown; Evelyn Paquette, St. Mary's parish, South Dartmouth; and Jim Wasel of Our Lady of Fatima parish, Swansea. (Hickey photo)
On eve of King Day, • • • racism seen rising NEW ORLEANS (CNS) - As the nation prepared to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Francis of Newark, N.J., offered a gloomy assessment of U.S. race relations. Racism is on the rise in the United States and the Catholic Church through its parishes should take a leading role in combating it, he said. The ad vances "of the civil rights movement in the '60s were done on the legal and judicial fronts. But it wasn't done on a moral basis," said Bishop Francis, in New Orleans recently to address 175 priests at a conference on racism
and how parishes can help eliminate it. "Moral conversion," he said, "never took plac~." Bishop Francis, who chaired the U.S. bishops' committee that wrote the 1979 U.S. bishops' pasto,ral letter on racism, "Brothers and Sisters to Us," is a noted speaker and workshop leader on the issue of racism. Concerns have surfaced about the rise of racism in the United States and what some see as a reversal of gains made in the 1960s by slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In inviting Bishop Francis to Turn to Page 10
AMONG PR~SEN1rEESjoining Bishop Danie: A. Cronin at the 36th annual Bishop's Charity Ball to berefit charitable apostolate's of the diocese were (clockwise, from left) Stephanie Lynn Hartung of St. Joan of Arc parish, Orleans; Suzanne Duffy of 8t. Margaret's parish, Buzzards B~y; Adrienne Dufresne ofSt. Patrick's parish, Falmouth; and Jennifer Lynn McCann of St. JoHn the Evangelist parish, Pocasset. More on the event, held Jan. II at White's of Westport, appetrs on page 2. (Hickey photo)
I