01.21.83

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ROME (NC) ....;.. The naming of the first cardinal in history living in the Soviet Union is not a sign of warming relationships be­ tween Moscow and the Vatican. Nor can the gr;inting of the red hat to Bishop Julijans Vai­ vods, apostolic administrator of Riga and Liepaja in Latvia be considered a Vatican defiance of the Kremlin. The appointment is actually a test of church capacity to act independently of Moscow's sur­ veillance and approval, says Msgr. Ladislao Tulaba, rector of Rome's Lithuanian Pontifical College. The 87-year-old Bishop Vai­ vods, said Msgr. Tulaba, has, like most Latvian priests, work­ ed within the confines of Soviet repression of religion. Under such repression, which affects Latvia and Lithuania, priests are restricted virtually to celebrating Mass and administer­ ing the sacraments. The religious education of the young is dis­ couraged and' priests need gov­ ernment permission to visit hos­ pitals. Candidates for the seminary must be approved in advance by the Soviets. There is no sign of change in this decades-old system, Msgr.

DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSI, CAPE & ISLANDS

Vol. 27, No.3.

Fall River, Mass., Friday, January 21, 1983

20c, $6 Per Year

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BISHOP DANIEL A. CRONIN and Jacqueline A. Boucher of Nazareth School and St. Francis Xavier parish, Acushnet, get acquainted before a sign expressing the theme of the 28th annual Bishop's Charity Ball. Fa vorable weather, danceable music and the en­ thusiasm of the 37 pretty young presentees combined to make' the evening one of the most memorable in the ball's long history as one of Southeastern Massachusetts' outstanding events. (Rosa Photo)

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You

Thank You was the thme of the 28th annual Bishop's Charity Ball, held last Friday night at Lincoln Park 'Ballroom, North Dartmouth, and gratitude ex­ tended to the meteorologists who benignly postponed the onset of a chilling winter storm until all ballgoers were safely home from their gala evening. A relaxed and happy crowd enjoyed the annual event, high­ lighted by presentation of 37 young ladies to 'Bishop Daniel A. Cronin, a grand march and danc­ ing to the music of the Art Perry and AI Rainone orchestras. Bishop Cronin's remarks to the ball30ers follow: "It is Indeed heartwarming to see so 1J1any friends from all corners qf the diocese and beyond gathered once again here at the Lincoln Park Ballroom in North

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Dartmouth, Massachusetts,. for the Annual Bishop's Charity Ball. "As you know, this is the 28th Annual Bishop's Ball and, as you are well aware, the pro­ ceeds of the Ball, once again this -year, will go to benefit our Nazareth Apostolate for excep­ tional children and our Summer Camp A'postolate for underprivi­ leged ~hildren throughout the diocese. "The theme for this year's Bishop's Charity Ball expresses the sentiments of profound grati­ tude which I wish to convey to each of you for your continued support of this annual event. Thank. You - this is the 1983 theme. I make it my theme to­ night as I say thank you to all who have come; thank you to the very dedicated ladies of our

freedom

• • •

By NC News Service

At Boston's historic Faneuil Hall; under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis; at San Antonio's Ala­ mo; in Chicago's Loop and in cities and towns across the na­ tion, pro-lifers will mark to­ morrow's 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision 'Jn abortion. In the Fall River diocese a pro­ life Mass will be offered at 4 p.m. tomorrow at St. Boniface Church, New Bedford, under aus­ pices of the Knights of Colum­ ;'us.

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Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and the devoted gentlemen of our St. Vincent de Paul Society who collaborate each year in the many prepara­ tions for this impressive evening; thank you to Msgr. Gomes, di­ ocesan director for the ball and thank you to all who in any way whatever have helped to make this evening the ,wonderful suc­ cess which it is. "Someone once said that the best way to say thank you is never to forget. Please be as­ 'sured that I shall never forget the faithful support which your presence here tonight manifests to me. Thank you, thank you very much indeed! God love and bless you am" More ball pictures on pages 8 and 9.

The local observances will co­ 'ncide with the annual national March for Life in Washington. fhe Washington march, expected to attract thousands of persons from all parts of the country, will be followed by a "rose din­ ner" kicking off a pro-life educa­ tion and defense fund. An ecumenical prayer program will take place under the Gate­ way Arch before the blessing of the buses headed for the national march in Washington. Seventeen buses have been reserved for the annual pilgrimage to the March for Life. The Pro-life Office of the Arch­ diocese of Chicago will give out "Lights for Life" - candles in paper bags much like Mexican luminaria. The paper bag design will have a drawing of a baby silhou­ ett~d in flame to symbolize

Tulaba said, scotching the idea that naming of a cardinal in­ dicates better church-state rela­ tions. An insight into the choice of Bishop Vaivods can be gained from understanding the differ­ ence between Catholic Church life in Latvia and in Lithuania. In Latvia, a ,Baltic republic forcibly absorbed by the Soviet Union in the early 1940s, Cath­ olics are a small minority and the church keeps a low profile: . But Lithuania, a somewhat larger Baltic republic taken over by the Soviets in 1945, has a Catholic majority and open reli­ gious resistance, with perhaps one-third of its priests directly challenging Soviet domination. Many priests and nuns work. for an underground publication, "Chronicles of the Church in Lithuania," which details for the Western incidents of Soviet reli­ gious repression. One well-placed Vatican source speculated that Bishop Vaivods was not Pope John Paul's top choice for a cardinal within the Soviet Union. Msgr. Tulaba agreed, saying the preferred selection would have been 71-year-old Julijonas Turn to Page Six

for life

"lighlt shining in the darkness of this evil," said Father Charles V. Fanelli, director of the office. At Faneuil Hall in 'Boston the Rev.. Erick Schenkel, pastor of the evangelical Covenant Church in Lawrence Mass. and a member of the board of directors of Massachusetts Citizens Con­ cerned for Life, will speak Jan. 23. Massachusetts pro-lifers will also take part in tomorrow's Washington march. The annual mal!'ch will begin at the ellipse, the park behind the White House. It will contin­ ue down Pennsylvania Avenue and conclude at the Capitol with speeches. Guests at the rose dinner will include Sen. Jesse Helms (R­ N.C.) and Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-IIl.), sponsors of anti-abo:­ tion legislation. Awards will be presented, student contest win­ ners will be honored and the education and defense fund will be announced. Commenting on the 10th anni­ versary of the Supreme Court decision striking down most state laws restricting abortion, Archbishop John R. Roach of St. Paul-Mnneapolis, president of the National Conferen<;e of Cath­ olic Bishops, said that while he mourned the subsequent deaths of millions of unborn children, "I grieve even more fOf the dam­ age done to our conscience as a nation." . Turn to Page Six


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