01.22.88

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t eanc 0 VOL. 32, NO.4.

Friday, January 22, 1988

FALL RIVER, MASS.

FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

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CHARITY BALL PRESENTEES AND ESCORTS WITH BISHOP DANIEL A. CRONIN

33rd annual Bishop's Charity Ball

A brilliant evening, full of meaning By Joseph Motta "I can't remember if ,I curtsy before 1 handshake or if 1 handshake before 1 curtsy." Lisa Desroches of Holy Rosary parish, Taunton, was among the 33 mostly nervous young women presented to Bishop' Daniel A. Cronin last Friday evening as representatives of their parishes at the

33rd annual Bishop's Charity Ball. Lisa knew that the crowd gathered at White's of Westport was present both to benefit the many exceptional and underprivileged children who will attend Fall River diocesan summer camps this year and to enjoy the social aspects of the evening. But what threw her, she confessed, were the sheer numbers who would be watching

as she was escorted by her father to meet the bishop during the presentee ceremony, a ball highlight. "I'm not nervous," said her dad, Dr. Stephen Desroches. "I don't have to curtsy." Other presentees shared Lisa's jitters and appreciation ofthe evening's purposes. Pamela Julio, 20, of Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Taunton, said

she wanted to become a presentee "for the honor of it." Nicole Lopes, 16, of Our Lady of the Assumption parish, New Bedford, who wore a made-by-Mom white satin dress, complete with square-fitted bodice, ruffled fan -shoulders and bustled bow, said she's been excited about the evening ever since being nominated for parish presentee by her parish women's guild. Why?

"Because 1 was being chosen for my church," she said. 17-year-old presentee Dawn Damiani of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish, Seekonk, said she was "very happy" at being her parish representative. But at a few minutes to showtime, she checked in as "ner. vous," noting that she was afraid Turn to Page Nine

Pro-life talk must be backed by action, says march organizer WASHINGTON (NC) - The organizer of the 15th annual March for Life, being held today in Washington, said she wants those who talk pro-life to act pro-life. Nellie Gray, head of March for Life and organizer of the annual demonstration, said the pro-life movement "demands that everybody who talks about the unborn follow through and recognize the humanity of the child and do nothing to hurt the unborn child." "Pro-IifeTalk Demands Right

Pro-Life Action" will be the theme for this year's march, which has been held every year since the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Today's marchers include many from the Fall River diocese, converging on Washington from New Bedford, Attleboro and Cape Cod. "We're saying that if you're talking pro-life and acting prolife then you have to have the right action to make sure that not even one of our pre-born

brothers and sisters is handed over to an abortionist," Miss Gray said in a telephone interview. The march will begin with an hourJong program of speakers at the Ellipse, between the White House and the Washington Monument. Among them will be Rep. Robert Dornan, R-Calif. President Reagan has been invited to address the group via telephone hookup as he did last year from the Oval Office to the Ellipse.

Participants then will move along Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Miss Gray said marchers will disperse at the Supreme Court and then will be encouraged to lobby their representatives and senators. Following the march the sixth annual Rose Dinner will be held with Alphonse J. Matt Jr., editor of The Wanderer, as the featured speaker. The Wanderer is an independent Catholic

weekly newspaper published in St. Paul, Minn. This year's national observance included a vigil Mass last night at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Principal celebrant was slated to be Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin of Chicago, chairman of the National Conference ofCatholic Bishops' Committee for ProLife Activities. Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston was scheduled as homHist.

Apparent murder-suicide leads to warnings about occult interests SPARTA, N.J. (NC) - An apparent murder-suicide by a Catholic school student interested in the occult has led to warnings about the dangers of teen-age fascination with satanism and "heavy metal" rock music. Thomas Sullivan Jr., 14, apparently stabbed his mother to death and then killed himself Jan. 10, according to New Jersey police authorities. Police said a note with references to satanism was found. He reportedly was influenced by an essay on satanism by class-

mates at Rev. George Brown School in Sparta, done for an assignment to study religions other than Catholicism. "Satan is an unseen presence wherever there's killing, but what happened here was so brutal, so bizarre, there had to be some feelings that were not normal," said Father Charles Cassidy, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta. Father Cassidy celebrated a private funeral Mass Jan. 13 for the youth and for his mother, Betty

Ann Sullivan, 37. The boy's father, Thomas Sullivan Sr., and brother, Brian, 10, were reportedly asleep upstairs when the attack on Mrs. Sullivan took place. Sullivan told police he was awakened by the sound of a smoke alarm which went off because Thomas Jr. had started a fi.re before fleeing the house. The youth's apparent suicide took place in a neighbor's backyard. A statement from the teacher at the parish school emphasized that two boys who chose satanism for

their report - Thomas had done his report on Hinduism - were warned that satanism was and is a dangerous, evil thing and the report was meant as a warning." ."I told the children that ignorance can be dangerous and only by knowing about an evil, such as drugs for example, can we properly protect ourselves and each other," the unidentified teacher stated. Benedictine Sister Philomena Fleck, principal, had agreed that the two boys could do the report,

the teacher said, "as long as 1 made it clear in class the evil and danger of the subject matter." Father Richard Rento, who has studied the occult and young people's interest in it, said parents have to become aware of the signs and symbols associated with satanism and have to pay more attention to some of the messages their sons and daughters may be getting from heavy metal rock music. Father Rento, coordinator of Turn to Page Nine


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01.22.88 by The Anchor - Issuu