The ANCHOR An Anchor 01 the Soul, Sure and Firm-St. Paul
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Fall River, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 24, 1974 "· 0. 4 © 1974 The Anchor PRICE 10~ V o I• 18, .... $4.00 per year
Official Here to' Explain Catechetical Directory Rev. Msgr. Wilfrid H. Paradis, appointed by the bishops of the United States to oversee the production of a national catechetical directory, will speak to the priests, religion teachers, principals and interested laity. The talk is scheduled for Bishop Connolly High School, Fall
MONSIGNOR PARADIS
River, on Friday, Jan .. 25, at 10 o'clock in the morning. The official description of the Directory is that "it. will be a pastoral and practical document that will be officially issued by the American bishops. It will contain the norms, and guidelines for the teaching of religion to all Catholics in the United States in our times. It will be designed to speak to the pastoral, sociological and economic conditions of today." Vatican Council II initiated the General Catechetical Directory that was issued in April of 1971 . after five years of preparation. In the Spring of 1972, a committee of seven American bishops was created to oversee the production of a national· directory for the United States. They appointed Monsignor Paradis, the Episcopal Vicar for Christian Formation in the Dio'cese of Manchester, as Project Director with Sister Mariella Frye, a Mission Helper of the Sacred Heart, as assistant. In speaking of the process involved in preparing a national directory, Monsignor Paradis said "that the process being worked out demands broad conTurn to Page Two
Asserts Catholic Press Gaining in Importance NEW YORK (NC) - In the struggle to make known the Church and oils answers to the problems of the world, the Catholic Press is more important than ever, according to John F. Fink, president of the Catholic Press Association. Fink expressed this sentiment in a statement for the February observance of Catholic Press Month. "Today emphasis ,is being placed on adult religious education. No source can do this job better and with such regularity as our Catholic newspapers." Fink said. "They ·become a channel for teaching and explaining Christian doctrine, and for correcting occasional misinterpretations by secular news media." Fink said the Catholic newspapers serve as a vital means of communication between the bishop and his people. "In' fact, there is no other means by which a
bishop can reach his people as effectively, quickly and at the lowest possible cost." Fink pointed oilt there are 425 Catholic periodicals published in the United States and Canada which have a combined circulation in excess of 22.5 million copies. "Yet the Catholic press is beset with numerous problems, largely financial in nature. Publishing costs continue their dramatic rise while circulation and advertising revenues either remain stable or decline," Fink said. Despite these problems, Fink said, Catholic periodicals continue to ,be "one of the greatest bargains" in the publishing field. '~People have always recognized the need for Catholic periodicals, and in our fast-moving, changing times, that need is greater than ever."
Special Observances Mark Catholic Schools Week February 3-10 will be Catholic Schools Week in the Diocese of Fall River. Each school in the diocese is planning some special observance which range from alit and poster contests to open house celebrations. The theme is a challenging one-eatholic Schools: Different Where It Counts - Message, Community and Service. Teachers are enthused; with fiscal problems and ~ome rather difficult Supreme
Court decisions in the recent past, it is time to renew and invigorate. Taunton schools have selected January 27-February 2 as their special week to make the public aware' of just what Catholic schools are doing. Values education is a well-known word in modern educational circle today, yet the entire foundation of Catholic schools has been based on values.
The theme of the 1974 Catholic Schools Week, set for Feb. 3-9, is "Catholic Schools, Different Where It Counts-Message, Community, Service." The theme is drawn from the 1972 pastoral message of the U. S. bishops on education, "To Teach as Jesus Did," in which they reaffirmed their conviction that "Catholic schools which realize the three-fold purpose of Tum to Page Two
Various Plans in Diocese Confront Abortion Threat Diocesan response to Tuesday's anniversary of the promulgation of abortion guidelines by the U.S. Supreme Court took immediate and long-range forms, including homilies and prayers at weekend Masses, a Washington demonstration and formation of a Birthright organization in Fall River. The sanctity of all life was the sermon topic in diocesan pulpits, as requested by Bishop Cronin, and intercessions at the Prayer of the Faithful at weekend Masses reflected the same concern.
Reschedule An Ecumenical Dialogue sponsored by the Ecumenical Commission of the Diocese of Fall River, originally scheduled for Jan. 10 at Bishop Connolly High School and cancelled by a winter's storm, will be rescheduled at a later' date acceptable to Bishop Cronin and the Protestant ministers working within the the Diocese of Fall River, it was anounnced by Rev. Cornelius J. O'Neill, chairman.
Many individuals donated to a drive sponsored by the National March for Life committee to send red roses to all senators and representatives on Tuesday as a symbol of commitment to life. The donations also aided in sending representatives to Washington for a peaceful demonstration at the Capitol. Among those making the trip from the Fall River diocese were Teresa Dupre, Beth Duffy, Jo McGowan and Ann Azevedo, all students at Sacred Hearts Academy, Fall River. Also present were Joseph .czerwonka and Robert T. S. Simmons. The latter is area coordinator of the National March for Life committee and director of the Life Resource Center of Fall River, an organizaNon devoted to supplying reference material to anti-abortion movements. In Washington, said Simmons, the demonstrators called on area legislators to emphasize the prolife message conveyed 'by the roses previously delivered. They then participated in a silent vigil, standing around the Capitol building holding their own red roses. A pro-life rally was followed by a flashlight procession around the Capitol before demonstrators dispersed. Last weekend also saw the
first of two training workshops for volunteers in Birthright of Fall River, fourth Birthright program to organize in the diocese with the aim of providing pregnant girls and women with counseling and posHive aid in carrying their babies to term. The oth- • er programs' are on Cape Cod and in New Bedford and Attleboro. Some 50 men and women, mor~ than expected, registered for the ·Fall River workshop, said Tom Donahue, of Birthright's board of directors. The new program, nonsectariTurn to Page Five
Senate Supports Bishops' View At the regUlarly scheduled meeting of the Fall River Diocese Senate of Priests on Friday, January 18,' at the Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River, the Priest Senators unanimol,lsly passed a resolution concerning the abortion question which reads as follows: "One year has passed since the United States Supreme Court voted to uphold pro-abor.tion stances of many of our state legislatures. As the Representative Body of Tum to Page Two