SERVING SOUTHEASTERN NlASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, JANUARY' 26, 1978
VOL. 22, NO. 4
15c, $5 Per Year
No Federa I Aid Pr4:禄jected For Parochia I (DioCesan plans for Catholic Schools Week are reported on page seven.) WASHINGTON (NC) - In a statement made, ironically, just prior to Catholic Schools Week, which begins Sunday, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph Califano has said that parents of children in parochial and other private elementary and secondary schools must find a way to pay tuition without federal help. He said he would offer a proposal later this year "to deal with the problem of the burden on some elements of the middle class in sending their children to college." But, he said,' more pressing fi路 nancial needs and constitutional questions make federal aid for parents of children in private elementary and secondary' schools a low priority.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK JANUARY 29
FEBRUARY 4
What They Say Bishop Daniel A. Cronin: The Church's mission of evangelization is _furthered in many ways. Among the valuable instruments of the apostolate is the Catholic school. It affords students the opportunity for growth in the knowledge and love of God and seeks to integrate that faith into every aspect of education. The Catholic school engages in the formation of the whole person in Christ Jesus and his Gospel message. Edward D. Costar, psychologist: The most important contribution provided by Catholic education is a sense of belong- ing and sharing provided by Christian community. Participation of families in this community enhances a child's feelings of security and love. State Senator and Majority Whip ~ Fonseca: Greatly concerned with the decline in family life and rise of crime within the state and country, I treasure the Christian values and Christian moral code upheld in the Catholic schools throughout Massachusetts. Truly, these institutions have encouraged good citizenship. Father Robert Kaszynski, pas-
tor: Faced with the challenge of evangelizing the baptized unbelievers within its midst and the problem of how to facilitate for today's Christian the concrete experience of the invisible God, the Church awakens daily to deeper recognition and appreciation of the role and unique effectiveness of one of its foremost blessings - the Christian school. Superintendent Robert J. Nagle, Fall River Public Schools: The Fall River School Department endorses the thought expressed by President Carter, when he indicated recently that church-related schools had made a significant contribution to the society as a whole. This endorsement certainly applies specifically to the church-related schools of the Fall River area. Mary M. O'Toole, teacher: Teaching in a Catholic school daily puts me in the midst of a growing Christian community and enables me to live out my commitment as a Christian in an unusually active and positive way. Christine Griffin, elementary school student: In a Catholic school I learn about God and then Turn to Page Seven
Califano said he opposes tax across-the-board tuition credits. He said it is "worth looking at" ways to help low 'lnd middle-income families to pay such tuition. But, he said, "I guess I have to say in all candor that in a ?Iuralistic society with a whole set of needs - including needs as urgent and desperate as malnutrition and abject poverty, tremendous health care needs for poor people, educational needs for very poor people - somehow or other those individuals, whose donations to their church are already tax deductible, have
Father Ba rtell In HEW Post WASHINGTON (NC) - Holy Cross Father Ernest Bartell, former president o'f Stonehill College, Easton, has been sworn in as Director of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, part of the Education Division of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Before heading Stonehill, Father Bartell was Director of the Center for the Study of Man in Contemporary Society and Chairman of the Department of Turn to Page Seven
What do the U.S. Bishops say about recombinant DNA research? See page eight.
Scho~olls
got to find a way, at this point in time, to bear the cost of sending their children to a parochial school or any other private school." Commenting on Califano's statements, Father George W. Coleman, director of education for the Fall River diocese, said: "The right of parents to send their children to a school of their choice is in effect being removed, both by increasing education costs and by increased property taxes. "The granting of a tax credit to parents of children attending private schools - and this includes college as well as elementary and secondary schools - would grant relief to those who pay for public schools they do not use. It would also maintain in existence forms of education alternative to the public school and state university sys-
tems, thereby providing competition in the field of education. "If thE: cost of tax credit legis. lation seems great, even greater would be the ultimate costs of educating at public expense the 7.7 million children now in Catholic schools and colleges." Father Coleman said it is projected that a tuition tax credit would mean, in the year 1980, a $4.7 billion loss in tax revenue to the federal government. But he said that if the children for whom tbe credit would be granted were in public schools, their education would cost taxpayers $17 billion yearly. Secretary Califano made his commen ts in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview with NC News Service. He di!;cussed parochial schools in connection with legislation offered by Senators Daniel PatTum to Page Seven
IWhat Shall "What shall we do?" queried Pamela Smith, almost in despair. The chairman of the Greater Fall River chapter of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, she had just returned from Sunday's "Right to Life Day" observance in Boston, flying from there to the national demonstration in Washington, D.C. In Boston, she said, the influential Boston Globe gave not a word to Sunday's program, although pro-lifers packed historic Faneuil Hall, despite "worst ever" traffic conditions following last week's mammoth blizzard. "There were over 1500 people there and the hall's capacity is only 1000," recounted Mrs. Smith. She, with scores of others from the Fall River diocese, went from Boston to Monday's March for Life in Washington. She said an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 from all parts of the nation were on hand to march under sunny but chilly conditions from the White House to the Capitol. "But Washington television de路 scribed it as a demonstration of 'Catholic school buses and nuns with children," she said. On Monday night, neither the CBS nor NBC network gave the march the. slightest mention, although NBC Nightly News carried a long feature on difficulties experienced by poor women in raising money for abortions. Mrs. Smith said the Massachusetts. delegation to Washing-
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ton met with both Senator Edwa rd Brooke and Senator Edward Kennedy. "Each insisted he was personally pro-life," she said, "and Senator Brooke was especially insistent on making it clear that he realized all life carne from God. "Then we discovered he is going to be the principal speaker at II pro-abortion congress. As Hadley Arkes pointed out at thE: Boston rally," she commented, "our politicians do not undel'stand the difference between substantive moral commitments and personal emotional feelings." "In general," she concluded, "pro-Iifl~rs are deeply concerned at the lack of media attention given their cause. . , 'What must We do,' one asked bittErly, 'show the people the ac-:ual bodies of the aborted ba b'ies, before they'll understand ':hat what we're talking abJut is murder?'" Turn to Page Three
Silver Jubilee For La Sa lette A five-day mission retreat beginning Monday will mark the opening of the 25th anniversary year of La Salette Shrine, Attleboro. Father Richa:rd Delisle, MS of Enfield, N.H. will lead the shrine community in nightly ser路 vices to which the public is invi':ed. A highlight of the week will be a healing service to be held Turn to Page Three