The ANCHOR An Anchor of the Soul, Sure and Firm-St. Paul
Fall River, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 31, 1974 PRICE 10f Vol. 18, No. 5 © 1974 The Anchor $4.00 per year
Cardinal Sees Paper Growing in Value When the Archdiocesan Pas· toral Council of Baltimore met to discuss as its prime object of business the Arcdiocesan newspaper, the members were reminded by Lawrence Cardinal Shehan of the effect the newspaper has throughout the whole area. He stressed "the growing impor· tance of the paper at the present time, at a time when there is being presented to us the whole matter of Catholic tE~aching through the consideration of the national catechetical directory . . . How could you get documents like this before the whole archdiocese ... when it is so es· sential that all enter into the matter of the formation of a directory." This is another instance of the growing emphasis being placed on the place of the Catholic newspaper in the mission of the Church and the teaching office of the Bishop, the authentic
teacher of faith in the diocese. In an age when there is so much questioning of values and searching for them, the Catholic newspaper has the responsibility of presenting in unmistakable terms what is the faith, what is the moral standard that must be upheld, and it gives, too, the strength of example in present· ing instances of what is being done throughout a diocese and the world. Students of modern communications media are coming to the conclusion that no matter how much people look at television and despite its evident importance, there is also a growing interest in radio and the printed word. What is put in print bears a stamp of authenticity and can be read and re-read with its line of reasoning examined more closely. And it can be given to others to read.
Stonehill At Completion Of Hemingway. Theater With workmen this week preparing for the installation of seating, Stonehill College's Hemingway Theater has passed the 90 per cent completion mark. The 265-seat workshop theater is named in honor of Philip L. Hemingway, a long-time college benefactor and member of the Stonehill Board of Advisers. Mr. Hemingway is chairman of Hemingway Transport Inc. of New Bedford. The new facility will enable the college to expand its offerings in the field of communica-
tions-arts. It will also accommodate the growing interest in dramatics at the 1,600-student college. The theater is designed to double as an auditorium for academ· ic lectures and seminars. The cushioned seats are fitted with hide-away writing arms that can be swung into position for note taking. The theater is equipped with a centralized sound-and-Iighting control system and projection booth. A motorized movie screen Turn to Page Seven
Pope Stre!iSeS Personal Prayer VAnCAN CITY (NC) - Moc;lern man needs to cultivate the habit of personal prayer to God, Pope Paul VI told a weekly general audience. "We must enable ourselves to talk with Christ, and through Him with God," the Pope said. Praising those who daily say the Our Father or a Hail Mary or other traditional Christian prayers, the Pope also stressed the need to supplement thes,e "brief, conventional prayers," because they can become "easily a pure· Iy exterior act."
Insisting on the need for personal prayer, Pope Paul said: "A simple investigation into the religious habits of the people of our time would document sadly for us the total, or almost total, absence of personal prayer by most people, who are averse to and estranged now by every expression of interior religiousness." The Pope told his visitors that there are those "who maintain that modern man is thus, and that thus he must be, without Turn to Page Two
Why Catholic Schools ? Reasons Are Clear! The establishment of Catholic schools throughout the United States was an an"wer to a very clear directive of the Council of Baltimore. However, 'it is also the practical application of the Church's doctrinal beliefs of faith, its deepening and propagation; its explanation and application on the contemporary scene. The practical aspects of the Church's teaching role is translated in the Diocese of Fall River in the following statistics: Elementary education: 34 schools serving 9,450 students with 366 teachers of whom are 212 Religious women, one male Religious, 111 laywomen and 42 laymen. Secondary education: 8 schools serving 3,973 youths with 246 teachers of which are 91 Religious women, 36 Religious men, 95 laymen and 24 laywomen. Why all this? The answer is given to us in the Second Vatican Council's "Declaration on Christian Education" proclaimed by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 28, 1965: "In fulfilling its educational role, the 'Church, eager to employ all suitable aids, is concerned especially about those which are her very own.... Among all educational instruments the school has a special importance . . . "The influence of the Church in the field of education is shown in a special manner by the Catholic schools. No less than other schools does the Catholic school pursue cultural goals and the human formation of youth. "But its proper function is to create for the school community a special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity, to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through Baptism as they develop their own per-
sonalities, and finally to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by faith. "So indeed the Catholic school, while it ,is open, as it must be, to the situation of the contemporary world, leads its students to promote efficaciously the good of the earthly city and also prepares them for service in the spread 9f the Kingdom of God,
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS ENTRANCE EXAM Saturday, Feb. 9 8:30 A.M. The Catho.ic high schools in the Fall River Diocese will hold placement examinations on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8:30 in the morning. Any and all students wishing to study in one of these schools should prese::lt themselves to the high school of their choice for the four·hour session. There is no need to bring any records of any kind; nor are parents expected to accompany their children. All information as to schedules, programs, scholarship aid, etc. will be made available at this time. A three-dollar fee will be asked of each student for the examination·placement session. The schools participating in this diocesan-wide program are: Fall .River: Bishop Connolly, Bishop Gerrard, Sacred Hearts. New Bedford: Holy Family, St. Anthony, Bishop Stang. Taunton: Coyle-Cassidy. Attleboro: Bishop Feehan.
so that by leading an exemplary apostolic life they become, as it were, a saving leaven in the human community. "Since, therefore, the Catholic school can be such an aid to the fulfillment of the mission of the People of God and to the fostering of the dialogue between the Church and mankind, to the benefit of both, it retains even in our present circumstances the utmost importance. "Consequently this sacred synod proclaims anew what has already been taught in several documents of the magisterium, namely: the right of the Church freely to establish and to conTurn to Page Four
Pick Fa II Riverite Province Director Mrs. Michael J. McMahon, first vice-president and treasurer of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, is the first woman from the Fall River diocese to be named a province director for the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW). She will head the Boston province of the organization for a two-year term, representing the dioceses of Springfield, Worcester, Manchester, Portland and Burlington as well as Fall River. The new province director attended the first meeting of the newly formed NCCW executive committee, held earlier this month in Detroit. The committee reaffirmed the stand of its national convention, held last October, against the Equal Rights Amendment, and restated its po· sition on the right to life of every human being from conception to the time of natural death. Turn to Page Three