SERVING . .. SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1980 ,
VOL. 24, NO. 5
the h ~~" ancOky
By Father John F. Moore
Editor Traditionally, in this diocese, February is Anchor month. This year February 10 is Anchor Sunday. In setting aside this time :for subscription renewals to our own diocesan paper, those responsible for the pastoral care of souls in our parishes are given a wonderful opportunity to promote the Catholic press. In the secular age in which we live, where truth is rare, this opportunity should not be looked upon as just another diocesan "collection." Rather, it should be viewed as a time of renewing efforts to promote a spirit of community in our diocese. Our newspaper has as one of its chief objectives the bringing to all the people of the diocese the Good News of the Gospel as it bears upon today's world. But second only to this is its continuing effort to unite the people of God by means of a free flow of area and diocesanwide news. The Anchor is dedicated to the truth of Christ, not the falsity of Madison Avenue. It
is intended that the paper first and foremost be a mirror of today's 路church. . Beyond this, The Anchor must be seen by those responsible for the care of souls as a means of adult education, which in the decade of the 80s means evangelization. In this context all should find firm support for the role of the Catholic press in this work in the words of Our Holy Father in his historic address to the American bishops in Chicago. The pope told the bishops that "the Catholic press and other means of social communication are called to fulfill a special role of great dignity at the service of truth and charity. The church's aim in employing and sponsoring these media is linked to her mission of evangelization and of service to humanity; through the media, the church hopes to promote ever more effectively the uplifting message of the Gospel." If we are to take to heart this duty of promotion as described by Pope John Paul, then all concerned should extend every effort to make this Anchor subTurn to Page Six
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Pro-lifers are undeterred cold, weary feet by WASHINGTON (NC) - Tens of thousands of pro-lifers from across the nation participated in the seventh annual March for Life, marking the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision overturning most state restrictions on abortion. As they marched past the White House they vowed to make the pro-life issue heard throughout the 1980 elections. When they reached Capitol Hill they heard a message from one presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, supporting the prolife cause and calling for a human life amendment. Sen. Richard Schweiker (R.-Pa.) delivered Reagan's message. The pro-lifers stood in a steady rain with temperatures in the mid-40s as pro-life senators and representatives cheered on the pro-life cause. Sen. Jesse Helms (R.-NC.) and Rep. Robert Dornan (R.-Calif.), sponsors of a human life amendment, addressed the crowd. Singer Anita Bryant told the crowd she would "blend my voice with yours" on the abortion issue. "We need to get back to God's principles," she said. "We need to stand up for the right to life - that's basic." The march opened with a prayer led by Bishop Thomas Welsh of Arlington, Va., noted for prolife activities, including picketing abortion clinics.
Quoting from Proverbs, Bishop Welsh prayed, "Rescue those being led away to death." Busloads of marchers, some of whom had travelled 12-14 hours, spilled into the Ellipse. Organizers of the march said that the crowd was over 100,000 but estimates by U.S. Park Police said 28,000 and by the Capitol Police, 45,000. One Ohio marcher said more than 750 people from her state attended a pro-life breakfast before the march and almost 250 were turned away. Bascom, Ohio, sent about 10 percent of its population to the march almost 40 people. Pro-lifers from South Dakota said they spent a day and a half on the bus to Washington. The marchers sang as they carried their banners up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. A few made the trip in wheelchairs or baby carriages, as the march encompassed all age groups. One pro-lifer sat on a fence watching. If his feet hurt, there was good reason. Bill Smith had walked 3,500 miles from San Diego to show his. support for life. Smith had been arrested at the Supreme Court Jan. 18 for carrying a pro-life sign and was out on bail for the march. Originally he was charged with two misdemeanors and a felony, but the felony charge was dropped.
The march was a kind of reunion for the 30-year-old prolifer, who had spent more than six months walking across the country. "I stayed with prolifers all the way," he said, adding that he had seen many of them in Washington. Marchers made it clear that pro-life is not only a Catholic issue. Some carried signs that said "Baptists for Life" or "Protestants for Life." Orthodox Jews from New York were also in the march. Earlier they had held a press conference to express their belief that public funding of abortion is "a damnable outrage that merits open non-violent resistance by an aroused public." Five Jewish organizations, led by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the Uriited States and Canada, called upon American voters "to send into political oblivion any candidate for public office who does not unequivocally declare his opposition to abortion on demand and the use of our tax money to finance this." Rabbi Leonard Oberstein of Baltimore addressed the crowd on Capitol Hill and the Rev. James Robison, an Evangelical minister from Fort Worth, Texas, led prayer in the rain. Nellie J. Gray, president of March for Life, introduced the Turn to Page Six
Priest forecasts China- US military rel'ationship OSSINING, N.Y. (NC) - A military alliance between th.e United States and China appears almost inevitable in the wake of the Iran and Afghanistan crises, according to a priest who has specialized in China studies, and he's not at all displeased by that prospect. "What happenetl in Afghanistan was a shock treatment for the Chinese," said Maryknoll Father Ronald Saucci, director of media relations for his worldwide community, and one-time missioner in Hong Kong. He recently returned from a two-week trip to China. "For mutual defense reasons, I feel that some kind of an agreement is necessary and inevita-
ble," he' said. At the same time, Father Saucci regretted the circumstances drawing the two countries closer together. "A year ago," he said, "with the normalization of trade relations I said I welcomed the development, but wished that it might have come about for brotherly reasons rather than economic. Now I have to add 'rather than military.''' Father Saucci made his comments路 in an interview at Maryknoll headquarters in Ossining, N.Y. The trip - his first to the People's Republic after several stays in Hong Kong - fulfilled a long-time dream and enabled
him to put his language training to use. The affable, bearded Maryknoller completed two years of studies at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, specializing in the Cantonese language. "The true miracle of China," he said, is that they could close the door to the world for 30 years and survive as one of the stronges pepole in the world. Look at the numbers alone: one of every three people in the world is Chinese; there are almost a billion of them in China alone." There are pragmatic reasons on both sides for the anticipated alliance, which Chinese officials Turn to Page Six