Retains Private Confession
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Priestly Life Committee Searching for Advisors WASHINGTON (NC) - Nine bishops have been named members of the U. S. bishops' Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, and a search was announced for selection of a priest as executive director of its office. Bishop Thomas J. Grady, committee chairman, made these announcements in letters to all U. S. bishops and presidents of priests' senates in the country. The Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry was activated by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops at its meeting in November, 1973. Bishop Grady said there will be a broad consultation among bishops and priests to identify candidates to be named priestadvisors and to select a priest
to serve as executive director of the Office of Priestly Life and Ministry. "The bishops' Committee on Priestly Ufe and Ministry has the potential to make an important contribution to the life of the Church in the United States," he told the bishops. "We would like to make a good beginning. We appreciate your help and the help of your priests." Following are the bishops named to the committee: Archbishop Ignatius Strecker of Kansas City, Kan.; Bishop Paul Anderson of Duluth, Minn.; Bishop Gerard Frey of Lafayette, La.; Bishop George Guilfoyle of Camden, N. J.; Bishop Joseph Hogan of Rochester, N. Y.; Bishop Raymond Hunthausen of HelTurn to 'Page Two
Penance Document Emphasizes Communal Aspect of Rite WASHINGTON-The Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican made public today a revised liturgy for the Sacrament of Penance, to more clearly explain the nature and effects of the sacrament. Revised liturgical r.ites for the sacrament are outlined in four chapters: Reconoiliation of Individual Penitents; Reconciliation of Many Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution; Reconciliation of Many Penitents~ with General Confession and Absolution; Various Texts for Use in the Celebration of Reconciliation. Traditional Catholic theological teaching about the Sacrament of Penance is maintained in the' new document, but new emphasis is g,iven to the ecclesial aspects of the sacrament. And while the text in no way suggests that sins be confessed publicly, it does stress the communal nature of the sacrament, which will be especially evident in 'the revised liturgical rites. The term reconciliation is preferred to show more clearly that sacramental penance is an encounter of God's action and man's. The term reconciliation, ralready used in the primitive Church and later by the Council of Trent, serves to ensure an understanding of a fundamental aspect for the renewal of Penance: that of encounter between ,a son and his Father. In the new rite the communal
Notre Dame, Fall River: 100 Years Celebration 'of the lOOth year of Notre Dame de Lourdes parish, 'Fall River, will emphasize the spiritual aspect of parish life, beginning Monday, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, with a 7 p.m. Mass, participated in by all pal1ish organizations. Traditiona'i and folk music will be heard and appropriate visuals will accom- . pany the Mass. Refreshments at a following social hour will be served by members of the parish CYO. Msgr. Alfred J. Gendreau, pastor, has 'announced that ceremonies centered on each of the seven sacraments will take place -in the church in the cour,se of the centennial year. A penance service is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 and Bishop CTonin will confer the sacrament of Confirmation at 3 p.m. Sunday, Apl1il 21. A ipublic baptism service will take place 'at 7 p.m. Wedne_sday, May 1; and as has been traditional, children will receive First Communion at the 9 a.m. Mass Sunday, May 12, Mother's Day. All couples married in Notre Dame Church will be invited to a vows renewal ceremony at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 5. A spe-
cial music program has been planned for this occasion. Similarly, priests and religious who are natives of the parish will gather for a conceJebrated Mass Saturday, June 22 'as a tribute to the sacrament of Holy Orders.
MONSIGNOR GENDREAU
Infirm parishioners will receive the Anointing of the Sick at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 -in publdc ceremonies to be held in the iower church for greater ease of access. Planned for Friday, April 19 is a Centennial Ball at Lincoln Pal1k, and highlighting the yearlong progl'am will be.a Pontifical Mass with Bishop Cmnin as prin-. cipal celebr,ant, which will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 6. A Centennial Banquet will follow the Mass. The twin spires of Notre Dame, visible from nearly every part of Fall River, have dominated the city's horizon since 1906, but the parish ,itself had its beginnings in July, 1874, when Rev. P.J.B. Bedard was sent to Fall River hy the Bishop of Providence to organize Notre Dame as an offshoot of St. Anne's pal1ish, ,which had been in existence for five years at that time. The first weekday Mass of the new parish was said at the home of Noel Maynard on Pitman Street, which was also the residence of Father Bedard. The first Sunday Mass was celebrated at 308 Flint Street, the Turn to Page Three
and ecclesial character of Penance is made evident: sin is an offence against God and at the same time against one's brethren; Penance is therefore a Reconciliation with God and with the Church. Rev. Thomas Krosnicki, associate direc~or of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, comments: "The new Order of Pen-
ance will cause no unexpected changes in the communal celebration of the sacrament in the United States. What is significant about these rites is a new attempt at enriching the celebration of Reconciliation. Individual confession outstide of communal celebrations will be enhanced by a fuller use of the Turn to Page Two
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Subscription to The Anchor Aid to Vital Catholic Life The Catholic Press, besought by energy and economic crises like every family, still is an all !important instrument in "the ministry of the Church. In April, The Anchor, the Official Catholic Newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River, will begin its eighteenth year of publication. The diocesan task for The Anchor is ever growing as the needs of parishioners grow and Christian life in the Diocese ever becomes more vibrant. The aids given the newspaper by circulation and advertisement have remained stable. But the demands made on the apostolate to keep i~ active-labor, material, postage-have increased phenomenally. The Anchor is the bond of unity in the Diocese of Fall River. It weekly reminds each
parishioner of the challenges and difficulties the Universal Church must face; it enlivens· the many tasks a parishioner must be knowledgeable of as a diocesan; it encourages each parishioner with the examples of fellow Chl1istians in neighboring parishes of the Diocese or in far-flung beleaguered parishes in the missions or persecuted territories. Turn to Page Four
. ...........•.......•. Confirmation Schedule 1974 Page Two
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