SERVING . . . SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
eanc 0 VOL. 24, NO. 6
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1980
20c, $6 Per Year
Dutch synod: variety, unity, • ISS,UeS agreem'ent on most VATICAN CITY (NC) - The Dutch bishops' synod produced 64 hours of meetings, nearly 500 interventions, three liturgical celebrations, well over 100 pages of documentation and a 46-point closing document. But what is its bottom line for the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and ~he world?
ANTONIO da CRUZ of Our Lady of the Assumption parish, New Bedford, a freshman member of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate program, takes classroom notes.
Deacon totals WASHINGTON (NC) - The number of permanent deac:ons in the Catholic Church in the United States rose by nearly 1,000 from 1978 to 1979, according to figures compiled by the secretariat of the U.S. bishops' Committee on the Perman-
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ent piaconate. The number of candidates preparing for the diaconate increased by more than 100 and there are now about 125 permanent deacon training centers in the United States, some serTurn to Page Six
For Pope John Paul II, convener of the assembly, it was a joint consultative process resulting in an "accord on the content of Catholic faith according to the teaching of the magisterium of the church." For Cardinal Jan Willebrands of Utrecht, Netherlands, president of the Dutch Bishops' Conference, it was a reminder that "different currents everywhere oppose each other, but variety should always remain within unity." For the rest of the Dutch bishops it was a reaffirmation of their duty to guide people with a firm hand and to work to-
gether in overcoming ideological differences. For Dutch Catholics, it was a call from the pope to "gather around your bishops in prayer and action" and a preview of pastoral changes to come in the Dutch church. 'For "critical groups" who dissent from church teachings, it
was an admonition to get in line. For Archbishop Jozef Tomko, general secretary of the world synod of Bishops and a participant in the Dutch synod, it was "16 days of intense work." And for Archbishop Godfried Danneels of Malines-Brussels, Belgium, the only major synod Turn to Page Seven
Azoreans grateful Bishop Cronin has received a' hand-delivered message from the Most Reverend Aurelio Granada, bishop of the earthquake-torn diocese of Angra in the Azores. The Azorean prelate expressed profound thanks to Bishop Cronin for his fraternal message of concern transmitted immediately upon news of the disaster. "We are in need of everything," Bishop Granada wrote. He went on to describe the suffering of the victims of the earthquake which struck a month ago
and noted that many churches and diocesan buildings had been destroyed and damaged. Bishop Granada conveyed to Bishop Cronin particular thanks for the pledge of financial assistance from the Catholic faithful of 'the Diocese of Fall River, the results of a diocesan-wide special collection. Bishop Cronin appealed for aid to residents of the Fall River diocese when the very first reports of the devastation occuring in the Azores Turn to Page Six
Connolly's Quechua Indian By Pat McGowan About a year and a half ago, The Anchor reported a population of one Quechua Indian in the Fall River diocese. That figure has now doubled. There are two Quechua Indians. The newcomer is 19-year-old Sixto Cespedes, a dark-eyed, black-haired Peruvian charmer. In July he joined his compatriot, 3-year-old Noelle Durette, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Durette in Swansea. From there he commutes daily to Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River.
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SIXTO CESPEDES, seated left, hits the books in the Connolly library, aided' by Brooks Hawkins, standing, and Paul Desmarais. Paul, an advanced Spanish student, provides language backup for Sixto. (Torchia Photo)
Thereby hangs a tale. Mrs. Durette Is the sister of Father Paul Canuel, who was associate pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish, Seekonk, until June, 1975, when he was granted permission to work with the Missionary Society of St. James in Latin America. H~ was assigned to Peru, where in 1978 he arranged the
adoption of little Noelle by his sister and brother-in-law. She was then a semi-starved waif whose mother was unable to care for her, and Father Canuel overcame mountains of red tape to secure her immigration to the United States. With that experience behind him, he tackled the matter of Sixto. The youngest of four children, the youth was brought up in a tiny mountain village. His native Quechua tongue exists only in spoken form so he had to learn Spanish in order to go to school. Despite pressure from his parents to abandon his education in favor of going to work, he was able to reach high school level, aided by an older brother. But, he related, the brother married," and could no longer afford to assist him. After struggling to combine work and school, entirely on his own, he
asked Father Canuel for help. Impressed by the youth's determination to escape the life of many of his friends,' "enslaved to ignorance, coca and potato liquor," the px:iest took Sixto into his house. When Father Canuel moved from his first assignment to an area offering high school opportunities, Sixto went along. In December 1978 the young Quechua graduated from a fiveyear high school course and Father Canuel tried to gain him entrance to a university. But, as he explained in a newsletter to friends and relatives in the States, "Opportunity for education on a higher level is quite limited for the poor. There are few vacancies in the existing universities, which are constantly lleset with political demonstrations, strikes and closings. Turn to Page Six