,FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER "FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 30, NO.6
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7,1986
$S'Per Year
Papal bridge builder Calls Indians Pilgrims of the Absolute CALCUT1=A, India (NC) Pope John Paul II, the Supreme Pontiff, is spending the days of his Feb. 1-10 trip to India trying to build a bridge to the country's predominantly Hindu culture and history. The word pontiff derives from the Latin pontifex, meaning bridge builder. During Masses in the urban centers of New Delhi and Calcutta and in visits to tribal regions of Ranchi and Shillong, the pope framed Christianity's message in terms with which the average Indian could identify. He talked little about internal church issues. Instead, his sermons and speeches were marked by praise for India's rich spiritual traditions. The pope repeatedly described all Indians - and himself - as "pilgrims of the Absolute." He said he had come to "listen and learn" from their experience. He quoted from sacred Hindu texts and cited several of India's best-known writers in making his points about the religious meaning of life. In a visit to the funeral monument of Mahatma Gandhi, he honored the country's most esteemed modern social philosopher. The tone of the trip reflected the pope's personal desire to better understand India, a papal secretary said. All during January, the pope had sessions at the Yatican with scholars of Hinduism and
"spent a lot of time reading for this," he said. In his public talks, the pope mentioned none of the controversial issues that have marked churchstate relations in recent y(;lars, such as birth control and the freedom of missionaries to seek converts. In the off}cial text of one speech, in fact, the word "conversion"'was crossed out and "repentance" was substituted. Some Hindu groups have protested the pope's trip, saying it was aimed at widescale conversions among Hindus. Soon after he arrived from Rome, the pope told Indians that he wanted to "meet as many of you as possible." Despite that declaration, there were signs that being a simple pilgrim was a difficult thing for a pope. Watching traditional dances" listening to speeches by other reli~ gious leaders, or celebrating Mass on platform altars, the pope inevitably was kept well away from the thousands of Catholics and nonCatholics who came to see him. The dilemma of papal trips that formal and often massive gatherings do not always make for real personal contact - was underscored when a key Hindu leader canceled his appearance at a cultural meeting with the pope in Calcutta Feb. 3. Swami Lokeswaranda told repor-
ters that he wanted a real conversation with the pope, not an exchange of speeches. The cancellation was embarrassing because the swami was to have addressed the main greeting to the pope. Some Indian Catholic priests and nuns, too, have questioned whether the pope's trip might have been designed with more personal contact in mind. They have pointed out that the trip's itinerary does not take the pope to a single rural village, where about 80 percent of Indians live and where much of the church's most difficult work is accomplished. . The images of India seen by the pope have not always been at a distance, however. On February 3 he went into the heart of Calcutta's slums and prayed for the dead and dying in a house of charity run by Mother Teresa. In an emotional encounter, the pope greeted and touched 44 women and 42 men, many unable to rise from their mattresses on the floor of the two-room Nirmal Hriday, also' called "the antechamber to heaven." Then he entered a tiny chapel to pray over the bodies of a woman, two men and a baby boy who had died that day. On a blackboard outside the chapel was written: "Feb. Turn to Page Six
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On enlerii!-gc Lent
Lenten journey begins
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In the cross is,salvation; in the cross is life; in the cross is I protection from enemies. . In the cross is i~fusion of heaven~ysweetness;in th~ cross is ! strength of mind; in the cross is joy of spirit. ' In the cross is height of virtue; in the cross is perfection of i Sanctity. There is no health of soul nor hope of eternal life but in the 'cross.' Take up therefore thy cross and follow Jesus and thou shalt go into life everlasting. , " I He is gone before thee, carrying his cross, and he died for' Jhee upon the cross that thou mayst also bear thy cross apd love to die on the cross. " e if thou die halt also live ith h' . ' ng thou shalt b u art his co • glory. and alllieth in our dy eero o true interior peace e is no 0 h ~ortificati .'" i wilt, and th alt not: w t~an the wa y o
Lenten regulations are on page 2; a calendar of Lenten activities planned by diocesan parishes is on page 8.
it is a unique opportunity of giving more of ourselves, to each other and to God. In the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"Once again we begin our Lenten journey," said Bishop Daniel A. Cronin in his annual Lenten letter to members of the Fall River diocese. To be read at weekend Masses, the letter continues: "During these next 40 days, we are invited to travel into deserts, though not a physical wilderness. Rather, we journey into the vastness of the human heart. Our hearts seek that renewal and search for that light and peace which only Christ Jesus can offer. "Our pathway is marked by the signposts of penance and fasting. We long for wholeness and healing. 'Standing before Christ, we acknowledge the darker moments of our Jives, yet we profess our hope and confidence in the forgiving Christ. We fast. Lent is not so much a time of giving up things as
This is the kind offasting that I wish, says the Lord. Setting free _the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the homeless, Not turning your' backs on your own. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You shall cry for help, imd he will say, Here I am! (Is. 58:6-9) "As we undertake this important Lenten'pilgrimage, we ilfe not lonely wayfarers. As a Church, together we are common pilgrims who hunger for changed hearts and renewed faithful';ess to Jesus Christ. Lent is that springtime through which the Lord's gifts are nurtured in a community renewed by prayer and fasting. The gifts of the Lord's love blossom in open
hearts that dare to risk the journey of faith. "May this season of conversion and renewed faith bear much fruit in our lives as the springtime of Lent unfolds into the bright promise of our Easter hope in the Risen Christ. " As in previous Lents, diocesan Catholics will participate in the Rice Bowl program 01 Catholic Relief Services as well as in special programs offered by individual parishes. Rice Bowl participants are asked to fast or to eat a reduced meal once a week during Lent and to contribute money saved to their parish Rice Bowl fund. Twenty-five percent of contributions may be kept by each diocese to fund local anti-hunger and poverty programs, CRS said. The remaining 75 percent funds com. munity self-help projects in Third World countries.
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