diocese of fall river
t eanc 0 VOL. 23, NO. 6
FAll RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1979
20c, $6 Per Year
Studies Indicate World Populace Will Triple
Boat People Get CRSAssistance In Ships, Camps
iUNIl1ED NATIONS (NC) Despite a slowdown in the world's population growth rate, demographic projections indicate that the number of inhabitants on the earth will triple within the next 60 to 70 'years. ,By the middle of the 21st ceO't~ry, when projections say population growth may become stationary, this will mean a world population of 11.5 billion people. Coping with this unprecedented tripling of the population in such a short time is the current subject of debate by the U.N. Population Commission. On Jan. 29 the 27-nation commission began reviewing worldwide population trends and policies. Developing countries are exhibiting a "growing frustration:' said Jean Ripert, U.N. under secretary-general for international economic and social affairs, in addressing the commission. World population will increase by approximately one billion inhabitants during the 1980's, with most born in the Third World, added Ripert. This will challenge the international community as it will have to meet the problems caused by this growth in ways that ,do not harmfully efect other problems. "The fundamental question is whether humanity, through cooperation of all governments, can manage to achieve a satisfactory balance between demoTum to Page Three
MANILA, Philippines (NC) The executive director of Catholic Relief Services, Bishop Edwin B. Broderick, observed the first day of the Vietnamese New Year by visiting with hundreds of boat people aboard the refugee ship Tung An anchored off Manila Bay. ' The bishop joined the 2,700 refugees on the Tung An to ex路 tend his personal good wishes for a "new and better year," expressing the hope that "you may soon find a place to call home." While. aboard, the bishop distributed special high-calorie bread buns which are being used as a diet supplement for the Vietnamese refugees, both aboard the boats offshore and in reception camps. The bread is baked by a Manila school as part of a CRS project 'to provide on-the-job training for elementary school and high school dropouts. CRS, overseas relief and development agency of American Catholics, has also provided some 2,000 pounds of blankets and bedding to the refugees aboard the Tung An. To date, the baking project has provided 153,000 buns for the refugees and sends out about 4,800 buns daily. The Tung An h~s been anchored off Manila Bay for more than a month and a half while countries negotiate the resettling of the refugees.
POPE JOHN PAUL II elevates the Eucharist during Mass at the National Cathedral in Mexico City. (NC Photo)
The Three Faces of John Paul II By Jerry Filteau ROME (NC) - Three popes were in Mexico from Jan. 26 to Jan. 31, or so it seemed from differences in speeches and actions. Yet each was named Pope John P~ul II. . There was the pilgrim pope praying at Marian shrines, greeting people from all walks of life, waving to huge croWds wherever he traveled.
There was the stem pastor of bishops, priests and nuns warn路 ing them to stay out of partisan politics, sharply rejecting Marxist social analysis and emphasizing the primarily spiritual nature of the priesthood and Religious life. There was the pastor of the poor and disenfranchised endorsing labor unions, land expropriation and redistribution of wealth and supporting the rights of emigrants, the poor, the unem-
ployed and cultural minorities. The first and third and the first and second popes could easily coexist. But there was a tension between the second and third that for many remained unresolved at the end of Pope John Paul's eight-day, 15,000~ mile trip. Wherever he met specifically with groups of bishops, priests or nuns, the pope warned against Turn to Page Seven
No Retreat Seen On Social Works
Life Roll Cards Will Be Signed Saturday and Sunday will be Life Roll Weekend in diocesan churches, as parishioners are asked to sign Life Roll cards indicating their support for a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, if they wish, signers may indicate their willingness to write or visit their members of Congress in support of pro-life issues, or to assist the right to life movement in other ways as the need arises. 路Community representatives already appointed in each geographic area of Southeastern Massachusetts will total and coordinate responses and members of Congress will be informed of the number of their constituents who support pro-life action. This project offers those unable to attend pro-life meetings or other activities meaningful involvem~nt in the right to life movement, say organizers.
THIS 21-YEAR-OLD issue of The Anchor commands the interested attention of Sister Lucille Gauvin, 8th grade teacher at St. Anne's School, Fall River. The still crisp-looking paper, discovered during early spring cleaning, announces that it's subscription renewal time. Twenty-one years later, that's still true. Anchor Subscription Weekend will be Feb. 17 and 18.
Representatives of several U.S. groups of priests and nuns have rejected the viewpoint that Pope John Paul U's address to the Latin American bishops at Puebla, 'Mexico, indicated a retreat from church involvement in social justice issues. Father James Ratigan, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, described the Jan. 28 talk as "a standard presentation of Catholic social justice doctrine" and said it had been misinterpreted in the United States' because the-. pope was warning against certain extremes that do not occur here, such as Catholic political parties. "He was saying, 'Don't get into partisan politics. Be a critic of everybody. Don't align yourself with one camp," the NFPC president said. "And I think that's been the position of the federation since its beginning." Father Ratigan said he had Turn to Pa~e Seven