FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS VOL. 33, NO.7.
Friday, February 17, 1989
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
10 topics on ,bishops' shopping list WASHINGTON (NC) - An agenda o( 10 topics related to evangelization, including the role of bishops as teachers, has been announced for the March 8-11 meeting of 35 U.S. bishops with Pope John Paul II and Vatican officials. The agenda, approved by the Vatican Congregation for Bishops in consultation with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, was designed to provide "an open discussion and exchange of ideas," according to notes on the meeting sent to U.S. participants. Heads of Vatican commissions and U.S. bishops will make formal presentations on each of the 10 meeting topics, then more than an hour will be devoted to open disSNOW DID NOT deter members of St. Ann's parish, Raynham, from witnessing cusson on each topic, said a stateground breaking ceremonies for their new parish center. Doing the honors, from left, Very Rev. ment on the agenda released Feb. Gerald T. Shovelton, pastor; Bishop Daniel A. Cronin; Msgr. John J. Oliveira; Permanent 13 by the NCCB in Washington. Deacon Michael E. Murray. (Mike Gay photo courtesty of the Taunton Daily Gazette) The agenda itself and the text of the notes sent to participants were not released. In January the Vatican announced that the theme of the meeting would be "Evangelization WASHINGTON (NC) - U.S. and Peace Commission, attacks warning that recent technological in the Context of Culture and Catholic leaders see a new Vatican issues that "affect us daily and are advances might lead to "eugenic Society of the United States of document on racism as a timely reality for people at parish and racism." America with Particular Empha- challenge to this nation, where diocesan levels," said Ronaldo M. The document counts Jews, refugsis on the Role of the Bishop as social problems of homelessness, Cruz, associate director ofthe U.S. ees and immigrants, indigenous Teacher of the Faith." hunger and lack of health care are bishops' Secretariat for Hispanic peoples, great masses of poor peaFor nine ofthe 10 topics, a Vati- borne primarily by minorities. Affairs. sants in Third World nations, and can official and a U.S. bishop each The 42-page document, titled The document, released Feb. others whose "physical appearance will make a 10-minute presenta- "The Church and Racism: Toward 10, is the first from the Vatican to or ethnic, cultural or religious chartion before the discussion period. a More Fraternal Society" and focus solely on racism, condemn- acteristics are different from those written by the Pontifical Justice ing it in a variety of forms and of the dominant group" among Turn to Page Seven victims of racism worldwide. . Cruz called the document a "timely challenge." In addition to being concerned about the growing drug problem and skyrocketing number of homicides striking black and Hispanic neighborhoods in big cities nationwide, he, said, "we should figure out what federal programs have been cut" and examine the effects. Auxiliary Bishop John H. Ricard of Baltimore, chairman ofthe U.S. bishops'Committee on Black Catholics, said that in the '50s and '60s when U.S. blacks were forced to sit in the back of the bus, not allowed to attend universities or legally prohibited from moving into certain neighborhoods, he said, "racism was very overt." Today, he said, its effects are seen in the inequities within society. That the Vatican document said "anti-Zionism serves at times as a screen for anti-Semitism" significantly strengthened it, said Rabbi A. James Rudin, director of national interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee. After the Holocaust and the libPOP CULTURE: Ever wonder what a million of anything looks like? Here's Matt Salate, a eration of the death camps, said seventh grader at St. Bernard's School, Peoria, Ill., to show you. He's almost buried in a million Eugene Fisher, director,ofthe U.S. bishop~' Office for Catholic-Jewish aluminum pop tops collected by students since 1987. They weigh 1,000 pounds and are expected Relations, it became unpopular to to bring about $500, earmarked for a class trip, a pizza party and donations to charity. (NC photo) Turn to Page Six
Racism paper Vadcan first
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Bishops hear evidence damning fetal tissue use By Pat McGowan with NC News reports If the U.S. government starts funding research into medical uses of fetal tissue, it risks "creating industries dependent uppn the aborting of millions of babies," a medical ethicist told 150 bishops gathered in Dallas from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and the Philippines. Among them was Bishop Daniel A. Cronin, whose doctoral dissertation was a study of the views of 50 theologians over the last seven centuries on the morality of preserving life. in the case of patients whose condition is incurable. The bishop has continued a deep interest in questions of medical morality. He has attended each of eight workshops held annually in Dallas and funded by the Knights of Columbus under sponsorship of the Pope John XXIII MedicalMoral Research and Education Center, an independent Catholic research organization based in Braintree. The bishop said the theme ofthe Jan. 30-Feb. 3 meeting was Critical Issues in Contemporary Health Care. The keynote address, delivered by Dr. John R. Silber, president of Boston University, dealt with the general issue of ethics in medicine. Specific topics considered during the meeting included the morality ofartificial nutrition and hydration in relation to "right to die" issues; pastoral counseling of families of the critically ill; the relationship of bishops and Catholic health care facilities, including consideration of the role of pastoral care personnel. Also the ethical aspects of organ donation; health care issues rel~t ing to priests, including their psychosexual development; and the teaching of moral theology in seminaries and in continuing education programs. Fetal Tissue Research Janet E. Smith, a professor at the University of Notre Dame; told the bishops that recent moves toward approval of fetal tissue research raise troubling moral questions about complicity in abortion and the possibility of women or clinics trafficking in human tissue. She said it was no exaggeration to compare such practices with immoral medical experiments in Nazi Germany. Reporters were not permitted to cover workshop sessions, but the text of Ms. Smith's talk was released to The Texas Catholic, Dal·las diocesan newspaper. Turn to Page Six