THE ANCHOR -
Father William J. McMahon Msgr. Luiz J. Mendonca, vicar general, was principal celebrant of ' the Mass Qf Christian Burial celebrated Tuesday at St. Joseph's Church, Taunton, for Father William J. McMahon, 75, who died Feb. II at his retirement home in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he lived with a cousin. Father McMahon, a Taunton native, was the son of the late James J. and Rose Anna McMahon. Following studies at Providence College and St. Michael's College, he entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and was ordained to the priesthood May 18, 1940, by Bishop James E. Cassidy. He served for 25 years as parochial vicar at St. Kilian's Church, New Bedford, and concurrently for 17 years as director of Cathedral Camp, East Freetown, and Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat League. The retreat program used the camp facilitites in the spring and fall, offering weekend and midweek retreats for priests, students and members of parish and diocesan organizations. At various times Father McMahon was moderator of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, president of the National Catholic Camping Assn. and assistant in charge of special affairs for the youth department of the
1',
.
The, "honeymoon" between American Catholics and "the secu~ larculture to which they have surrendered" might have gone on if it had not been for the anti-abortion fight, he said. "We desperately wanted to be accepted. But we were still Catholics, not barbarians. We draw the
Fri.; Feb. 20, 1987
3
Vatican Labor Department?
FATHER McMAHON former National Catholic Welfare Conference, now the U.S. Catholic Conference, In 1965 he was named administrator and then pastor of St. Joan of Arc parish, Orleans, where he served until retirement in 1980.
In retirement, Father McMahon remained active, celebrating Mass regularly at the Cathedral of St. Jude the AposiJe, near his home. He frequently returned to Cape Cod in the summer months. He is survived by several cousins.
Are American Catholics selling out? CONVENT STATION, N.J. (NC) - U.S. Catholics are selling out their rich Christian heritage for a piece ofthe American dream, a speaker told a recent conference on faith and culture. Michael Schwartz, former director of public affairs for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, was keynote speaker at the conference in Convent Station sponsored by the Pallottine, Institute for Lay Leadership and Apostolate Research. , The approximately 100 participants studied the impact of Catholicism on American~culture, but Schwartz, now on the staff of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation in Washington, chose to look at American culture's impact on Catholicism. Schwartz said Catholicism is in a position~ to fill the void in a contemporary America "in search of its soul, in search of a reason to live." "But at ,the very time ihis opportunity presents itself, Catholicism in America suffers an identity crisis of its own," he said. "The newcomers whose missi~n was to tninsf~rm this nation had themselves been transfo'rmed,~'he said. "The manifold attractions-~f America as it was. -.. seduced most Catholics away" from evangelizing during the 19th century.
Diocese of Fall River -
line at murdering the young." Schwartz said the right-to-life movement could have been a vehicle to convert America to a culture infused with Catholicism. "If Americans could be convinced that respect for life was a great first principle of social existence, they would be ready to listen to everything else the church teaches about social justice." But, he said, the movement has become split, ,a problem that is remedial and not as painful as "the general loss of identity and directionamong American Ca'tholics." He added, "It is not, I am saying, the church which must change to accommodate to the things of
the world, but the' world-which must be transformed, folded ~nder , the mantle of the bride of Christ. But I fear that American Cathol, ics, at least in the present, lack either the understanding or the will to attempt this conversion." Another speaker, Ed Marciniak, a board member and secretary of the National Center of the Laity in Chicago, urged Catholic laity to seek their vocation in the world and not by doing "churchy"things. To ask whether there is a Catholic work ethic is to ask a ,theological'question, he said. And it is an ungodly mistake, he con~ tinued, for rank-and-file Christians to rely on a theologian'or a bishop to furnish them with their work ethic. "God encounters each man and woman individually to seek a personal response," he said. A work ethic is a set of values "giving meaning to our daily work; establishing our priorities; ordering our hopes and desires; justifying deferred expectations and helping with the world's sin and suffering, pain and sorrow," he said. In the church today, according to Marciniak, a misshapen theology governs so much of the spirituality and piety of Catholic Americans. "Faith and work are disconnected, so is Sunday worship and weekday activity. There is little understanding that the church gathered on Sunday is the church scattered on Monday." As a result, he said, the vocation of occupation or profession is devalued.
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The Vatican is studying a plan to create a permanent department to handle labor matters and a tribunal for employees' grievances. Both bodies, if approved, could have a major impact on how Vatican labor disputes are handled. At the same time, the Vatican and the 1,700-member Association of Vatican Lay Employees agreed on a IO-level wage scale, ending a dispute that lasted several years and twice brought lay workers to the brink of a strike. Both sides praised the agreement and said they were optimistic about the future of labor relations at the Vatican. Employees' association President Mariano Cerullo said the Vatican showed an "outstanding sense of justice" and maintained an "atmosphere of objectivity" throughout the final negotiations on the wage reforms, which lasted seven months. Bishop Giovanni Marra, who with others represented the Holy See throughout much of the negotiations, said that the agreement was a "common effort carried out well." Bishop Marra confirmed that the Vatican was studying the creation of a "central labor office" whose duties could include future wage negotiations. Such a body has long been requested by the lay employees' group. "It would be an important organization, not just 'be to answer complaints. but to promote sound work policies and study the problems ofthe workplace." said Bishop Marra. who left his Vatican post earlier this year to become an auxiliary bishop in the Rome vicariate. According to the lay employees' association. the plan for the new labor office was drawn up by three experts. including an employees' representative. It is currently being studied by the Secretariat of State. the association said. Bishop Marra confirmed that a tribunal for employees' grievances was also being studied by the Vati-
can. According to Cerullo, the tribunal would be a "last resort" for unsettled complaints. No such body currently exists at the Vatican. The final approval of the restructured pay scale was expressed in a Nov. IS letter from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Agos-' tino Casaroli. according to documentation provided by the association. The decision to make wage scales uniform throughout all Vatican departments, along with pay raises ranging from 4 to 25 percent, was taken last April. The workers' association. however, at that time said the Vatican action was "unilateral" and was taken without workers' approval. Afterward, both sides negotiated the assignment of-employees to the 10 wage scales. a process that dragged on for months after"many difficulties" were encountered. according to Cerullo., He added that the delay was probably a good thing because it allowed "defects" in the plan to come to light.
No Separation "I am' sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Rom. 8:39
~
94 S/41J1u. Flowers & Country Gifts Tues. - Fri. • 12:30 - ~:30 Sat. 10-5 28 Wood St. • Fall River (off Stafford Rd, - 2nd left after cemetery)
673-4688
Fall River Chair-Car Service, Inc. 1680 North Main Street Fall River, MA 02720 ,Roland G. Bileau; Pres, '
Prompt, Courteous,
•
Prof~ssional'
TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED TO: • ". • • • •
physician's Offices Clinics ' Dialysis Centers Radiation Centers Prosthesis Centers Physical Therapy Centers
• • -. . • • •
Hospitals Nursing Homes Airports Private Functions Weddings High Rise Apartments
675-1956 Medicaid and Comm'ission for the Blind approved. 24 Hour advance notice for scheduling required,