The ANCHOR
Global Hunger Focus Of Overseas Appeal
An Anchor 01 the Soul, Sure and Firm-St. Pout
Fall River, Mass., Thursday, Mar. 6, 1975 PRICE 1Sc Vol. 19, No. 10 © 1975 The Anchor $5.00 per y.ar
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Evaluates Financing Of Catholic Schools WASHINGTON (NC) - The chairman of the first National Conference on Catholic Sch<lol Finance evaluates v a rio u s solutions to Catholic schools' financial problems in the February issue of Momentum, a Catholic educational journal. III <:n interview in the monthly publication of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), Father Frank Bredeweg, ~ NCEA's Special Projects Director, who chaired the conference on finance last June, spoke optimistically about Catholic schools' participation in federal school aid programs. Discussing H.R. 69, the Education Amendment of 1974 which extended and amended the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Father Bredeweg said: "There is strong language in H.R. 69 about nonpublic school participation and a stress upon advisory councils, both at the state and local lev-
els, and this could enhance private school participation legally in the years ahead." Pointing out that federal aid must still be channelled through local public school districts, Father Bredeweg said sucb aid "will never do the job it could do until a way is found to enable private schools to operate as a quasi-LEA (local education agency) and therefore to plan and administer programs suited to their own circumstances." The educator noted that 28 states have some form of auxiliary service aid, such as transportation, textbooks, instructional materials, health services, or guidance and counseling, intended to benefit the child rather than the school. School administrators interested in sucb aid, he said, should contact their state' Catholic conferences and diocesan government aid coordinators. Turn to Page Four
Religious List Areas Of Social Concern WASHINGTON (l~C) The food crisis, the economy and military spending will be the main focus in the 94th Congress for Network, a- lobbying organization composed mainly of Religious women. Priorities for the organization were summarized in the February newsletter of the organization. The newsletter said the priorities had been chosen through a referendum of Network's 2,000-plus members. Network works closely with other Catholic agencies as well as a broad range of labor, civic and professional groups in lobbying for -its issues. Network listed its priorities under five main categories: Global hunger, health care, domestic poverty, foreign policy and criminal justice. Global hunger: Network will support bills which base aid on human needs and not "national interest;" support the family farm and aid farmers through credit, education and technical assistance; provide equal distri-
bution of food to the needy and make multinational corporations and agri-business more accountable by ending tax; benefits 'and monitoring large sales of basic resources. Health Care: Netwok will support the Health Security Act, the most comprehensive national health insurance program now before Congress. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D·Mass.) and Rep. Al Gorman (D-Calif.). Domestic poverty: Main concerns are welfare reform and full employment bills. The main welfare reform measure before Congress is the "Income Security" program introduced in the last session of Congress by Rep. Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.). The program calls for replacing Aid to Families of Dependent Children and Food Stamps with a combined tax credit and cash allowance system. The bill would have two main parts: A $225 tax credit per person in a family instead of the Turn to Page Fourteen
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(Bishops' WeUare. Emergency and ReUet Fund) THE POOfl WrrHOlJT REGARD TO RACE, CREED OR COLOR
Catholic churches and chapels in the Diocese of Fall River will focus on the problem of world hunger the weekend of March 8th and 9th when, under the sponsorship of the Most Rev. Daniel A. Cr<>nin, S.T.D., a special collection will be taken up ,in support of the annual American Catholic Overseas Aid Appeal. The primary beneficiary of this annual collection is Catholic Relief Services-USCC, the official overseas aid and devel-
opment agency of the Catholic food supplements, vitamins and hierarchy of the United States. medicines to counteract mal"The bishops of the United nutrition in the areas of the States outlined a program of developing world most seriously pastoral action," said Bishop plagued by food shortages. At Cronin, "when they urged both the same time, CRS is also inimmediate concern and long creasing its developmental work range action to meet the grow- aimed at improv·ing agricultural ing problem of world hunger. production by the rural farmer, This appeal is an integral part of the sponsorship of vitally imthat program." . portant pre-school nutrition proeRS-USCC has stepped up its grams and the expansion of program of emergency relief by water resources, especially for shipping massive amounts of agricultural use.
Pilgrimage Reflections A special audience with Pope 'Paul VI, who departed from his annual retreat to receive Holy Year pilgrims in Rome at the beautiful Courty·ard of San Damaso in the Vatican, was highlight of the Fall River Diocesan Pilgrimage to Rome for Holy Year 1975. -In the bright and warm noonday sunshine, the Pontiff ad· dressed a group of pilgrims including the sixty member delegation from Fall River which participated in the Holy Year rites under the leadership of the Most Reverend Daniel A. Cronin, Bis!lop of Fall River. Pope
Paul welcomed pilgrims from various nations at the audience, speaking in several languages. He made special mention of Bishop Cronin, whom he recognized with other bishops present, and spoke of the Diocesan Ordinary as a former collaborator of the Holy Father in the Vatican Secretariat of State and as one who had served the Holy See ,in Africa, a reference to the years spent by Bishop Cronin on the staff of the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to Ethiopia. A group of pilgrims at the Turn to Page Two
Last year alone, in a program which had a value of more than $154 million, CRS-USCC assisted more than 20 mmion poverty-stricken people without regard to race, creed or color in some 75 countries around the globe. Other organizations benefiting from this appeal, which will culminate in a special collection in all the churches in the area on Laetare Sunday, March 9th, are the Charities of His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, the Refugee and Migration Section of the U.S. Catholic Conference, and the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea, serving the Merchant Marine tn major ports throughout the world.