t eanc 0 VOL. 42, NO. 10 •
Friday, March 6, 1998
FALL RIVER, MASS.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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$14 Per Year
AIDS .ministry: A compassionate response •
"In response to tht~ growing HI VIA IDS pandemic and the needs ofthe people ofGod, the Office of AIDS Ministry in the Diocese ofFall River will provide a continuum oj'pastoral, clinical and educational services. This response will be exercised with fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church and characterized by compassion, integrity, responsibility, social justice and prayer." -Diocesan AIDS Ministry mission statement
By JAMES N. DUNBAR FALL RIVER-Most of the people who walk into thl~ office of Dr. Krysten Winter-Green are in
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shock. Typically, they Come in immediately after they have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. "They need a lot of ~upport and nurturing to deal with this, and that is where my work starts," says Winter-Green, a psychotherapist who is executive director of the Office of AIDS Ministry for the Diocese of Fall River and a consultant to AIDSrelated national and international institutions. "When someone walks in off the street and says, 'I think I have AIDS,' he or she is immediately encouraged to have some testing," says Winter-Green, whose office since 1993 has bet:n in rented space at Saint Anne's Hospital, but is not underwritten by nor affiliated with the hospital.
Bishop O'Malley offers four Lenten resolutions· •
Prayer, sacrifice, Triduum and Easter. Hundreds lined up to have ashes Scripture reading and imposed on their foreheads and be the sacrament of advised: "Turn from sin and be reconciliation are ideal faithful to the Gospel." Noting that the word "Lent" ways to make the comes from the old Anglo-Saxon season a spiritual word for springtime, "lencten," the success. bishop in his homily said that "for By JAMES N.
DUNBAR
FALL RIVER-Bishop Sean P. O'Malley told those gathering for the Ash Wednesday noon Mass at St. Mary Cathedral that prayer, sacrifice, reading holy Scripture and taking advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation would be ideal ways to spend the corning 40 days of Lent until the Holy Week
us, Lent should become a spiritual springtime, a time of new life, a call, a beginning. On Ash Wednesday we come forward to receive ashes on our foreheads, to remind us that we are all under the sentence of death. We receive those ashes in the form of a cross, to remind us that through Christ we can conquer death and live forever." Turn to page 6 - Resolutions
. ASH WEDNESDAY - Bishop Sean P. O'Malley imposes ashes on the forehead of a parishioner at St. Mary Cathedral Parish, Fall River, during a noon Mass Feb. 25 marking the beginning of Lent. (Anchor photo)
But Winter-Green added that, "I'm not so much interested in the traditional methods of possible psychotherapy. I'm more interested in the journey of the human soul. That's what my interest is. I work
DR. WINTER-GREEN
with people around issues of faith, of spiritual journey and issues that have more to do with interiority." That does not mean that she is not interested in those who, for whatever reason, choose not to be compliant with treatment and to continue behaving irresponsibly. "I do concern myself with those issues. But anyone who chooses to become involved in the therapeutic process in this context of the AIDS ministry, knows very clearly at the beginning what this is all about." One interesting aspect of this ministry keys not only on those directly living with HIV or dying with AIDS but on all of the constellation of people who make up the world the individual is living with, such as parents, family and others. "These people are very severely impacted by the suffering of their loved one. For this very reason we have support groups meeting regularly for family members and friends. We provide a context where people of all ages can come and
share. Our youngest to date was age three and the oldest was 83." "What we do is all made possible by Catholic Charities which provides approximately $155,000
yearly for our budget and there is ancillary income I generate through grant writing. That amounts to an additional $25,000," the director reported. Many of those suffering from HIV or AIDS are abandoned, either because of fear or ignorance, said Winter-Green. "~In the last few Turn to page 2 - Ministry
RCIA process moves toward Easter FALL RIVER-Fifty catechumens and 150 candidates for the initiating sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist to be received at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday in their own parishes, signed the Book of the Elect at ceremonies March I in St. Mary Cathedral. The signers, mostly adults, are currently in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. As described by Father Richard E. Degagne, diocesan director for the RCIA and pastor of Sacred Heart Church, North Auleboro, the RCIA "is not a program nor religious education, but a process. All of those involved have been in the RCIA for at least a year." There is no time limit in the process. "It is for as long as it takes for each individual," the priest explained. "It is a personal reflection on their own growth in faith and they come to the Easter sacraments when they are ready. We are not funneling them through a program of religious education." After a process of discernment with a catechist and their pastor, the candidates participate in making a decision as to when they are prepared. When they feel ready, they ask their pastor to participate in the Rite of Election, which was held during the recent ceremonies, at which Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap. presided. Most of the candidates will be baptized and or receive the other sacraments on April II, Holy Saturday night, the final day of the Easter Triduum. While most of those participating art: adults, the RCIA
is for all those who have reached the .age of reason. Some are as young as eight years old. There are three distinct catego-
ries for those in the RCIA, Father Degagne explained. One group is comprised of catTurn /0 page 2 - RCiA
MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION at St. Mary Cathedral, Fall River, stood to welcome 200 catechumens and candidates as they filed into their pews beginning last Sunday's Rite of Election ceremony. (Anchor/Mills photo)