SERVING . . . SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, MARCH 13; 1980
VOL. 24, NO. 11
20c, $6 Per Year
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ARCHITECT'S SKETCH OF ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH & PARISH CENTER
.A great day for the Irish At St. Patrick's Church, Somerset, they observed their patronaL feast a little early, with groundbreaking ceremonies for their new parish center, which by next St. Patrick's day should be in fine shape for a mighty celebration. Parishioners have waited a long time for such a facility, since 1883, to be exact. :Although many activities have taken place in the nearby St. John Fish~r house, it has never· been adequate for large functions, noted Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, pastor. He said the existing St. Patrick's church building antedates the ·Fall River diocese, being constructed originally as a mission church of the Providence diocese, served from Warren, R.I. Now the simple colonial structure, probably built in the late
1870s, will be expanded to include a harmoniously designed parish center. The center, stressed Msgr. Stanton, will be on the same level as the church, making it possible for handicapped persons, especially those in wheelchairs, to navigate easily from one building to the other. He also noted that the 1,500-family parish currently has some 800 children in its religious education program. They are instructed by 98 teachers, many holding classes in their own homes. Now the teachers will have the option of moving classes to the new center, which by means of acoustical folding partitions will provide the capability for four different floor plans, one of them an arrangement of six rooms, each accommodating 20 persons. Turn to Page Six
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• Inner city parents Papal envoy In Colombia • • value schools worsens as crISIS WASHINGTON (NC)-Parents from minority groups are making great sacrifices to enable their children to attend nonpublic inner city schools, according to a study of personnel associated with such schools. The study was made by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. The findings will be presented at the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) convention April 7-10 in New Orleans. "A major finding of our study is the documentation it provides to show the enormous sacrifices being made by the poor inner city black, Puerto Rican and
Mexican-American families to provide their children with a chance at a decent future by paying the necessary tuition for attendance at non-governmental schools," Jesuit Father Virgil Blum said. Father Blum is president of .the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, headquartered in Milwaukee. For example, he said of the study, nearly half of those who responded to the survey have an annual income of less than $10,000, yet nearly one-third of these minority families have both parents holding full-time jobs. Turn to Page Six
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope John Paul II has said that the situation in Bogota, Colombia, is causing him "much pain." The pope also announced that he had sent Archbishop Pio Laghi, apostolic nuncio to Argentina, to be the Vatican's "special envoy in Bogota at this very serious moment." The pope commented on the hostage crisis at the end of his weekly general audience. It was his first public reaction to the seizure Feb. 27 of the embassy of the Dominican Republic in the Colombian capital. "As I energetically deplore what is happening, my anguish-
ed thoughts go to all thos'e who, in whatever way and for whatever reason, are suffering at this very painful time," he said. Pope John Paul said Archbishop Angelo Acerbi, papal nuncio to Colombia and one of the hostages, "has. a special place in my prayers." The archbishop was chosen by guerrillas as a gobetween for receiving messages and supplies during the embassy's occupation. He expressed "the wish and the hope that it may soon be possible to have a solution that will restore serenity and c;omfort."
"In the meanwhile I pray that the Lord, who has men's hearts in his hands and can inspire them with right thoughts and good resolutions, will guide the efforts that are being made to solve the present case, and also the efforts being made to build a society sustained not by violence but justice, fraternity and peace," the pope added. His statement drew attention to the explosive social conditions in Colombia whi~h form the backdrop of the embassY seizure by guerillas. For 17 of the past 20 years a state of sei~e has been in effect in the South American country.