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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri.; Mar. 15,-1985
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The Nerve of the Woman A sad memory this St. Patrick Day weekend is that of Margaret Thatcher lecturing the Congress ofthe United States on tragic Ireland. The nerve of the woman! With her usual tart tongue, she chided those who seek a free Ireland and condemned all who actively support attempts to bring peace to that festering land. Her effrontery, of course, lay in the fact that she was here to address the American people, not revile us. For one who . apparently wishes to be viewed as prim and proper, she manif i ests very bad manners, especially when it comes to the Irish. I It should be remembered that it was Margaret Thatcher who consigned to oblivion all hopes of lasting peace in Ir~land. Under her aegis, the painstaking efforts of the internationally supported New Ireland Forum were outspokenly and tact lessly dismissed by Britain. The prime minister has made it quite clear there will be no united Ireland and no confederation of Northern Ireland and the Republic and that any idea ofjoint .-> authority would not be approved. Totally negative in her attitude, she has failed to propose any initiative that might at least offer hope of solving the Irish problem. It beggars belief that she cannot bring herself to exert . her influence in'stopping the killings and violence that have: since 1969 led to the deaths of over 2,400 people in Ireland. Thatcher's stonewall mentality has created an atmosphere i that has accelerated the madness of her opposition. With the rejection of all New Ireland Forum proposals, the IRA and its misguided supporters have added reason to believe t~at the diplomatic path to peace and justice in Ireland is impassable. If anyone group gained by the Thatcher display of stiff upper lipped obduracy, it was unfortunately the IRA. It is ironic that the group she hates the most attained the most by her obstinate and inflexible rejection of all peace proposals. Recent IRA terrorist attacks are in truth the same brand of violence th'at Thatcher intends to continue in Ireland. While NC/lrish Tourisl Board Photo the IRA should be seen as the terrorist organization it is, so should the emissaries of Thatcher. It should be remembered INVALIDS AT THE SHRINE OF KNOCK IN IRELAND that the Ulster penal system, polic~ force, courts and British occupation army are extensions of the Thatcher government, ,the tools she has chosen to enforce the separation that exists in 'Heal me, 0 Lord, and I shall be healed.' Jfer. 17:14 Ireland. Every condemnation of the brutes of the IRA has equal application to a government ~hat exploits the continua tion of the terror it induced in the first place. It is well then as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day e~rnestly and' honestly to support the efforts towards peace of so many in Ireland. Stopping the violence and putting an end to invasion· are necessities that too few admit must be a two-way effort. By Father Kevin J. Harrington The latter consideration accounts However, the church must not The IRA must not'continue its bloodbath of retaliation; the Pope John Paul II's announcement for his strict refusal to allow priests conform to secular trends. Those en Thatcher occupation must not be allowed to continue its hard of an extraordinary synod of bishops or religious to hold political office. trenched in the 50s felt that things to be held in Rome next fall to eval line policies. ., Certainly we should look to the were all right with her and never In an address on this subject, Cardinal Tomas O'Fiaich, mite the effects of the Second Vati synod as a positive means of allow really saw the need for a council. can Council implies that 20 years Primate of All Ireland, said, "the IRA is a, symptom, not a after ing the leaders of national bishops' Those .carried away with the exhila its closing, the original hopes cause of the problem in Ireland. Others also are responsible for for the council have yet to be conference to share concerns precip ration of what they felt was their newfound freedom found Pope Paul itated by the rapid changes occur the violence." He explained that there will be no long-term achieved. VI's stand against contraception in ring in both the world and the church; Those who claim that the pope is solution to the Irish question until Britain withdraws its troops Humanae Vitae incongruous. They but it should not be looked at as a trying to roll back the calendar by from the country. achieving a conservative agenda 'have Vatican III. Rather, it should be erroneously assumed that since so It would be well for all those congressmen who cheered misinterpreted his motives. Last seen as a natural reaction to the need many non-essential rules were chang Thatcher to remember that she is as equally an instrument of month· Archbishop Jozef Tomko, ofadapting to changing times. Indeed, ing, the essential rules concerning violence in Ireland as is the IRA. Her rejection of all efforts secretary general of the bishops' with periodic synods, one could Qirth control, remarriage after divorce synod, released a 40-page document: conceive of a time when councils and obligatory confession of mortal even to begin peace initiatives should be sufficient evidence "Vocation and Mission of the Laity .. sin were equally flexible. would be almost superfluous. that she does not posess the quality of goodwill so indispensa in the Church and in the World 20 A quarter century after Pope John The fact that the changes put in ble for sincere and honest negotiations that would in time 'Years after the Second Vatican XXIII invoked the council few realize motion by Vatican II have yet to be Council." bring healing ~nd harmony to that hurting land.
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Getting back on track
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FAII.L RIVER
Published weekly by The Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River
410 Highland Avenue
Fall River Mass. 02722 675-7151
PUBLISHER
Most Rnv. Daniel A. Cronin, D.O., S.T.D.
EDITOR Rev. John F. Moore
. FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR Rev. Msgr. John 1. Regan . . . . . leary Pre5s-Fall River
The document stresses the need to completely achieved is not an indict why he did so. Its original hope was link one's true secular vocation with ment of the council. The church , to renew the original call of the the servicl? .of the. church and warns responded to change as does any church, to go out to all the earth and make Christ known and loved by against a'ccommodation of secular institution and, typical of institu philosophies to achieve goals based tions, changes were often misinter doing good and speaking truth. . on material rather than spiritual preted. Unfortunately, the rapidity The world is still in desperate need values. ' with which they were made in the of the service of neighbor that is An incessant theme-of Pope John postconciliar church gave certain integrally linked with Christlike Paul II is that of refusal to com reformers the impression that rules charity and of those unchanging promise with the spirit of secula truths -that have been entrusted to rism. This theme is the rationale actually essential had been outmoded the Church. ,and that the conciliar spirit of free behind the Pope's discomfort with dom and openness meant that we Since we have achieved only mod those who equate liberation theol ogy w)th the Marxist class struggle had entered the age of "anything est success in attaining the noble goes." Secular trends in the 60's and conciliar goals, Pope John Paul's or who equate creation of a new pol early 70s coincided with this new itical order with building the king effort to get us back on track is both dom of God. found spirit within the church. welcomed and laudable.