FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER
t eanc 0 VOL. 28, NO. 12
FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS
CAPE COD &THE ISLANDS
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAV, MARCH 23, 1984
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ARCHBISHOP LAW
. ARCHBISHOP O'CONNOR
With mingled splendor and simplicity, the new pastors of two of the largest sees in the United States are beginning the care of souls in the archdioceses of Boston and New York. Installation ceremonies for New York Archbishop John J. O'Connor took place Monday, the feast of St. . Joseph, at St. Patrick's' Cathedral ill New York C i t y . ' Archbishop Bernard F. Law took canonical possession of the see of Boston at, sung vesper services at 4 p.m. yesterday in Uoly CroSIS Cathedral in Boston. His installation Mass is scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon. New York Ceremonies The authority of the pope is "absolutely indispensable" to the Catholic faith, said Arch bishop O'Connor at his installa tion Mass. The archbishop who formerly headed the Diocese of Scranton, Pa., and was an auxiliary, bishop in the Military Ordinariate in New York, spoke of papal 'au thority in commenting on a let ter from a schoolgirl who said "Until now I didn't know who you were." Even so, she aocepted him as her new bishop, Archbishop O' Connor said. "In the final analy sis, . .' . she accepts me because the PQpe appointed me,. • • That's why I am here. What I have or have not done before is of no real consequence, is it? "My few modest successes, my . innumerable failures essentially count liS nothing in comparis~m with tl1at one reality, absolutely indisp~nsable to our Catholic faith: the authority of the Holy Father." The archbishop structured his
homily around responses to let Prelates in attendance includ ed Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of ters he received' from school children after his appointment Chicago, retired Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit, Cardinal was announced. John Krol of Philadelphia, Car In the homily he commented on needs of the city including dinal Luis Aponte Martinez of San Juan, Puerto Rico and re those of the hungry and home tired Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle less, the spiritually undernour ished and the young. He also of Washington. Bishop James Malone of condemned abortion but pledged compassion to those who make Youngstown, Ohio, president of the "tragic decision to abort an the National Conference of Cath unborn bllby in the sincere be-, olic Bishops and Archbishop lief that this was the right, or ;Law, to be installed today as at least the only, thing to do in archbishop of Boston, were pres 'ent. the circumstances." The archbishop's comments Archbishop O'Connor is the mixed the serious and the humor 11th bishop and eighth archbish ous. His self-deprecating touch op of New York. drew applause and laughter After Archbishop Pio Laghi, from ~e congregation gathered apostolic delegate in the United at St. Patrick's Cathedral. States, led Archbishop O'Connor Among' dignitaries attending to his chair and handed him the the event were William Wilson, crosier as his symbol of office, new U.S. ambassador to the his fellow prelates and repre Holy See, New York Gov. Mario sentative priests, religious and Cuomo; New York Mayor Ed-' laity of the archdiocese came by ward Koch; Sen. Daniel Patrick to extend their greetings. A,f the end of the ceremony Moynihan, D-N.Y.; Sen. Alphonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., and other Archbishop O'Connor told the conJ?regation, "For better, for eovernment Qfficials.
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worse, this is what you got." The congregation applauded. Archbishop O~Connor had taken formal canonical posses sion of the archdiocese the pre vious'day at a service attended principally by priests, religious and deacons. At the installation, Archbishop
O'Connor described the canoni cal possession ceremony as a marriage to the Archdiocese of New York. In that ceremony, he said, he "inherited at least 1.8 million Catholics as flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood, but more, I sincerely pray that many others of you, of, all faiths, will permit me to serve you as well." His fav~rite meditation is a saying of Mother Teresa of Cal cutta, "Give God permission." the archbishop told the congre gation. It is everyone's calling to give 'God permission "to open our minds and hearts so that he can indeed work through us," Arch bishop O'Connor said. He said he prayed that as archbishop of New York he would "never im-
pede any of you in any way from letting God work through you. "I need you very much. I need your strength, I need your wis~ dom, I need your counsel, above all, I need your love. And, oh how much, how very much I will love you in return," the archbishop- said. The archibishop's serious re
marks were broken up with bits of humor. "Mr. Mayor, how am I do ing?" he began his homily, imi tating Mayor Koch. Later he said, "Ich bin ein New Yorker," an echo of Presi dent Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") speech more than 20 years earlier. A shorter John J. O'Connor joined Archbishop O'Connor dur ing the ceremony and !briefly wore the archbishop's mitre, which slid down over his ears. Young John O'Connor, 10, a fifth grader at Visitation School, had written to the archbishop pointing out that they have the Turn to PElge Eleven