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THEANC~OR~D;o<e,eoIFollR;V",-ThutM~i.25,lt71
Stresses' PolitiCQ.I.Acit~ion _.
23.Year-Old U.S. Deputy Marshal Heads Philddelphia Parish -CCD . Program
Orgla·riized ,at.' GrQss.~()·ot~
PHILADELPH~~"~~q-AS
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, ',' Father Virgil C. Blum,' S.J.,· Professor.· of Political' Sci~' high school sop h omore,.'G era Id'.me ' I I 'M' t'd' . r" ence at Marquette University'; says~in, one". o.f .the.. m"ost ~ cLa~g.hi"mlO~, t'tI u,e . a .r: I· ' f h b I' I gious educ;;t,tion program agal.nst .prgvocative. and, I .might add, on~ 0 :t e' I ~~st .artlc,.~~ ',all. odds. that her;venttire' would, have' read .in any ,Catholic magazme m recent month~- . succeed'.. ·, ." ". that the .Church in: ~his )' ' .' l. . ", :, i.. '. '''1 :asked. ani:! got no volun~eers 'co'untry' is, fa. ili.ng to have and. e. ven t,oc!,ay. I,ther.e' IS s., t~I,lnot . at ' first" .. for : the. program ' ." influe'nce on' public policy~ a smgle natlO l1 ll-'I g~~up Wit;h !,J.. launched at St. Richard's parish
been converted to Catholicism, .Some of the young men she has taught have'lost their lives in Vietnam. Within· the past four years; Mis,s McLaughlin, herself" has undergone two'major oper·· ations after two' serious acci· dents" . ': "I've been close to death;" she reflected: "I've asked myself
grassroots me~~ershlp of Cath- here.. said Miss McLaughlin, now' , olics." . .-1:, . , ' i'. a 23-year-old deputy' U, S: mar. 'What have I done with my life?' Try as I will, I can't <iuite'rec~ shal. If I were to 'die tomorrow, I doesn t understand the workl.ngs of democracy., ' . . " oncile his complaint with Father ' .. But, she persisted .. and 'now, 'wouldn't regret 'anything I've \ Writin,g in the Mar(;~ 6 "Issue 'Blu~'s repeated 'warnings, :re- , 'nearly 10 y~ars later,'iqiresidE'nt . ever done. I have only happy ~f Ame~lea under"t~e tltl~ Pub- ·ferredto ,abo~e" . again.st' :the of 'the' parish's Confraternity of 'memories of everything in life hc", Policy ~akJng..., Why . tI,le. dangers and, {hf she,er 1Oef~ec-'. Chr'istian' Dpctrine'. program. .' I've been able to accomplish. ' ~'Even thouglt I had my moChurches Stnke Out, he ~rg~cs tiveness of, Catho.lic separatism,' Over. the '.years~ she :'has taught that ."religio·us :Ieaders,'.'. by and .'. ' . : " ,', . : " " . . . . t . f' '11 "h dd d about 1,000 chJidren the fundamen S O l ness, ' s e a e, . " ' h t k Questions Assumption 1·< large, have put ,too .mu~. s o c · , .1. ., 'inentiJis of their faith, : "God has seen me through. I'm , Be. that as ,It may, 1. have. '" .' -- ,... " .. .. very lucky. I'm also' very glad . ' .even more 's'erious misgivings . :T,? MHi,s 'McLaughlm, known . a " God, chose .me as a messenger of 'ab<?ut :Father BI~m's .assumptlon . ~s' Gerri, ,CCD means ':fqn a~ _.. His' word~ and actions," By that unless, the. 9ishop.s take-the .Iau~~ter, .tears and pam -, and lead in urging and helping .Ca,th- me.. . MS~R,. (flics to orga,nd ,gras~roo,ts )n.... Asked if she has 'accQlllplished l terest groups; ~hether Catholic. what she· 'setout . .to do, Miss .... GEORC:;E G. , or non-sectarilin'\n ,character, McLaughlin said: 'Tm happy ,and then nothing is ,going to 'h'lppen, contented,:Even today I can't say I Ge'ra,ldine McLaughlin., CAMERANO ,CASASCO (NC) H!GGINS I wond,er 'abo'u1t'that, Fo'r h'I's- J I;veattained by' goals although'.. ,. l.: "':""Twelve bachelors in' this farm.. I torical reasons, Isom~. of which .I' m . c.ose to t hem. I h' ope t,.at , are cited 'by Fathl,et'Bh)m, it rrI,ay some day one ,of my ptipils will 'people ever take the time' to ing village of northern Italy have 'n '. th'e hl'erarchv well be true in the case of the take 'my place. But you have to understand today's youth?", , . found out first hand the power I statements' by J ; . I , g e t into"it. It has to be in your of the Catholic press. . eccIeSlas ' t'Ica I abortIOn, contovel'sv . in Three Converts . Ov'er 800. gl'rls accepted thel'r and in b ureaucratlc I .. and the con'heart and soul. and not just lobbying and' have failed to . troversy . over fid' to' priv'lj\t,: .. , the books:" . Miss McLaughlin's interest in marriage' proposals' after tl1ey understand that if they really schools~the only two example.... 'religious edu~ation. began when advertised in it nationally .circu. want to influence public poli.cy· cited ~y ~a~her E:~um to il1~s.. Real Understanding '. she was an eighth grader at' St'lated Catholic magazine, ' . on matters· involving moral val· trate hiS baSIC t~eSls. . ,I . A heart conditiqn. and failing RiChard's parochial school. "We are healthy, robust boys, ues, "they' must-inform.' educate· Whatever of that, I certainly healthforc'ed 'her to discontinue "'About seven' of us were .privi· and ,we have nice ,houses' with and help organize ,the people," , hope it isn't. truel in the c.ase lof college after' a year and 'a half leg~d: to teach religion' to 'public all the comforts,'" said. 'the 12 Father. Blum a dozen. other, I €!q~all, ,Jmpqr- at ..St, 'Joseph's, ':so 'she !!ettled . school c~i1dren. Every day after bachelors, ranging. in age frOm ':Congress," says, "list,ens to the petitions of ta,nt ,publ1.c policly Iss4es -,' thoe . into a job as de Duty marshal and school," she' explail)ed, "we pre- 25 to 40, Tha! simple appe,al got~ continued to pursue h;r intense pare d' ih'e c h'ld grassroots level-informed, edu- war In VIe t nam, race. ~eI.atJ~~s;. I ren. f or th' elr f'~rs t . 835 responses. ' cated arid inspired by group the farm labor prqblem, ~nflatlon" interestiJi the religiqus, .. educa.. Holy Communion and CortfirmaThe number of responses is tion, Wherr I entered S.t. Maria larger than the population of the leaders. ,Congress is indeed more unel'l)~I.?yment,. th~', ~nvlron~e,n- t i o n . · attuned to the ,voices of the peo,- tal ,cr.ISIS, to cite t~b~t .a .few. e,x$he hopes 'to .return . to college . Garetti High.' School, . 'I stayed entire village-which is 700 and '.. I, when' her health improves, 'qut with the CCD program. It wq,rk_ed dwindling. ",We're. afraid that in Pie than to statt>"'ents issued by'. am. pies. _.. she stresses the im- . we II ,or f us' th en, b u t t 0 d ay ' s c h'l b· h " I . doubt that Gatholics really meanwhife " ,1.a few years our town will bp de. IS ops. .. ; ' portanc~ .of sectitar" and religious " Similarlv, he points out in a expect the bishop,s to take the dren are different." , , ~ serle-d," the farmers said. ,"This J education. '. slightly different context, "there initiative in urging and helpi~g It was in her sophomore year' year there wasn't one marriag':l is more to the democratic proc- them to organize I grassroots in"Today'sadolescents,don't la('k that she decid~d to concentrate and not even a baptism in our. esses than, buttonholing law- terest' groups .ce~tered arourtd the knowledge that God exists all her efforts to organize a CCD 'parish--only funerals." . makers and gen~rating a ·bl'iz- issues of ntis kind.. .... but they do 'lack an understand·' program in' her'own 'parish. : The shrinking population ,pat. zard of pulpit-inspired letters to . ing 'of Him that com~s through , "In the' years since then, three tern is common in ~mall coun. religious education. A real un- neighborhood children who ac-. try towns because of a shortage legislators." Sees ~blg'iJlty Father Blum is not 'arguing in It ·tI~ ! t " . "f derstand'ing comes," 'she 'added,' companied their friends to Miss of ·women. Unwilling to do the s favor of a Catholic power-bloc: ,gqteh t wthl oUC' tShaYI~ng: n? when you have to answer to God Mc.Laughlin's' religion class have hard and unprofitable work asI .O.ICS w!o for 'what you have accomplished To the con'trary, he strongly course, a ose,.a sociated with living off the land, favors a completely inter-faith ~ee the need for °rgamzmg .suqh with your ife. ., many village girls are moving to ., . " m,terest 'groups;' whether :alo'1g "W . h . , . . Adequate Ho~sing, the cl'tl·es. non-sectanan approach to pub· t .' tl C th I' ; . t f ' . ,e teac our. children' to . policy . . ' " y , a I OIC f or 10 er-con k now, '1' . G0 d b u t' G' oa . I 0.' f C· ' '. Bu t thOlOgs are I00 k'109 up smce . ,hc Issues an d says t hat s . nc I'r d h esI oye an d serve .on'feren~e·. any attempt on the part of Cath- s~ona mes,~xpeT' an .ave;a h~w many of usknqw,' rove and' the magazine appeal. CHICAGO (NC)-The Chicago Coincidentally, most of the 835 olic citizens "to ~egtegate th~m- nght (0 expect th~!: the bishops serve 'each other? How m~ny - I C' th I' . I't' , w1ll . encourage their efforts or, Conference on' Religion and Race . Ih -, d h d se vebs as ,a ? I~S 10 po Idlcs IS in any eyent, that! they will. not ' '"""""",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"""""'' '. is urging churches and 'syna- .. glr s w 0 an!lwere. tea are to . e un-Amencan, un- emo· ge t '10 t h' .1' , : gog to Ie a'd pu bl'c ";' . . elr h air or 10 any way t' d' '. " ~ t th .t h' ,. h' . .' I offl'cl'als' . ,agen _ .. from poor sections of southern _ cratlc, un-Chnstlan and to ren- . t 't . t f I, h' h t'ih ' 0 olng 'Jus . a w en, e says cies and citizens in. aCtion to end Sicily; Calabria and Puglia where der themselves in.capable of. inry 0 ~n er ere. W:lt,W a e,Y' that "if. the bis,ho,ps . want .to the women outnumber the men are domg B t th t s other inadequate: housing, . '. U I..~ .' an : influence". pUblic policy," they ,"The critical human need for ":""many of whom have moved to . f1uencing local and national policies, an.d 6f sha,ping' 'the future matter. '. . , : I " . " :,', must do so and so. Question: Is tie industrial north.. Onc,e agam.,·. th~"en, I .f 10 d a, it the . Church in the .'broadest adequate housin.g is a.cknowl-, cutural development. of thein edged by' all; responsibility. for nation. IUs Catholic, ghettoism." cert.a 10 am b Igm,tYiI or... lack . 0" f sense,.of, the, t~rin? ltd F h meeting' that need must be ·ac-., .. ,Lack of Clarity . 'C an .an con~lst~ncy 10 at ~r . .It 'occurs to 'me that it's rather 'cepted by all sectors of society, ' . d gmen, : t .Blum a waste of time to get In· th" . IS wn' t er' s. JU ' hs overall d h argl;lIJnent. k' . h On th.e., . .. .. .bogged both' pu·.bll·c and prl'vate'," ,the_ ..,.. one an, e ta €.S ' t e . very down 10 an argument 'about · , h ... Fat er Blums basIc. theSIS .IS . firm positi<m' that "in our. de. ". . .conference declared)n a'position , substantially 'correct In fact I . ' . " strategy until we have come to 'stateirient. . , . ' ." .'. ' . mocracy the peop.le are' kmg,!' , . k' -d f' . ' .. h . couldn't· agree With hun more . 1 ' . . I some 10 0 a ~on~ensus· Wit "None dare eva'de ~his obliga. , 'h" . f" but, on the. other hand, he seems., regard to this most basic qties. , . tion ..by 'alleging that initiative' w e~. he s,~ys, by' ,way, osu.~. to be sayingtr at this new king . tion." manz~nghIs pOSitIOn, ..that, 10, • is so apathetic and so .immature '. .. . rests ·elsewhere. It is ~qually ob/o~~ mterest-group' den:oc~acy, that he can't pos~ibly-:mobiiize . In closmg, let me rep~at that 'I vious," the· conference 'added, citizens with a co~m(m mterest an effective politic~1 action pro'- Ii~ed FatherBlum'sa~lcle very "that· ple'cemeal, localized prowill exert no influence ..on pUb·gra~ unless his reI-ious leaderk. much and fully agree with what' grams are inadequate to. meet Iic policy, un,less they..organize urge him' to' do so,llg . : ' ,I \t~ke to be its ba~ic 'proposition, this problem in a metropolitan . , , at the grassroots level.'! . : .. ' . . . . I. namely, ' that. pastoral> letters, community of' 7Yz million per- ~'1I1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111!:: On the other hand, ,I find a ' For. Jl1Y . own P~lt, I ~mcerel~. chancery.inspired· sermons, and sons, certain amQiguity or, if you will, ,ho~e that the peorle 'are reall,Yecclesiasticallobbyihg are no a lack of c1ar'ity and consistency no~ ~ll that. depe~?€~nt on.t~eI~. substitl!te fot organized grassCONSTRUCTION CORP•. in Father Blum's repeat~d' insis- rehglOus leaders I'" the.. political: 'ro'ots po~itical 'action: 'My only"": ~IA tence that it's the oishops who order: If· they arl , thiS wou~q purpose in raising certain ques~ must take the '. leadership in seem. to suggest th1t, we ~re still . tions and expressing certain' misONE STOP urging and helping laymen to w.o~k~~g fro~ a pn~Vatlcan, giving's' fibout the manner in SHOPPING CENTER, interest definition, of the IChu.~ch.. B~; which' Father Blum develops organize ,"Catholic" '., that I~ mean that w maY. still be . this' proposition is to ,keep the groups. . .• Television '.' Grocery - He laments the .faCt' for ex- equatmg the Chl,ll"ch With the. discussion ,going and hopefully • Appliances • Furniture § 22, WILLIAM STREET§ , h' r h '1 . I, . ."., , ample, that. "until recent: years Ie arc, y, l,' ' to' entice him into writing an104 Alien St.,' New Bedford . ~ Fairhaven Tel. 994-7321 ~ there were virtually no locai' or' It strikes me, indctentally; that other article· or series of articles § .Across from the library § 997.9354' . state' Catholic interest groups•. Fath~r BIU~ hiJ:tlSelf i:o~es CIOS~ 'on the same subject.
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