diocese of fall river
t eanc 0 VOL. 23, NO. 14
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, APRIL- 5, 1979
20c, $6 Per Year
Iberian Bishops Ask Solidarity
Day of Devotion Smashing Hit
LISBON, !Portugal (NC) The bishops of Portugal said that if democracy is to survive in their country it must strive for solidarity and respect for human dignity. Their view' was made known in a recent pastoral letter. The country has been faced with a series of political and economic crises since 1974 when it went from rightwing dictatorship to democratic socialism. The bishops said Catholic laity must assume greater responsibility in the transformation of society and for the, "better distribution of health." They warned that the freedom gained by the 1974 revolution has not been applied to a sound development of society. To overcome injustice and exploitation and to insure the future of democracy, the bishops suggested Christian solidarity. "The value of democracy, in the eyes of church doctrine, rests with its regard for the rights of man and the dignity and responsibilitY of the human person," added the bishops. As the pastoral letter was read t1troughout the country, another church-related document was issued. This time in defense of the Young Christian Workers Turn to Page Seven
Some 90 percent of diocesan parishes offered a Day of Devotion program to their members 'last Sunday. Many others will hold their programs this Sunday. Reactions of participants were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The most frequently heard comment was "Let's have another one - soon." Many parishioners praised the well-planned program structure. "We came in as individuals and we left feeling like a real family," said one woman in expressing her appreciation of the warmth engendered by discussions and "ice-breaker" activities geared to encouraging a spirit of sharing. Another woman was so moved by her participation in the program at St. Mary's Church, Fairhaven, that she wrote a glowing letter of appreciation to Bishop Cronin. "Love caring and sharing were all very present," she said. "I left feeling an' inner glow of strength and peace with God and myself." Many parishes offered children's programs concurrently with the adult schedule and this was recommended as a means Turn to Page Three
Catholic Schools F'irst at Fair , Top honors in the 18th annual Massachusetts Region III Science Fair held last weekend went to two Catholic school students. John F. Brady of Coyle-Cassidy High School, Taunton, won first place in the senior division for a project on blood circulation. Kristen Cardoza of Taunton Catholic Middle School took the junior division first place with her study on "The Nighttime World." The Taunton students won scholarship grants of $100 and $50 respectively. Other Catholic school students receiving first place awards in their categories included Paul Beaudoin, St. Anne's, Fall River, "Radar;" Irene Cesolini, St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet, "AMaze-ing Mice;~' and Kim CarTurn to Page Seven
THIS SCENE was enacted throughout the diocese last Sunday as thousands participated in parish Days of Devotion. At St. Francis of Assisi Church, New Bedford, Mrs. Barbara Souza and Mrs. Anita Belliveau register Mrs. Rosalind Rogers as Rudolph Caruso, day <:hairman, looks on. (Rosa Photo)
38th CCA Kickoff Set A kickoff meeting for the 38th annual Cathot'ic Charities Appeal of the Fall River diocese will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 at Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River. Bishop Daniel A. Cronin will be keynote speaker and' Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, appeal director, will be master of ceremonies for a program which will underline the importance of the annual fundraising drive to the extensive social service and
educational undertakings of the diocese. More than 900 priests, religious and laypersons representing diocesan parishes and agencies will attend the kickoff, which will also be addressed by Melvin B. Gonsalves, Teaticket, lay appeal chairman, and Father Thomas L. Rita, director of St. Vincent's Home, Fall River, who will explain the home's goals. Opening and closing prayers will be offered by Msgr. Luiz
G. Mendonca, vicar general, and Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, diocesan chancellor. The national anthem and national hymn will be led by Mrs. Albert Petit and Kenneth Leger respectively, accompanied by Henriette Roy. The Special Gift phase of the appeal will continue from April 23 through May 5. The parish phase will be !held from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 6, when 18,500 volunteer solicitors' will visit the 330,000 Catholic homes . of the diocese.
Summer Congress Plans Already Afoot Summer, with beach days, cookouts and vacations,' may seem far away. So may the 30th New: ,England Congress of Religious Education, to be held the weekend of Aug. 17 on the lovely campus of the University of New Hampshire at Durham. ,But that congress is a rightnow reality for the Diocesan ,Department of Education,
where Father Michel Methot and Sister Doreen Donegan are responsible for the immensely detailed job of preparing its complex program booklet for the printer. Father Methot began, he ruefully admits, by setting an optimistic mid-March deadline for the other New England dioceses to get their program material to him. But the deadline was unani-
mously missed, so now it's a matter of keeping telephone circuits and mailmen busy getting everyone on line. ' Once received, a chaotic collection of information on workshops, seminars, entertainment, exhibits and liturgies will be shepherded through the printing process and translated into an orderly guidebook for the thouTurn to Page Seven
Sister Laurita Leading Meet'ing Sister Mary Laurita, PBVM, assistant superintendent of schools for the Fall River diocese and New England representative for the Supervision, Personnel and Curriculum Commission of the National Catholic Educational Association is conducting a meeting of the New England unit of the commission at Mont Marie Center, Holyoke. At the meeting, which is considering the implications of evangelization for education, Father James C. O'Brien, SJ, acting principal' of Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River, is speaking on "Implications of Evangelization for the 80's." He will also celebrate the Eucharist for the meeting v which began yesterday aild closes today. Sister Claire Fitzgerald, Provincial of the School Sisters of Turn to Page Seven