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Friday, April 8, 1994
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Pope coming.to U.S. in October NEW YORK (CNS) - Pope John Paul II will come to the United States Oct. 20 and address the General Assembly of the United Nations the following day. Archbishop Renato R. Martino, Vatican nuncio to the UN, said the pope would speak about the family in connection with the current UN observance ofthe International
CCA kickoff to start with Cathedral Mass
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A WOMAN holds a flower-decorated cross during a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II during his 1992 trip to Angola in southwest Africa. The pontiff will bring insights and concerns gathered during his 10 pastoral trips to the African continent to the Synod of Bishops for Africa, to take place April 10 to May 8 at the Vatican.
African.church synod tak'es Vatican spotlight VATICAN ClTy'(CNS)- After more than five years of preparation, a special Synod of Bishops for Africa will bring the experience and concerns of the Catholic Church in Africa to center stage at the Vatican.. Helping Christian values permeate Africa and African values to permeate the Catholic Church on the continent will be a central topic of the April IO-May 8 gathering. In his 10 pastoral trips to the continent, during which he has visited 39 of its 52 nations, and his meetings with African bishops and diplomats, the pope has made it clear that the church is concerned for the entire continent. A map of Africa shows challenges for spiritual leaders: from the rise of democracy in South Africa to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in North Africa; and from ethnic w.arfare in the East African country of Burundi to the continuing efforts to bring real peace to Angola and Liberia on Africa's western shores.
"I see the synod as a call. to the soul of Africa, reminding us of the glory days of ancient African Christianity," said Bishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana's Nzeki of Nak,uru, Kenya. Inculturation is a necessary step, he said. "It is a matter ofjustice for whole peoples to re-appropriate their own cultural identity and dignity." Pope John Paul, in a recent Angelus address, said that Africans do not risk a kind of Christian colonialism, because "Christianity has an intrinsic universality that makes it able to be adapted to the mentality and character of each culture, accepting true values, purifying them and bringing them to fruition." , The bishops ofSouthern Africa, in a pre-synod statement, said that in order to appropriate positive elements of African culture and to purify others, the church must engage in a serious study of traditional African religion. Turn to Page Seven
For the first time in its 53-yearold history, the diocesan Catholic Charities Appeal will begin with a concelebrated Mass at which Bishop Sean O'Malley will preside and give the homily. To be offered at St. Mary's Ca. thedral at 7 p.m. April 13, the Mass will be followed by an address by John P. Urban, a member of Christ the King parish, Mashpee, and 1994 lay chairman for the ,AppeaL,., His comments will stress the importance of th'e Appeal a. .'ft1e support it gives to diocesan agencies serving the needy. The Special Gifts phase of the Appeal will take place April 18 to 30, during which time area professional, fraternal, business and industrial organizations will be approached for assistance. The parish phase of the campaign will begin Sunday, May I, when over 20,000 volUnteers will contact members of the 112 diocesan parishes for their contributions. That phase will conclude May 25. The theme for the 1994 Appeal, "God Calls Us to Sacrifice and Generosity," will be seen on posters soon to appl:ar on churches and buildings housing diocesan agencies. Further information ~n the Appeal is available at its headquarters, 410 Highland Avenue, Fall River, tel. 676-8943, 676-3200.
JOHN P. URBAN
Year of the family and about the' ity of the pope addressing the 1994 approaching 1995 commemoration General Assembly was discussed of the 50th anniversary of the UN. when UN Secretary General BouPope John Paul will'also partic- tros Boutros-Ghali met with the ipate in other activities in New pope in April 1993. York, Newark, N.J., and BaltiThe archbishop said that Pope more before returning to Rome John Paul as a head of state did Oct. 23, the archbishop said, adding not require a formal invitation to that the schedule had not yet been speak at the United Nations. Heads completed in detail. of state, he said, need only make Archbishop Martino discussed known their wish to address the the trip after Cardinal john J. General Assembly, and a time is . O'Connor of New York confirmed arranged. at a press conference earlier the He added that Boutros-Ghali same day that unofficial reports of and .his predecessor, Javier Perez an impending papal visit were cor- de Cuellar, had repeatedly made rect. known their desire for a papal The cardinal said the only event visit. in the pope's visit to the New York In Washington, Msgr. Francis archdiocese that was already defiJ. Maniscalco. press spokesman nitely determined was a meeting for the National Conference of with youth. He said this was being Catholic Bishops, said March 30, arranged at the specific request of "Beyond New York and the UN, the pope. it's still a little early to confirm The cardinal's press conference anything." was held just before the Holy While Archbishop Martino and Cardinal O'Connor may feel the Week Chrism Mass, which was also a commemoration of the car-' pope's UN and New York plans dinal's 10th anniversary as archbiare far enough advanced to' talk shop of New York. about them, "it's still a lit.tle early to speculate on any other part of Reporters were invited to get his the schedule," he said. reflection on the anniversary but Pope John Paul previously adthe first question was about rumors of a papal visit. dressed the UN General Assembly on Oct. 2, 1979, during his firsttrip Cardinal O'Connor replied that while recently in Rome he had to the United States after his election to the papacy. learned the visit would occur about Oct. 20, and was primarily for the In that speech, he dealt with purpose of addressing the United issues of peace, justice and human rights. Nations, but that he did not have full details of the schedule. The first pope to address the United Nations was Pope Paul VI New sessions of the UN General in October 1965. It was there he Assembly begin each September, made his often-quoted plea: "No with the opening weeks given to more war! War never again." general debate. The pope's address It was during his pontificate would come after the debate period, that the Vatican's Permanent ObArchbishop Martino said. server Mission to the United NaArchbishop Martino told Cathtions was established, in 1964. olic News Service that the possibil-
Ethics of health care reform is topic· By Marcie Hickey Values, as well as economics, must guide reform of the nation's health care system, said speakers at the fifth annual symposium on medical ethics sponsored by the ethics committee of Saint Anne's Hospital, Fall River. "Health care is a ministry, not a business," and a just health care reform must reflect that principle by providing universal coverage, said Daughter of Charity Sister Bernice Coriel, who chairs the Catholic Health Association's Leadership Task Force on National Health Policy Reform. Health care has moved into the forefront of national concern, not because of outrage over the fact that 15 percent of Americans have no health insurance but because of "anxiety in the middle class" over the rising costs of medical care,
said Marc J. Roberts, PhD, professor of political economy and health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health. A reformed system, recognizing that "every person is sacred," must "tie the fate of the poor to that of the average working American" and insist on "continuous coverage whether you have a job or not, whether you're rich or poor, sick or ~ealthy," said Sister Coriel, also senior vice president of Systems Integration, the Daughters of Charity National Health System, in St. Louis. Dr. Roberts, author with Alexandra Clyde of Your Money or Your Life: The Healthcare Crisis Explained. spoke on that topic at the conference, and Sister Coriel on "Health Care Reform-Can It Be Ethical?" Turn to Page 13