47th Catholic Charities Appeal opens CCA Statement of 1987 Revenues and Expenditures, page 2. On Wednesday evening at Fall River's Bishop Connolly High School, over 800 priests, religious and laity from every corner of southeastern Massachusetts heard Bishop Daniel A. Cronin speak at the kickoff meeting launching the 47th annual Catholic Charities Appeal of the Fall River diocese. Bishop Cronin's address follows: Thank you so much for your presence here tonight.
VOL. 32, NO. 16
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It is always heartwarming to see so many representatives - friends really, many well known to me; others - new friends - from every corner of the Diocese. Your presence in such large numbers is a source of great hope to me personally, as Bishop, that success will come once again this year to the Catholic Charities Appeal here in the Diocese. In fact, hope is at the heart of this beautiful Easter season which we continue to celebrate, now in its second week. Easter is a season
of hope, of renewed hope in the Risen Savior who promised us that whoever believes in Him, though he or she should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in Him will never die. (John II :26) This is the promise of our Divine Lord and Savior. His own glorious Resurrection at Easter is the source of the great hope to which we are called. And yet, this hope is not simply to remain with us individually. At the Easter liturgies, we renewed our baptismal prom-
F ALL RIVER, MASS.
Friday, April 15, 1988
ises when we rededicated our lives to Christ. An important component of our commitment is to make others aware of Christ's presence and love in their lives. We are to spread the Gospel message of hope to all. This year we have chosen Hope as the theme of the 1988 Catholic Charities Appeal. Our annual Appeal is so often the "Only Hope of Many People." . Because of the great hope that we have as believing Christians, through the Holy Spirit who guides
our lives, we must bring renewed hope to those among us who, for various reasons, have lost hope, or whose hope for the future is threatened because of the circumstances in which they find themselves. As Christians, we are challenged to help one another tangibly - to translate our faith commitment into action. We may well be the only hope of many people this very year. This is why each Appeal is so crucial. This is why our 1988 Catholic Charities Appeal is so imporTurn to Page Six
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Draft pastoral decries "sin of sexism" Altar girls, women deacons?
NC photo
Some of the 16,000 NCEA conventioneers
Educators examine state of their art· NEW YORK (NC) -'- The 85th annual National Catholic Educational Association convention examined the financial health of Catholic schools, the emotional health of their most vulnerable students, and the moral health of the society they serve. Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York, U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett, New York Mayor Edward Koch and CBS News broadcaster Charles Osgood addressed the convention on moral and church-state issues. The theme
of the April 4-7 New York gathering was "Catholic Education: Gift to the Nation." Some 42 educators from the Fall River diocese attended the NECA parley. Headed by Father Richard W. Beaulieu, director of the Diocesan Department of Education, they were representative of the Catholic Education Center, pastors, parish directors of religious education, principals and teachers. Turn to page fifteen
With NC News reports and U.S. Catholic Conference release As part of a plea to end "the sin of sexism" in the church, the first published draft of the U.S. bishops' pastoral letter on women calls for a change in church laws which now exclude girls and women as altar servers. The 1M-page document, released April 12, says women should participate fully in all liturgical ministries and church leadership positions that do not require priestly ordination. It also asks that a full study of the possibility of ordaining women as deacons in the Catholic Church "be undertaken and brought to completion soon." The draft document was released by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington after copies of it were mailed to all the bishops in early April. The pastoral's drafting committee, headed by Bishop Joseph L. Imesch of Joliet, Ill., has also asked the bishops to conduct consultations within their dioceses in
1988 and forward the results to the committee. Bishop Imesch, in a brief statement released with the draft, urged that the draft be read "in its entirety" to avoid forming "misleading conclusions" about what it says. He said the committee heard many different concerns from women during its consultations and said the draft reflects "not all, but a large number" of those concerns. "We feel th'at this letter responds to their concerns while remaining faithful to the traditions of our church," he said. Among many comments the draft quotes from reports on consultations with diocesan and national women's organizations, campus ministry g.roups and military bases is a statement from the campus ministry at Stonehill College, North Easton: "Both male and female members of the church must learn to work together for the common good. We will get nowhere if we do not base... our decisions, discus-
sions, etc. on mutual love and respect for all people." The bishops will have their first discussion of the draft, entitled "Partners in the Mystery of Redemption, A Pastoral Response to Women's Concerns for Church and Society," at their plenary assembly in Collegevi1le, Minn., June 24-27. The document has already been the subject of one of the most farreaching consultations in the history of the U.S. Catholic Church in the United States. "Our first responsibility throughout these years of research and writing has been to listen to as many women as possible, to hear them speaking from the reality of their own experience," Bishop Imesch stated. "What has become clear is that all women have concerns.... They may strive to preserve traditional values; they may promote change; their immediate and long-range objectives may diverge, but all agree that they want to be heard, taken seriously, and Turn to Page Eight
- Maternity leave, job protection and other policies should protect tbe special role of women as cbildbearers and mothers. - Education is needed to promote male responsibility in marriage and family relation~ ships and to halt tbe violence and sexual exploitation that women suffer.