t e8nC 0 VOL. 30, NO. 16
•
Friday, April 18, 1986
FALL RIVER, MASS.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
•
$8 Per Year
45th Appeal kicks off Bishop Daniel A. Cronin was keynote speaker at the kickoff meeting launching the 45th annual Catholic Charities Appeal of the Fall River diocese. Drawing over 800 priests, religious and laity from all parts of the diocese, it was held at Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River. The bishop's address follows: "I am truly delighted to be here with you this evening to celebrate the kickoff of our 1986 Catholic Charities Appeal here in the Diocese of Fall River. We mark the 45th annual Appeal this year, and I note with pride that it is my pleasure and privilege as bishop of this wonderful diocese to be presiding at my 16th kickoff observance. "It is the source of great encouragement to see priests, religious and lay men and women from all corners of the diocese gathered here tonight. I am especially heartened to observe that many familiar faces are sprinkled throughout the auditorium, together with eager new face. "Your presence _occasions true optimism in my heart as we begin our annual fund-raising endeavor, for it speaks eloquently of your willingness to cooperate in this vital undertaking. Thank you for coming! "I have prepared a letter to be read at all the Masses in our parishes on the Sunday preceding Catholic Charities Appeal Sunday. You will be hearing that message on April 27th, the Fifth Sunday of this beautiful Easter season. "There is a very meaningful message in the Gospel assigned for our meditation on that occasion, a passage from the Gospel of St. John, drawn from the discourse of
Our Lord on Holy Thursday, an Charities Appeal a significant extraordinary final instruction opportunity to make tangible our which Jesus gave to His disciples desire and intent to fulfill the Lord's during the Last Supper in the new commandment. Cenacle and the peaceful stroll "For if we devote our energy and which our Savior and the Apostles our time, our cooperation and, made across the Valley of Cedron yes, our material resources, to the to the Garden of Olives at Geth- 1986 Catholic Charities Appeal, semane. we will be truly showing our con"Some oDservers have described cern and our love for those who the Lord's remarks to His beloved stand in need of the extraordinary disciples on that evening as His variety of services which are pro'last will and testament.' vided through agencies, institutions "Allow me to quote from the and apostolates which are mainGospel passage; here are the Lord's tained by the diocese of Fall River. words: Thus can we be truly known and My children, I am not to be recognized as disciples. with you much longer.! give "I suggest that we may all find a you a new commandment; source of spiritual energy to fuel Love one another. Such as our vigorous endeavors in this my love has been for you, so . coming Appeal by devoting a momust your love be for each ment's quiet meditation to this other. This is how all will sublime message, proclaimed by know you for my disciples: our beloved Savior on the very eve your love for one another. of His passion and death. "There it is, simply put: the "I consider it important to promark of a true disciple is the love which he or she shows to others. pose some spiritual motivation for And the quality oftliat love derives our activities in connection with its standard from the example of the Catholic Charities Appeal, and sacrificial love provided by Jesus, I endeavor each year at this gatherHimself. '...such as my love has ing to suggest some theme which been for you, ...so your love must will make it apparent to all that be for each other. '" And although this is not simply a civic duty or a it is gently stated, more an invita- social custom.. tion or an exhortation than a "Our Catholic social service mandate, this is nonetheless the agencies, our institutions for the new commandment enjoined upon care of children and for the counus by the Lord. seling of troubled souls, our minis"When we consider our purpose try to those who are in hospitals, in gathering here this evening; I our initiatives for the education of am sure that you can readily apply youth and for the Christian formathis beautiful and moving message tion of adults, our programs for of our Lord to our lives as disci- troubled families and for those ples. Called and invited to mani- beset by so many anxieties and fest a Christ-like love for others as care~ust be special. the hallmark of our personal spirTurn to Page Six itual lives, we find in the Catholic
Pope anguished by crisis
IN NEARLY-COMPLETED New Notre Dame Church, Fall River, parish staff member Roland Masse watches as workers install the only stained-glass window to survive 1982 fire that destroyed the old Notre Dame, a Fall River landmark for 76 years. The 28-foot window was made in Paris. (Torchia photo)
VATICAN CITY (NC) --'A day after the United States bombed several military and civilian sites in Libya, Pope John Paul II expressed "anguish and intense worry" over the fighting. 'Government leaders should have !'the necessary wisdom and magnanimity, in such a crucial moment, to know and have recourse to the means of a just understanding among nations," he said April 16. In the early morning of April 15, U.S. Navy and Air Force planes bombed the major Libyan cities of 'Tripoli and Benghazi and several military sites. News reports from Libya said that at least 70 people were killed, many of them civilians, and that civilian population centers were damaged heavily. The reports said that among the dead was the 15-month-old adopted daughter of Libya's leader, Col. Moammar Khadafy, and that two
pre-school age sons of Khadafy had been injured. President Reagan said the bombing was in retaliation for Libyansponsored terrorist attacks against civilians and U.S. targets in Europe. The pope spoke during his regular weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square. He did not mention the United States and Libya but criticized "the situation which has been created in the Mediterranean. " In other church-related developments in the crisis, Libyan officials in Rome said April 16 that Franciscan Bishop Giovanni Martinelli had been released after several days of detention, but a priest who works with the bishop in Libya said the report apparently was incorrect. I The statements came a day after the Vatican said it had been in-
formed through diplomatic channels that the bishop had been freed. On April 16, the Vatican said it had no new information on the matter. Bishop Martinelli is head of the Vicariate of Tripoli, Libya, and apostolic administrator of the Vicariate of Benghazi, Libya. Libya's ambassador to Italy, Abdul-Rahman Shalgam, said at a press conference in Rome that Bishop Martinelli had been released April 14. He said the bishop had been detained on a matter still being investigated. He' gave no further details. But an Italian priest, speaking from the bishop's residence in Tripoli, said April 16 that churchmen there had heard nothing from the bishop.. "No one knows where he has Turn to Page Three