SERVING. '.. SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 24, NO. 17
20c, $6 Per Year
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSI?AYj APRIL 24, 1980
Special gifts phase • • In full SWIng Joseph B. McCarty of Taunton, this year's diocesan lay chairman of the Catholic Charities Appeal of the Roman Catholic diocese of Fall River reports today the Special Gift phase, which started Monday, is going well. This phase of the Appeal ends on May 3. The 850 special gift volunteer solicitors are making their contacts to the 4,250 fraiernal, professional, business and industrial groups in the southeastern area' of Massachusetts. The Appeal, now in its thirty-ninth annual campaign for tunds, helps to support the many apostolates of charity, mercy, education, social services, health care facilities and other apostolates of the diocese. APPEAL KICKOFF: At Catholic Charities Appeal kickoff meeting, from left, Joseph Rev. Msgr. Anthony M. B. McCarty, diocesan lay chairman; Bishop Daniel A. Cronin; Mrs. Louise McCarty; Msgr. Gomes, diocesan director of the Anthony M. Gomes, diocesan appeal director. Appeal, stated that the donors in the Special Gift phase realize the funds collected provide , services to all peoples, regardless of color, race and creed. Msgr. Gomes said: "These con-
Funding concerns bishops·
WASHINGTON (NC) - Bud- operate a combined budget of addressed by their Washingtongets and priorities will be the $14.5 million, about $4.5 million based staff. major topics of discussion when of it raised by an assessment on The priorities, as well as a the U.S. bishops gather in Chic- U.S. dioceses. new budget, will not be given ago on Tuesday for a three-day Largely because of inflation, final approval until November. general meeting. Among those the assessment has grown over The proposal for a Puebla-' present will be Bishop Daniel A. the last five years until some style meeting on the ministry of Cronin. bishops- at the fall meeting com-' bishops was developed by an ad The agenda will also include plained that their dioceses could hoc committee of bishops forma vote on a recommendation that afford no more incre~ses. ed after the bishops' Chicago the bishops hold a Puebla-style On the other side, though, general meeting one year ago. meeting in 1982, centering on were bishops who argued that The reference to Puebla rethe pastoral ministry of bishops; the complexity of issues by the calls a 1979 meeting of the bishinitial consideration of a pro- church requires an adequate na- ops of Latin America at Puebla, posed pastoral letter on health tional staff rather than one that Mexico, to discuss pastoral care; a review of the concerns might be reduced through bud-- guidelines for evangelization. of the bishops' Hispanic Affairs get cuts. The U.S. counterpart would adCommittee, and a look at satelThe bishops will consider five dress "the threefold role of the lite systems to augment the "models" for reducing their an- bishop to be priest, prophet and church's communications capa- nual budget. The models include leader." bility. 'cutbacks of from 10 to 20 perThe proposed pastoral letter The meeting will be the bish- cent in the bishops' conferences' on health care will be presentops' last in Chicago. They voted present 365-person staff. ed to the bishops simply to gain last fall to return to meeting The bishops will have the op- their views on its overall aponce a year, in Washington each tion of approving one of the proach. A final draft of the letter is expected to be brought November. . models or of rejecting all. The budget discussion will Closely related to that dis- back to the bishops in Novemconcern funding for the National cussion will be consideration of ber. In its current form, the letter Conference of Catholic Bishops future priorities for NCCBand its, civil" action arm, 'the usee. The" bishops will be ask- discusses the church's traditional U.S. Catholic Conference. ed to define those functions mission of "healing, liberation The .. two agencies currently which can be most appropriately Tum to Page Seven
tributors with great generosity and enthusiasm support the Appeal for its contribution to the community for people in need." The special gift solicitors ,in the five' areas of the diocese, namely, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton, the Attleboros and Cape Cod and the Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, are asked to make their reports to their area headquarters as soon as possible. All solicitations and reports should be filed by the end of the phase, May 2. At last week's Appeal kickoff meeting~ an enthusiastic gathering heard Bishop Daniel A. Cronin appeal for increased giving during this year's campaign. Likening the effort to an Olympic gold medal award, Msgr. Gomes pointed out that the 113 parishes of the diocese, pulling together, can achieve the 1980 goal of $1,250,000.
Church' aids Cuban exiles WASHINGTON (NC) - The has called the archdiocese in Catholic Conference Migra- Costa Rica for approval to begin tion and Refugee Services (NRS) the resettlement program and will resettle most of the 3,500 Cubans could be admitted beCubans from the Peruvian em- fore the end of April. ' The MRS director said the bassy which the United States said it will admit, according to Cubans "are easily resettled" beJohn McCarthy, MRS executive cause many are well-educated and speak English; Also, some director. John McCarthy said he has have families in the United given the U.S. government . States. McCarthy said his office is al"blanket assurance that there will be jobs and homes for these ready resettling Cubans who refugees." come from Spain, Venezuela, McCarthy added that his office Jamaica and Havana so "we'll resettles 8,000 Southeast Asian just further develop our prorefugees each month, "so 3,500 gram." more refugees will be no sweat Offers have already come from at all." St. Petersburg, Fla.; Dallas; and The United States has offered Chicago to help resettle the refuto admit up to 3,500 of the esti- gees, McCarthy said, adding that mated 10,000 Cubans who have not all of the Cuban refugees taken refuge at the Peruvian could be resettled in the Miami Embassy in Havana and are area because of a housing shortseeking political asylum in other age, Miami has a large Cuban countries. population. Costa Rica has agreed. to "In this area of service :serve as a tem~rary staging refugees ...-; the chUrch's response area for the Cubans after they has been fantastic," McCa:rthy leave Havana. McCarthy said. he said.
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