04.24.92

Page 1

t,

J'

t

,.,

,

UC:~~~ ~~~~~ @~©<S§~~~ Nf!~J%[Pgdp~[~

fO~ ~O~JrM~A~i MASS.ACHU~~IT~" CAPE COD & THE ~SLANDS VOL. 36, NO. 17

Friday, April 24, 1992

F ALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachuse~ts'Largest W~ekly •

.,

511 Per Year

Chureh leaders deplore execution I

CHARITIES APPEAL leaders: from left, Charles Rozak, lay chairman; Msgr. Henry T. Munroe, diocesan administrator; Father Daniel L. Freitas, Appeal director. (Hickey photo)

51st Appeal underway The 51 st annual Catholic Chari- that the work of the Diocesan Pro,ties Appeal was launched Wed- 'Life Apostolate be brought to our nesday evening with a gathering at attention this evening as we launch Bishop Connolly High School,Fall our 51 st Catholic Charities Appea!. River; ofclergy, religious and laity " The theme' of this' year's Appeal, from all areas of the diocese. ~'Be 'as generous as God has been On the slate of speakers were . to you," is a poignant reminder Diocesan Administrator Msgr. that everything we have, especially Henry T. Munroe; Appeal Direc- the precious gift of life, is given by tor Father Daniel L. Freitas; God himself. How tragic it is when Charles T. Rozak, lay chairman of so many who have received this the Appeal; and Marian Desrosi- gift of life try to deny it to the ers ofthe Diocesan Pro-Life Apos- innocent unborn; and how joyful tolate, one of the organizations it is when committed people of all benefiting from the Appeal. religions raise their voices in defense of the unborn. Mission of Evangelization _"Ail of us here this evening are In his address, Msgr. Munroe _celebrating the great festival ,of summarized achievements of last Easter. It is the feast of life during year's Appeal and outlined this which we recall the suffering, death year's needs, stressing the Appeal's and resurrection of, the Lord of "mission of evangelization." Life. His death destroyed the power Crediting his predecessors, ofsin and restored us all to new life Bishop James E. Cassidy, 'who in Him. I am sure that each of us began the Appeal 5 f years ago; has reflected' on the beauty of the Bishop James L. Connolly; and Church's liturgical rites during now-Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin, these days. In many of our parish Msgr. Munroe said, "In 1992, it is churches throughout the diocese paramount that the, traditions of these riteshave been celebrated in the past and the needs of the pres- the presence of catechumens and ent be met. As the people of God in candidates who entered into full the diocese of Fall River await the communion with the Holy Cathoappointment of a new bishop, we 150 d I f a u ts rom must fulfill the role to which we lic Church. Nearly over a'dozen of our parishes rehave been called - to evangelize ceived the sacraments of initiation by deed, ministry,' and service to at the Easter Vigil this year. our brothers and sisters." -, "This great sign ofthe:vitality of Recognizing his fellow meeting the faith in our own diocese is ,speakers, Msgr. Munroe noted based on the p'rayer and work of that, "I take special note of those, many people. Priests, catechists, here on the stage this evening: sponsors,' godparents, and the Father Daniel L. Freitas, Dioce- 'faithful Catholic in the pew all san Director of the Appeal, arid the other priest-area directors who work- together to make the mesh collaborate with him in this vital sage of the Gospel known to t ose who have not yet heard about-the work. I greet Mr. Charles Rozak, Lord Jesus. Because God has been who serves as the 1992 Lay Chairman of the Appeal, and his lovely generous in giving the gift of faith wife. Likewise, I thank Mrs. Marian Desrosiers,' a member of our Diocesan Pro-Life Committee, for her inspiring words regarding the apostolate for life which is assisted through the Charities Appeal."It' is particularly, appropriate

to us - priests, deacons, religious, and laity ~ we are able to share generously the faith with others; Because of this generous giving, there is an increase in faith, both for the one who gives arid for the' one who receives. . "F 0'[ over 50 years, the work of the Catholic Charities Appeal has provided much of the financial support for the apostolic endeavors of the dioce~ of Fall River. In a very real sense, this cooperative effort is evangelization. It provides the means which helps fund our diocesan offices and ministries. Each year, under the direc'tion of dedicated parish priests, thousands of parish-based volunteers give their time and effort to canvass the entire diocese on Catholic Charities Appeal Sunday and to make the follow-up calls. Many here this . evening have been an important this mission, and I takepart this ofopportunity to thank you and all our volunteers for assisting the diocesan family in this mission of evangelization. Likewise, I express my thanks to those many faithful contributors who each year respond with a spirit of sacrifice and compassion to our, Appeal. "The 1991 Catholic Charities Appeal achieved a record net amount of $2,246,676.38. This r~presents 'an increase of over $70,000 or 3.3 percent over the previous year. Each dollar collected was allocated to various Diocesan institutions, offices and apostolates. Not only was the total sum of the Appeal di~bursed, but, indeed, a small deficit was incurred once again this past year. Let me briefly review just how the funds of our 1991 Catholic Charities Appeal were aIlocated. "The greatest portion of the proceeds of the annual Appeal went, as it customarily does, to maintain the operational programs Turn to Page 10

WASHINGTON (CNS)..L The execution of convicted killer Robert Alton Harris in California shortly before daw~ April21 :e~ded a series of last-mmute repneves and started what several rel,igious and human rights leaders contend will be an escalation of execJtions. Harris' death made California the third state this year to r~sume executions after decades without them. Executions in Del~ware March 14 and Arizona ,April 6 were the first for those states in 45 -and 29 years, respectively. T,he last California execution was 25 years ago. II ' Mother Teresa and bishops from the San Francisco and Los Angeles archdioceses and . the dioceses of . • I San Jose and San Bernardmo were among -those urging Gov~ Pete Wilson to commute Harri~' sentence to life imprisonment. I "You will set our state on 'one of ,two -paths which have no visible end: the path of I).uman~ lawmaking 'and law enforcement or the .. path of fear anq, reV,enge," wrote San Jose Bishop Pierre DuMaine in an April 9 letter. ! "Your choice will reach far be- yond your personal conscierice and political leadership," Bishdp DuMaine said. "It will set the Citizens of California on a path thh will follow long after you andl I and Robert Alton Harris are dead." In the hours before Hartis was killed, the Supreme Court r~jected folir stays of execution granted by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court.bf Appeals. Th(;: last appeal came ~hortly before 4 a.m. when Harris was already strapped into a chair in the gas chamber at San Quentin prison. The final appeals on Harris' behalf contended that execution in

I.--..

the gas chamber constituted cruel and ~nusual punishment prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court rejected that appeal, with the dissent of justices Harry A. Blackmun and John Paul Stevens. In his dissent, Stevens agreed execution by lethal gas is extremely and unnecessarily .painful, -and cited eyewitness accounts of the execution April 6 in Arizona's gas chamber. Donald Eugene Harding took 10 minutes and 31 seconds to die after lethal fumes we're released in Arizona's gas chamber, Stevens noted in agreeing that California's execution should yield to further study of the cruelty claim. Harris took 11 minutes to die. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony had'argued that executing Harris would open the "floodgates" with many more executions to follow. Califor'nia has 330 inmates on death row. San-Francisco Archbishop John R.Quinri told Wilson that continuing with the execution would "contribute'to the psychology of violence and disdain for human life which is increasingly such a problem in our society." ,Harris was convicted of killing two teenage boys in order to use their car in a 1978 armed robbery. In the ensuing 14 years he was given reprieves for e~ch of five execution dates. In 1990 he came within 12 hours of being killed before the Supreme Court granted an indefinite stay of execution. That reprieve let stand 'a federai appeals court ruling that allowed time for further study ~f Harris' Turn to Page Eight

-------~---------------­

CHARITY BENEFIT WINNERS: from left, Sister Rita Pelletier, SSJ, spiritual airector, and Mary Vigeant, president, of the St. Mary's parish! New Bedford, Women's Guild, accept a check from Carole V;ena, manager of Filene's store at the Silver City Galleria malJ in Taunton. The Guild participated in a Charity ShoppfngDay at the store, earning a $2,500 grand prize for selling the most tickets (734) and another $2,500 for highest attendance at t~e event (427). (Kearns photo)

I I

I

)


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.