SERVING
t eanc 0 VOL. 22, NO. 16
SOUTHEASTERiN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1978
20c, $6 P路er Year
Pontiff Cautions U.S. C:hurch On Norms for Confessi~on VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul VI has warned the U.S. church against abuses of general absolution and delayed reception of first confession. Recalling earlier statements he had made on the importance of personal confession, Pope Paul said: "And today we add explicitly: We ask for faithful observance of the norms (limit-
RJM Community Marks Centenary
MRS. JAMES W. LEITH, DCCW president, Bishop Cronin and Miss Mary Helen Madden, NCCW executive director, discuss DCCW convention program.
DCCW Members Celebrate Marian Silver Jubilee "It is useless to speak of lib-
erated women or liberated men if family life is not cultivated and allowed to flourish," declared Bishop Daniel A. Cronin to members of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, meeting last Saturday for their 25th annual convention. "If this nation or any other nation does not cultivate a strong family life, the defense budget means nothing," the bishop said, to prolonged applause. "There are more ways to destroy a nation than battleships, atom bombs and missiles," he continued. "Just destroy the family. "Build a nation by having a family, and a crib with a baby in it, and bring that child up in fear and love of God," concluded the bishop. "That's what you've been doing for the past 25 years and that's what lies ahead of you." Bishop Cronin's address came at the end of the council's "Marian Silver Jubilee" convention held at Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River. It climaxed a day during which delegates looked with love on the past and with hope toward the future of their organization. The morning session, with a theme of "Our Marian Silver Journey," featured a panel discussion by past council' presidents, each offering highlights of her term in office, many including comments on how much the experience had meant to her
personally. It was led by Mrs. James W. Leith, New Bedford, present council president. The New Bedford district was host unit for this year's convention. Expressed repeatedly was gratitude to retired Bishop James L. Connolly for his part in organizing and supporting the council. The afternoon convention session included a keynote address on the role of Mary in the life of contemporary women. It was given by Mary Helen MadTurn to Page Five
A year of festivities will close on Sunday, as five bishops and many路 priests, religious and laity gather to honor the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Marking their 100th anniversary of service in the United States, the RJM community will attend a Mass at 11 a.m. in Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, Fall River. Following the Mass, a banquet will be held at the Venus de Milo Restaurant, Swansea. It was at Notre Dame parish, that the French order of teaching nuns began its apostolate in the United States. But the community's service is now varied and widespread and bishops from other diocese will attest that fact as they lead groups to participate in Sunday's testimonial. Principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass of thanksgiving will be Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, bishop of Fall River. Concelebrants will include Most Rev. Louis E. Gelineau, bishop of Providence; Most Rev. Turn to Page Eleven
ing the use of general absolution)." The pope's remarks came as he received in audience the bishops of New York State - Region 2 of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). He told the bishops that the ministry of the confessional is a top priority in the church. "Other works, for lack of time, may have to be postponed or even abandoned, but not the confessional," the pope said. The pope's references to general absolution followed controversy in the United States in the past two years over penitential
services in Memphis, Tenn., where general absolution was given because the Bishop Carroll T. Dozier of Memphis jUdged that there were not enough confessors to accomodate the larg e number of people present. Other American bishops have taken similar steps since then. Wit:lin the last year large penitential services with general absolution were conducted in the ard.diocese of Newark, N.J., and in the Diocese of Lansing, Mich. T:le question of first confession and first Communion has been the subject of discussions between the Vatican and the Turn to Page Five
Parley Lists 33 Workshops Catholic school students will enjoy a two-day holiday Thursday and Friday, May 4 and 5, as teachers and principals meet at Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, for the annual diocesan Catholic Education Convention. Opening and closing Eucharistic liturgies, two major speakers and a wide variety of workshops, .film showings and exhibitions will be on the convention agenda. Father George W. Coler:1an, diocesan director of education, will be principal celebrant and homilist . at an opening liturgy at 9:30 Thursday morning. He will be followed by Dr. Randolph W. Bromery, cl:ancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, whose keynote topic will be "Glimpses of Heaven."
Afternoon workshops, beginning at 1 o'clock, will offer: -- Paper Craft, Raymond Bisaillon, Art Director, New Bedfore. Public Schools -- Which Came First: Curricull.m or Student? Sister Anne Conway, CSJ, Boston School for the Deaf -- How to Update Your Music Proi~ram, Elizabeth Crook, Silver Budett Co. (repeated at 2:15) -- Recent Trends in Educational Tests, Richard Gregg, Scholastic Testing Service -- Geogra~hy and the Social Studies, William Haas, Follett Publishers -- Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Language Arts, Margaret Joyce, Barbara Poe'Sepp, Bridgewater State College -- Chrisian Humanism: Books for the Under-Nine Crowd, Dr. Judith Mitchell, Rhode Island Col.ege -- ImpOrtant Values for Teenagers, Rev. Robert Marcantonio, Ph.:)., Counseling Director, Stonehill College Turn to Page Seven
Bishop Visiting Fl'om Cape Verde
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DESPITE DOWNPOUR, Cape was well represented at CCA kickoff meeting. From left, Frank Miller, Corpus Christi, Sandwich; Isa ~el Rigazio, St. Theresa Mission, Sagamore; Bishop Cronin; Edward S. Machado, diocesan lay chairman.
Bishop Dom Paulino Livramento Evora, Ordinary of the diocese of the Cape Verde Islands and the first native Cape Verdean to become a Roman Cathali<: bishop, is in the Fall River diocese at the invitation of Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. Here until May 18, he is visiting the many Cape Verdean communities in the area and is ma:{ing his headquarters at the parish of Our Lady of Assumption in New Bedford, the only Cape Verdean national parish in the United States. Turn to Page Three