FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 28,
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17
FALL RIVER, MASS.; FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1984
$8 Per Year
43rd Appeal
kickoff held
Addressing the annua'l kickoff meeting of the Catholic Chari ties Appeal at Bishop Connolly High School, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin quoted from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modem World, one of the outstanding documents to emerge from the Second Vatican Coun cil: "The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men and women of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflict· ed in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as welt Nothing that is genuinely hu man fails to find an echo in their hearts." The bishop noted that "while· it is true that the kingdom of God is essentially spiritual, and while the Good News addresses the spiritual welfare of mankind, nonetheless, the material, phys ical well being of those who are poor and afflicted does concern the disciple, as, ,indeed, it con cerned Jesus, our Savior, who, along with His sublime teaching about the kingdom, consoled those who were troubled, healed those who were sick, sharing in the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of those whose. privi lege 'it was to enoounter Him during His public ministry." Quoting again from the con ciliar document, the bishop said "At all times, the church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and of ointer preting them in the light of the Gospel." He added: "I cannot help but think of this insight on this, the 43rd time when' a diocesan-wide appeal is launohed to seek suppor.t for worthy apos tolic works. Today, as I invite your generous support of the Appeal" the signs of the times differ somewhat from those which my predecessors recog nized. "Let me cite one specific area of concern. Greater disruptions in family life are noted today than in decades past, and thus, to ,reswnd to the distress and anguish provoked by more f~
quent divorce, by the rising number of single~parent family units and by the erosion of re~ spect for Sacred Matrimony, we are constrained, in our apos tolic endeavors, to focus greater energy upon family ministry programs, upon the marriage preparation endeavors and upon services for unwed mothers." Turning to the annual report 'on disbursement of the previous year's Appeal procee~s (see page 2 of this issue of The Anchor), the bishop noted that the entire amount had been spent. "We have spent ALL this money," he said. "With very lit tle overhead, w-ith no exaggera tion in our activities (and with Httle publicity, I might add) we have channeled virtually every penny of every dollar contrib uted to our works of social ser vice and child care, to our pas toral ministry to the sick, to educational endeavors and to pastoral activities." The bishop reported that neal'1y half the 1983 appea:l pro ceeds went to support social sere vice and child care programs, while the balance, in roughly equivalent portions, was allo cated to pastoral care of the sick, education of youth and other pastoral concerns. "This evening," ,he continued, "we look forward to the future. I assure you, the needs have not diminished . . . and the cost of care continues· to grow. With this in mind, I would Hke to challenge you and those whom you represent to show once again that same generous spirit which has characterized this Appeal since its inception in 1941. "My hope is that your gene rosity, will, in fact, exceed by a truiy significant amount the re sults of last year's Appeal. We have had the wonderful tradi tion of recording an increase in our Catholic Charities Appeal proceeds year after year. I.must plead for an exceptional increTum to Page Two
THE SACRAMENTS of baptism, Holy Eucharist and confirmation were received in Easter Vigil services at St. Patrick's Church, Fall River, byJrom left, Samantha McBee, Tina Marie McBee and Carolyn Cashman, shown with Father William W. Norton. (Pol lard Photo courtesy of Fall River Herald News)
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'MEMBERS OF TWO FAMIUES were received into the church by Father Thomas E. Morrissey, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, New Bedford, at the Easter vigil. Front, Rob ert Snell; from left, first row, Stephen, Cherie and Edward Snell (junior); second row Mr. and Mrs. Edward Snell, Ada Simpson, Pete Wilde. Edward Snell Sr. was baptized, all others were previously validly baptized. The adults received first communion and confirmation; the children will receive those sacraments at the appropriate ages. (Rosa Photo)