04.27.90

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"FALl. RI'Ili··DIOCISAN NEWSPAPER' FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE CQI& THE ISLANDS ·VOL. 34, NO. 17

Friday, April 27, 1990

FALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

Sl1.Per Year

U np~~ec~de~te~~YIl()d t~. foll()w papal trip. to Czechoslovakia

DCCW CONVENTIONEERS: top, council president Madeline C. Wojcik and keynoter Father Alfred McBride; below, Our Lady of Good Counsel Award recipients, front row, frorilleft Mary Furtado, Leonor Luiz. Back, from left, Mary Murray, Karen Bergeron, Rosalie Connors. (Hickey photos)

DCCW convenes

BRATISLAVA, Czechoslovakia (CNS) - Pope John Paul II's blitz visit to Czechoslovakia April 2122 symbolized to observers the victory of spiritual values and the yearning for human freedom over a totalitarian ideology. The country's playwright-president Vaclav Havel called the trip "a miracle." The pope announced an unprecedented synod of bishops from Eastern and Western Europe, to be held soon to reflect on this "historic moment" for the religious and political life of the continent. It was the pope's first trip to an East European country since the crumbling of communist rule, and he emphasized that rebuilding society "cannot be only a political and economic event." To avoid new disasters, the building blocks must be forged with spiritual, moral and cultural values, he said. The pope also praised the "shining testimony" of Catholics who remained faithful during 40 years of communist repression. The symbolic tone of the trip was set April 21 at the Prague airport arrival ceremony where Havel- who six months earlier was taken prisoner as an enemy of the communist state - greeted the pope :- who six months earlier was barred from naming bishops because of government opposition. - Havel greeted the pope, sayrng, '''The messenger of love comes into a country devastated by the ideology of hatred; the living symbol of civilization comes into the country devastated by the rule of the· uncivilized." At a meeting later in the even-

ing, the pope told Havel, "Today we stand before the ruins of one of the many towers of Babel in human history." Efforts to build society, culture and human solidarity "upon denial of the transcendent dimension create, as at Babel, division of hearts and confusion of tongues," the pope said. During the trip, the Polish-born pope harshly criticized communist efforts to restructure society from an atheistic philosophy that considered religion an error of the past. He encouraged the population, especially the nation's Catholics, to find unity and spiritual strength to face their new challenges. The pope announced the special synod for Europe after an April22 Mass in Velehrad, the country's most important religious shrine and pilgrimage site. ' The pope did not give a date for the synod, but said it would allow European bishops "to reflect more attentively on the importance of this historic moment for Europe and the church." he said. During the trip, the pope outlined his views on what should be a reciprocal relationship between Catholics in Eastern and Western Europe. Western concern for providing material help in rebuilding the institutional and intellectual life of Eastern Catholics should be matched by Western willingness to be "enriched" from the strength forged by the harsh experience of repression, he said. Regarding overall contlict with the West, the pope issued a stern

warning not to lower moral barriers. "The dangers which the regaining of contacts with the West can bring must not be underestimated," he said in a message to the Czechoslovakian bishops. In three outdoor Masses attended by more than I million people and in addresses to bishops, priests and religious, the pope constantly praised the steadfastness of Catholics since World War II, especially those "living or dead, who suffered for the faith in prisons, concentration camps, in exile." The pope also outlined current church problems after four decades of "paralyzing passivity" res\,llting from "imposed atheism." A main task is forging unity among Catholics who had diverse approaches to their faith, ranging from clandestine activity to collaboration with the government, he said. The pope made clear that such distinctions must cease so that a single church emerges. This includes accepting priests from the Pacem in Terris association, which collaborated with the communist government, he said. Other principal tasks mentioned by the pope include: - Learning to work with bishops and understand their authority after "more than a generation" of many dioceses without ordinaries. - Renewal of church intellectuallife based on the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and its emphasis on lay responsibility Turn to Page 12

Members urged to evangelize By Marcie Hickey Keynote speaker Father Alfred McBride, O. Praem., urged members of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women to become "missionaries of the Church" during his address Saturday at the council's 37th annual convention, themed "We Serve the Lord with Joy and Gladness." More than 300 DCCW members braved inclement weather to attend the day's activities at Coyle and Cassidy High School, Taunton. Following welcoming remarks from DCCW president Madeline C. Wojcik, convention chairpersons Mrs. Richard Paulson and Mrs. Aristides Andrade, and host district president Martina Grover, diocesan moderator Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes offered the opening prayer. Mrs. Grover's promise of a program "interesting, informative and enjoyable" was fulfilled in the presentation of Father McBride, who used anecdotes, Scripture ~nd song

to promote the need for renewed evangelization within the U.S. Church. Today "Catholics are embarrassed, shy, or w~atever to share their faith," said Father McBride, citing that only two percent of the nation's 53 million practicing Catholics are actively involved in evangelization efforts. One of the problems, he said, is that most Catholics fail to see . themselves as evangelizers. "They think evangelization belongs to the Protestants" or to priests, he said. Countering that notion, he referred to the experiences of Jesus' disciples, who preached the Gospel message following the Resurrection. "Catholics had possession of evangelization before Protestants ever existed," he said, adding that the first evangelizer to spread the Gospel message of Easter was a woman - Mary Magdalene. Turn to Page Seven

AT ANNUAL kickoff meeting for the Catholic Charities Appeal, from left, Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, diocesan Appeal director; Horace J. Costa, 1990 diocesan lay chairman; Bishop Daniel A. Cronin; Mrs. Barbara Costa; Rev. Daniel L. Freitas,' assistant Appeal director. Story, more pictures on page 9. (Studio D photo)


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