FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSmS . CAPE COD & THE ISILANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 29, NO. 19
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY; MAY 10, 1985
$8 Per Year
Pope aware of -tur·moil in Dutch church
fill the weekly Mass obligation. A majority surveyed also op VATICAN CITY .(NC) - Pope posed church teachings on abor John Paul II. preparing for his tion. birth control. divorce. ob first papal visit to the Nether ligatory celibacy for priests and Jands. 'is no stranger to the tur the prohibition on ordination of moil in Dutch Catholic life which women. has followed the Second Vatican Complicating the situation. Council. Dutch church officials say. is In 1980 the pope gathered the that many Dutch consider them Dutch bishops at the Vatican selves good Catholics even for an 18-day special synod to though they do not attend seek ways of ending the tempest. church regularly and disagree which included sharp divisions with some teachings. over the nature and use of papal "Many don't go to church but authority 'and widespread op are active in church agencies. position to key church teachings. We .have a 'lot of active people The synod produced pages of in the church and the quality is unity pledges. But the turmoil high." Theo Palstra. spokesman remained and the pope hopes his for the Dutch bishops' confer May 11-15 visit will ease the, ence. told National Catholic situation. News Service. Much of the tension stems Another factor is that many from Dutch criticism that church Catholics regard their conscience authority is overcentralized in as more' important than the the papacy. leaving little room church's teaching authority. said for individual consciences to Archbishop Adrianus Simonis of grow and for 'local church'struc Utrecht. Netherlands, who on tures to develop. the critics say. April 24 was named a cardinal A key complaint ds that the by Pope John Paul. 'Vatican has been naming con Commenting in an April inter servative bishops in the Nether lands who refuse to dialogue view with an Italian magazine, the cardinal-designate said many with dissenting Catholics. believe they are still Catholics But the appointments also have even when they do not accept defenders who say that strong some church ,truths. leadership is needed if Dutch The cardinal-designate said Catholicism is to remain part of Dutch Catholics' are polarized in the universal church. 'Both sides cite supporting to "conservatives" who follOW traditional church teachings and data. "progressives" who question cen A recent survey said' 60 per cent of Dutch C'atholics polled tralized papal authority and key teachings. disagree with episcopal appoint Prior to Vatican II "the Dutch ments since Vatican II. The sur vey also showed that only 23 were more Catholic than the pope." he said. But Council re percent of Dutch Catholics ful By Agostino Bono
forms caused an abrupt change because "we are a people who do' not know half measures." he said.
ed conservative. Father Joannes - Delegations of Dutch bish Gijsen. as bishop of Roermond. ops going to the Vatican to seek of obligatory Prior to the nominations. the reexamination Dutch church had taken a series priestly ce·libacy. The trips were made both at the request of the of bold measures aimed a~ apply Cardinal-designate Simonis de fines himself as a conservative. ing the spirit of Vatican II to national pastoral council and be His appointment as bishop of Dutch national life. That life was cause of massive departures
Rotterdam in 1970 stirred such marked by growing secularism. from the priesthood.
controversy among progressives. anti-establishment attitudes and
- Establishment of lay pas who criticized him for opposing an ecumenical impulse sparked toral workers. including parish a married priesthood, that many by the breakdown of social and work left open by the decline in clerical and lay groups urged political barriers between Cath clergy. The workers included olics and Protestants. him to turn down the appoint laicized priests who had mar·
ment. He accepted it anyway. Controversies that developed ried.
Then in 1983 he was named to in the 1960s and 1970s included: In the national pastoral coun head the Utrecht archdiocese. - Widespread dissent against cil, an lldvisory body which had the nation's most important. the ban on contraception con great prestige with the Dutch Many dissenting Catholics say tained in Pope Paul VI's ency bishops. progressive Catholics f'nvisioned an effort to demo that the 1970 appointment of the clical "Humanae Vitae." then-39-year-old Father Simonis - Formation of a Dutch na· cratize pastoral policy-making. marked the beginning of Vatican tional pastoral council of elected But the Vatican and conserva efforts to turn the clock back lay and clerical. reprsentatives. tive Catholics saw in the effort which asked the Dutch bishops a danger that the validity of on Dutch efforts to apply Vati church doctrine nnd discipline can II to their church. This was to push for a mar,ried priest hood and change in the birth con would be determined by popular followed in 1972 with appoint ,"ote. ment of another priest consider- trol teachings.
CCA at $716,370
First returns ftom parishes and Special Gift solicitors show· a total of $716.370.83 already collected in the 1985 Catholic Charities Appeal. Special Gift solicitors are ask
ed to make final returns by to - morrow. Parish volunteers will continue to call on parishioners not con tacted last Sunday. The parish phase of the Appeal will olose May 15 but A'ppeal books will remain open until 1 p.m. May 24 for final donations. Parish Honor Roll Pari$hes surpassing 1984 final Appeal totals will be enroIled on the 1985 'parish honor roll. Last year 107 parishes were listed and Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, dioce san Appeal director, said of this
year's campaign: "We are, antici pating that every parish - 114 - will be on this year's honor roll. We must have substantial increases in every parish to sur pass last year's -total of $1.549. 527.10."
The first two 1985 honor roll parishes are St. Joan of Arc, Orleans. with a total already collected of $19,068 and Our Lady of Angels. Fall River. with a total of ~19.602. Leading parishes. parish totals and special gift listings appear on page 2 of this issue of The Anchor. Next week's issue will include four pages of Special Gifts 'and parish donations and listings will continue in the order received by the printer until all have been published.
MOTHER'S DAY 1985
'The one who honors the mother is as one who lays up treasure.' Eccli. 3:5