05.13.83

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DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSjl CAPE & ISLANDS Vol. 27, No. 19

Fall River, Mass., Friday, May 13, 1983

$8 Per Year

Pastoral aftermath

CHICAGO (NC) - Of the 174 changes in the war aDd peace pastoral that were made by the U.S. bishops May 2-3, several were of major importance even though most were minor. Most notable in terms of judgments on U.S. nuclear de­ terrence policy were two: - The bishops voted by about a 10-1 margin to call for "im­ mediate, bilateral, verifiable agreements to halt the testing, production and deployment of new .nuclear weapons systems." The draft text before them had called more vaguely for a "curb" rather than a "halt." - In a series of voice votes, by substantial majorities the bis­ hops approved six separate' amendments by Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco against first use of nuclear weapons. Instead of referring cautiously to nuclear first use. as "an unjustifiable moral risk," the first of these declared that the bishops "do not perceive any situation in which the deliber­ ate initiation of nuclear war, on however restricted a scale, can be morally jusified." The other

five amendments changed the text throughout to conform to this more severe judgment. The bishops almost unani­ mously repudiated amendment after amendment by Archbishop Philip M. Hannan of New Or­ leans and Auxiliary Bishop John J. O'Connor of the U.S. Military Ordinariate which would have softened some of the pastoral's judgments on nuclear first use and nuclear deterrence. In a seven-page statement on . the pastoral issued May 9, Arch­ bishop Hannan said that he ob-

jeded to its tone and a number of its specific conclusions. "Obviously, the vast majority of the bishops have a different appreciation of the letter" from his own appreciation, he wrote. On the other hand, he said that the West German bishops an'cl the archbishop of Paris have expressed views on nuclear de­ terrence closer to his views than to those expressed by the U.S. pastoral letter. Only those parts of the letter "which express universally rec­ ognized Catholic moral princi­ ples are binding in conscience," he wrote. He charged that the language of the pastoral involves a basic "inconsistency or contradiction" in objecting to virtually any possible use of nuclear weapons while accepting nuclear deter­ rence. "I object also to the tone of the letter demanding that we arrive shortly at an agreement on disarmament," he wrote. "This applies pressure on our government, but does not apply

equal pressure on the Soviets." "I am disappointed that there is not a more vigorous assertion of the dignity of persons and human rights in the letter, to­ gether with a more candid ap­ praisal of the aggression against human rights perpetrated by the Soviets . . . The extent and de­ gree of aggression against hu-. man rights is a crucial factor in determining the amount of force that can be used to resist that aggression," he wrote. At a press conference in New Orleans the day after the pas­ toral letter was approved, Arch­ bishop Hannan had commented:

"First, it is very confusing. Sec­ ond, it will appease a great num­ ber of people, pacifists. Third, it will, in my opinion, deter dis­ .armament negotiations." He said he is "100 percent for peace" and considers his views "far more peace-serving" than those expressed in the pastoral. "The fact that we have a strong nuclear presence ensures a reasonable peace," he com­ mented. Archbishop Hannan said he does not believe that the bish­ ops' document "represents the thinking of the majority of Cath­ olics who will not accept it. They will reject the evaluations and suggestions, which are ill drawn," In other changes to the pas­ toral the bishops: - explicitly tied post-blast radioactive fallout effects and expected damage to the land and environment into the moral equation for judging whether any use of nuclear weapons meets the just-war rquirements of proportionality and discrim­ ination.

- backed off from a claim in the draft that the Second Vati­

can Council "endorsed" consci­

entious objection. They limited

themselves to reaffirming the

council's call for civil legal pro­

tection of the right of conscien­

tious objection and noting that

the council had praised those

who renounce the use of vio­ lence to defend their rights. - substituted "just war teaching" for "just war theory" to emphasize that the main ele­ ments of the so-called "just war theory" are part of the church's Turn to Page Seventeen

Appeal at $1.,043.,174

Latest reports of Special Gift donations and Parish Contribu­ tions bring the 1983 Catholic Charities Appeal up to $1,043, 174.78. Donations from parishes, . priests and Special Gift donors should be made in person to Ap­ peal Headquarters beginning Wednesday, May 18, until Fri­ day, Mar 20 at 1 P.M. This coming weekend, every solicitor, parish and Special Gift, should mllke a last effort to can­ vass every potential donor. These reports should be made to Special Gift and Parish Head-

quarters on next Monday. Honor Roll Parishes Thirty parishes have been added to the honor roll of par­ ishes surpassing their 1982 final totals since last week's edition of The Anchor. These parishes are St. John, Attleboro; Our Lady of the Cape, Brewster; St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis; Our Lady of the Isle, Nantucket; St. Eliza­ beth Seton, No. Falmouth. St. Joan of Arc, Orleans; St. John, Pocasset; Corpus Christi, Sandwich; St. Augustine, Vine-

yard Haven; Our Lady of Lour­ des, Wellfleet. . Espirito Santo, Our Lady of the Angels, St. Anthony 'of Padua, St. Elizabeth, St. Jean Baptiste, St. Patrick, St. Wil­ liam, Fall River. St. Bernard, Assonet; St. Thomas More, Somerset. St. Anne, St. Boniface, St. Hedwig, St. Kilian, St. Theresa, New Bedford. St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet; St. Rita, Marion; St. Julie, No. Dartmouth; St. Mary, So.· Dart­ mouth; St. Anthony, Taunton; St. Paul,.Taunton.

SHELLY AND BILL MEEHAN .

Getting married?

EE

is first step,

By Pat McGowan Engaged? You're in luck the top brass of the Catholic Engaged Encounter program are right here in the Fall River dio­ cese in the persons of young and enthusiastic Bill and Shelly Mee­ han of Holy Cross parish, South Easton. With Father Willie Raymond, CSC, of Stonehill College, North Easton, they form EE's national executive team. What is .EE, you're asking? It's an organization of young married couples, not far reo moved from their own engaged days, who seek to get the idea across to the current crop of. starry-eyed young people that "a wedding is a day - a mar­ riage is a lifetime." Inviting such young men and women to step aside for a week­ end from the whirl of commer­ cial preparations involved in even a simple wedding, EE of­ fers, in the words of Father Marc Bergeron of. St. Anthony of Padua parish, New Bedford, "challenge, confrontation, change and love," They come in the course of a weekend during which engaged couples examine themselves, their relationship and the voca­

tion of marriage. It's not un·

common, say organizers, for the experience to lead 10 a decision to postpone 01 even decide against a marriage. But the percentage of EE couples whose marriages end in divorce is significantly lower than that of the general popula­ tion, a statistic important to the Fall River Diocesan Office of Family Ministry. Its director. Father Ronald A. Tosti, calls EE the "most highly recommended" of the marriage preparation pro· grams he offers. Similar enthusiastic endorse­ ments are heard everywhere in the nation, say the Meehans. Halfway through their two-year term as national officers, be­ tween them they devote at least 80 hours a week to EE business. .That's on top of Bill's fulltime work as an electrical engineer and Shelly's busy life as mother of two children with a third en route. The EE involvement includes four board meetings a year in various parts of the country as well as lots of paperwork and the planning of an apnual na­ tional convention. . Across the country, the Mee­ hans and Father ~ay,nond co­ ordinate the work of some 1100 couples and priests responsible Turn to Page Six


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05.13.83 by The Anchor - Issuu