t eanc 0 VOL. 36, NO. 20
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FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Friday, May 15, 1992
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511 Per Year
:Trust marks interfaith parley }
BALTIMORE (CNS) - At a May 7 Baltimore press conference, Rabbi A. James Rudin summed up a just-completed international dialogue of Catholics and Jews. "After 1,900 years," he said, "Catholics and Jews have an enormous task of sorting out the past. . . . What is interesting in Baltimore is the shift also to the present and the future in our work together." Others among the 60 participants at the May 4-7 meeting clearly agreed t,hat the official dialogue of the 21-year-old Interna" NEW -BEDFORD AREA Catholic Charities Appeal tional Catholic-Jewish Liaison representatives with Diocesan Administrator Msgr. Henry T. Committee had entered a new phase with the Baltimore meeting. Munroe, center, and 1992 lay chairman Charles Rozak, right Baltimore Archbishop William of Msgr. Munroe, are, from left, Father Maurice O. Gauvin, H. Keeler, meeting host and top Robert Rebello, Charles and Joyce Jodoin. At right, Father Catholic official for U.S. CatholicJewish dialogue described the shift Daniel L. Freitas, Appeal director. (Hickey photo) in terms of a new atmosphere of "warmth and a heightened sense of trust." Rabbi Rudin, director of interThe present total reached by the the parish phase of the Appeal 'f religious affairs for the American annual Catholic Charities Appeal ended May 13, but Appeal books . Jewish Committee and a longtime veteran of Catholic-Jewish diahas been announced as $1,382,992 will not close until May 26,.therelogue, told Cathofic News Ser"ice by Rev. Daniel L. Freitas, dioce- fore Special Gifts and parish solicafterward that he consid,ered the san director of the fund raising itors are encouraged to complete their contacts in that time frame. gathering a turning point for a drive. It is also requested, due to mail commitment to joint CatholicFather Freitas said that St. Jewish action on serious social Anthony of Padua parish, Taun- delays, that from Wednesday, May concerns that go beyond the queston, has already surpassed its 1991 20, all reports be made in person to tion of mutual relations. collection figure. He expressed the Appeal headquarters at 410 Highhope that the remaining 110 par- land Ave., Fall River. He said the Baltimore session ishes ofthe diocese will report simwas the first such meeting he has Father Freitas declared "We are ilar results as the Appeal continues. very grateful to all who have con·: attended at which social justice The official collection period of Turn to Page T w o ) and human rights issues got "equ;tl
CCA reaches $1,382,992
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time, or almost equal time" with the mutual relationship questions. The keynote speech by Chicago CardinalJoseph L. Bernardin, delivered at the first committee session ever open to the public, was "one of the pivotal moments" in that development, Rabbi Rudin said. Cardinal Bernardin noted that it will remain important to review past and current problems in Catholic-Jewish relations and to address new tensions as they arise; but he also argued for a broader, more outgoing agenda. Catholic-Jewish reflection and action are urgently needed, he said, on critical social issues such as the environment, war and peace, child exploitation and human rights violations. Cardinal Bernardin also suggested that in the interests of trust and candor the Vatican open its World War II archives to serious scholars. The joint final communique of the meeting broke the parley into three sections: - Discussion of continuing work on a Catholic statement on the Holocaust and of the problem of revivals of anti-Semitism, especially in Eastern Europe, andjoint action to combat it. - Continuing discussion of Catholic treatment of Jews and Judaism and Jewish treatment of Catholics and Catholicism in their respective educational institutions and instructional materials.
- A look at the need for Catholic-Jewish cooperation on issues of socialjustice and peace, with initial exploration of several topics that might later be addressed in greater depth. Msgr. George G. Higgins, a pioneer in U.S. Catholic social action, spoke on the potential for joint social action by Catholics and Jews; and Gerhart M. Riegner of the World Jewish Congress in Geneva gave a similar presentation on cooperation in human rights. Rabbi Rudin discussed problems of equitable access to health care from Jewish and Catholic religious perspectives, and ¥sgr. Diarmuid Martin of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace spoke on a religious approach to environmental concerns. The final communique said that in addition to cooperating on the urgent issues of racism and antiSemitism, there was a need "to uphold the rights of all minorities and to fight sexual and economic exploitation of women and chil-.dren." It signaled two-immediate decisions to enhance such cooperation: to hold at least semiannual rather than annual steering committee meetings and to expand the committee's responsibilities; and to work more closely with other international and regional organizations. Despite advances made at the Turn to Page 11
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75 years at Fatima
VISITORS TO the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima often traverse the basilica square on their knees. (CNS/ Allen photo)
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ROME (CNS) - A pillar of 20th century Catholic piety is Jewish and has a Muslim home. She is Our Lady of Fatima. Last Wednesday, May 13, was the 75th anniversary of Mary's six apparitions at Fatima, the rural site in central Portugal named by Arabs, who controlled the region -for centuries. Fatima was a daughter of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. Mary, the young Jewish girl . who accepted God's will and gave birth to Jesus, first appeared to three Portuguese shepherd children on May 1-3, 1917. She continued appearing for five successive months, almost always on the ·13th. Each month drew bigger crowds and growing controversy. Anticlerical movements were strong in Portugal at the time. In 1930, local Catholic officials
concluded a lengthy study of the events and determined that the apparitions are worthy of belief. The decision gave official approval to what has become one of Catholicism's most popular Marian pilgrimage sites. Although Mary's basic message at Fatima was simple - the need for prayer and personal repentance - controversies have continued over interpretations of her message to the three children. The principal one has been whether she issued a specific call to spiritual and political action against the yet-to-be-born Soviet communist state. Dwarfing the controversies, how- _ ever, is the widespread devotion of Catholics to Our Lady of Fatima as a symbol of faith and the need for prayer and personal conversion in obtaining world peace. Turn to Page 11
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