The Anchor Diocese of Fall River
F riday , May 17, 2013
Boston cardinal to boycott graduation over honors to Irish official
Conclave, Vatican appointment raise Cardinal O’Malley’s international profile
2013 Catholic Charities Appeal launches effort to aid thousands across the Diocese of Fall River. See this week’s special insert.
BRAINTREE — Boston’s Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap. seemed sure he would need his round-trip ticket home from the conclave that elected Pope Francis. Despite this, Italian media christened him a frontrunner, and Boston media seemed to be rooting for a hometown pope. The media focus on Cardinal O’Malley raised his profile and the added attention will likely continue with his April 13 appointment by Pope Francis to an advisory committee on reforming the Roman Curia. The committee’s first meeting is slated for October 1. What is more, the media coverage has been almost exclusively positive, which is not something the Church in Boston has enjoyed in recent history. The priest abuse crisis came to light through Boston newspapers in 2002, and the relationship between the local Church and the news media has been strained ever since. Speaking with The Anchor, Scot Landry, the Archdiocese of Boston’s Secretary for Catholic Media, said that during the conclave, “The Boston media and their coverage of Cardinal Sean couldn’t have been more positive.” Landry accompanied Cardinal O’Malley on part of his trip to the Vatican in March. He blogged and led a daily radio broadcast. He was present for the premeetings, the conclave and the announcement of the new Holy Father. Waiting in the rain in St. Peter’s Square, Landry could not clearly see the white smoke, obscured by thousands of umbrellas. Nearby, he heard a group of some 25 Italian nuns chanting in their native tongue, “We want our Capuchin pope.” And when the new pope’s name was announced, he heard Pope Francis but not the man’s given name, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina. For about two minutes, Landry thought Franciscan O’Malley might be Pope Francis. “Cardinal O’Malley was receiving half the buzz in Rome in the days leading up to the conclave,” he said. “As someone who admires and is close to Cardinal O’Malley, I was scared for him that he might come out [onto the papal balcony]. I was scared for the archdiocese that he might not be coming home for a long time.” Instead, out walked the former Cardinal Bergoglio. Pope Francis and the Capuchin Franciscan know each other well and have much in common. Both share a love for St. Francis and the poor. Both are members of religious orders; Pope Francis being a Jesuit. Either would have been the first pope from the Americas. Landry said he believes Pope Francis sees in CarTurn to page 14
Boston, (CNA) — Cardinal Séan P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., announced that he would not attend the commencement of Boston College due to an honorary degree Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will receive at graduation. According to a May 10 statement from the cardinal, “Mr. Kenny is aggressively promoting abortion legislation” in Ireland. “Because the Gospel of Life is the centerpiece of the Church’s social doctrine and because we consider abortion a crime against humanity,” Cardinal O’Malley explained, “the Catholic Bishops of the United States have asked that Catholic institutions not Turn to page 14
By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent
month of mary — During the month of May, first-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River, Julianna Nassiff and Collin Sardinha, were part of a ceremony honoring our Blessed Mother by crowning her statue during the school’s weekly Mass.
Diocesan CSS helps develop, manage affordable housing unit By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
NEW BEDFORD — While the majority of the nation’s attention was fixated on the tragic bombings that had occurred during the Boston Marathon the day before, Bishop George W. Coleman quietly went about blessing and dedicating the newlyrefurbished Oscar A. Romero House in New Bedford with representatives from the diocesan Catholic Social Services office last month. Located at 8 Allen Street in the city’s south end and situated diagonally across the street from St. John the Baptist Church on the corner of County Street, the his-
toric structure will now offer 12 affordable housing units for families at or below 50 percent of the area’s median income. According to Ed Allard, project director for Community Action for Better Housing, the Romero House is the culmination of a three-year effort that began when CABH purchased the property in December 2010. “This property had been vacant for about 18 years and it was in terrible disrepair and became an eyesore for the neighborhood,” Allard told The Anchor. “As part of the process, we had to create a new corporation that would own the property and be the recipient of all the funds. That’s Turn to page 18
‘Sourpusses’ hurt Church’s witness, mission, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Using a phrase that translates literally as “the face of a pickled pepper,” Pope Francis said that when Christians have more of a sourpuss than a face that communicates the joy of being loved by God, they harm the witness of the Church. “The Christian is a man or woman of joy,” the pope said May 10, giving a homily during his morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. While happiness is a good thing, the pope said, it’s not the same as the profound joy that comes from “the certainty that Jesus is with us and with the Father.” If one tries to be happy all the time, he said, that happiness ends up “transTurn to page 14
OSCAR WORTHY — This rehabilitated house located on Allen Street in New Bedford was recently dedicated and named after Oscar A. Romero, the former archbishop of San Salvador and staunch defender of the poor, who was assassinated while celebrating Mass on Mar. 24, 1980. The soon-to-be-occupied affordable housing units within are to be managed by the diocesan Catholic Social Services office. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)