,c
t eanc O~~
VOL. 33, NO. 20
•
Friday, May 19, 1989
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Latest Catholic Charities total at $1,557.,584
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
•
$11 Per Year
Panama church gets in politics ~
Latest reports of Special Gift donations and parish contributions have brought the 1989 Catho- . lic Charities Appeal total to $1,557,584.27 Contributions from parishes, .priests and Special Gift donors should be made in person to Appeal headquarters from Wed-' nesday, May 24 through Friday, May 26. The Appeal books will close Friday, May 26. This coming weekend, said Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, CCA director, every parish and Special Gift solicitor should make a last effort to canvass every potential donor. These reports should be made to Special Gift and parish SHORTLY AFTER Mary appeared to them at Fatima, headquarters. on Monday. Portugal, Jacinta Marto, her brother Francisco and their co u~ 17 parishes have surpassed their 1988 final totals since last week's sin, Lucia do~ Santos; from left, were photographed at Fatima. edition of The Anchor. These Jacinta and Francisco died a few years after the appa,ritions. honor roll parishes are St. Joseph (NC photo) and St. Stephen, Attleboro; St. Elizabeth, Edgartown; Holy Cross, Our Lady of Angels, Holy Rosary, St. Anthony of Padua and St. William, Fall River. Also St. John the Baptist, Westport; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Casimir, St. Joseph, St. Kilian, New Bedford; St. Francis Xavier, VATICAN CITY (NC) - The dos Santos, still alive, is a CarmeAcushnet; and Immaculate Con- Vatican has recognized the heroic lite nun. A sainthood process can ception, Holy Rosary and St. Paul, virtues 'of Francisco and Jacinta only begin after death. Taunton. Marto, two of the three children Since the apparitions were deA detailed report of Special who saw what the church has recclared genuine by local church Gifts, parish totals, leading par- ognized as the Marian apparitions authori~ies in 1930, Fatima bas ishes and parish donations begins at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. become one of the most popu::ar The recognition of heroic virtues' Catholic pilgrimage sites in the on page 2 of this issue of The Anchor and continues on pages 13 is the first major step toward saintworld. hood. The Vatican announced the through 15. According to the three childn:n, decision May 13. Mary appeared to them six times Listings will continue to appear The third person to have seen until all donations have been Turn to Page Six the apparitions, their cousin, Lucia recorded.
2 Fatima childrenl
declared
venerabl.~
WASHINGTON (NC) - PanaMeanwhile, most of nearly 2,000 ma's bishops put themselves into combat-ready reinforcements for the country's political crisis with a American troops at bases' in Panapublic statement accusing the gov- . ma arrived from the United States ernment of fraudulently and vio- by May 15. The same day U.S. lently thwarting the May 7 presi- Ambassador to Panama Arthur dential elections. Davis accused Noriega'ofordering They made a general call for the attack on the opposition leadnon-violence, including a plea to ers with the intention of killing "our military brethren" to refuse Ford. to fire on unarmed civilians, and Noriega's government came uncalled on the government, ruled by der further pressure as church ofdefense chief Gen. Manuel Anto- ficials protested the slaying of a nio Noriega through political allies, Dutch priest by a soldier on electo respect the vote, which church tion day. The priest, Vincentian polls indicated was won by a 3-to- Father Nicolas Van Kleef, had I margin by opposition candidates worked in the country for more presidential nominee Guillermo than 20 years. Endara and vice-presidential nomIn their post-election statement, inees Guillermo Ford and Ricardo Panama's bishops said that "the Arras Calderon. They and many veiled threats or expressed intimisupporters were severely beaten by dation, the restrictions of movegovernment-backed mobs May 10. 'ment and expression, the assaults The statement, signed by Arch- and robberies of ballot boxes, the bishop Marcos G. McGrath of mobs ofthe military and paramiliPanama City and nine other bish- tary attacking property and perops, was read during Masses sons are some of the examples of throughout Panama May 14. flagrant acts that were committed The bishops were supported by to frustrate popular will." the U.S. bishops' conference in a The bishops also expressed "surMay 12 letter from St. Louis Arch- prise and pain" that the governbishop John L. May, conference ment's Electoral Tribune had nulpresident. lified the vote on May 10. Archbishop May said: "I join They congratulated Panamanwith you in your call for those who ian voters for going to the polls "in wield power in Panama to respect a massive and peaceful manner" the expressed will of the Panaman- but said the country's rulers beian people. haved in the opposite manner. "I continue to urge the U.S. "What moral justification can government to join with other in- there be to scatter, with beatings terested American states in seek- . and bullets, men and women who ing to uphold the will of the Pan- have not committed any' other amanian people by political and crimebut peacefully claiming their diplomatic means," the U.S. pre- rights?" they asked. "What moral late said. Turn to Page Si}(
Pope urges deeper gra.sp of litllrgy, end to· ab'uses VATICAN CITY (NC) The post-Second Vatican Council period of major liturgical changes has ended and reforms must now concentrate on giving Catholics a "deeper grasp" of the liturgy's meaning and getting rid of abuses, said Pope John Paul II in a new apostolic letter. The changes introduced since the council have been well received by the vast majority of Catholics, the pope said, but there is still need for bishops "to root out" abuses and "outlandish innovations." The pope's 37-page letter was addressed to the world's bishops and priests to mark the 25th anniversary of Vatican Irs Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. It was made public by the Vatican May 13. Major liturgical changes since
Vatican II have included allowing Mass in the vernacular and a restructuring of Mass readings, prayers and the order of events at Mass. The pope reaffirmed current church norms and told Catholics not'to expect major changes in current liturgical practices. "One cannot therefore continue to speak of change as it was spoken of at the time of the constitution's publication," he said. "Rather one has to speak of an ever deeper grasp of the liturgy of the church, celebrated according to the current books and lived above all as 8' reality in the spiritual order," the pope added. Positive effects of liturgical changes have been greater understanding of the Bible and the development of a generation of
priests and laity wltich "now acts with responsibility in th,~ church and society," the pop~ said. Other positive aspects are "th~ increased participation of th,~ faithful by prayer and song'" and the development of ministries and responsibilities for lay people, he added. . The pope said the liturgy "is like the village fountain to which every generation comes to draw water ever living and fresh." The post-conciliar period also has seen "erroneous applications" ofliturgical reform which "disfigure it and deprive thl~ Christian people of the genuiDi~ treasures of the liturgy," hl~ added. "It cannot be tolerated that certain priests should take upon themselves the right to com-
pose eucharistic prayers or to substitute profane readings for texts from sacred Scripture," he said. Other abuses cited include "illicit omissions or additions; rites invented outside the framework of established norms; postures or songs which are not conducive to faith or a sense of the sacred; abuses in the practice of general absolution; confusion between the ministerial priesthood, linked with ordination, and the common priesthood of the faithful." , The pope did not give specific examples nor cite countries or regions where he believes these abuses occur. \ "It is up to the bishops to root out such abuses," the pope said. A major challenge facing the church is adapting the liturgy to
local cultures so that it is better understood, he added. This is a "delicate matter" and must be done by people well-trained in history, theology and culture, the pope said. ' "Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment, but it can also provoke tensions, mutual misunderstandings and even divisions," he said. "Diversity must not damage unity," he added. Adaptation also requires "when necessary, a breaking with ancestral customs incompatible with the Catholic faith," said the pope. , The pope also asked liturgists to build on "the riches of popular piety, purifying and directing them toward the liturgy as the offering of the people."