.FAL~ /.~JVE~•.•. RIOCE'~N t;!~SPA!ER'
»FORSOUTHEAST MASSACHUSEtTS .CAPE.COD a THE ISlANDS VOL. 36, NO. 21
•
Friday, May 22, 1992
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
TEANECK, N.J. (CNS) - Deacons and others involved in ministry must "warm it up, touch lives, touch people," a Chicago priest told a national meeting of permanent diaconate directors. Father Patrick Brennan, director of the Office of Evangelization for the Chicago Archdiocese,said at the 16th annual convention of the National Association of Permanent Diaconate Directors, held in Teaneck, that most fallen-away Catholics have not left because of doctrinal disputes but because of "human relations issues." The convention, themed "Evangelization: Go Forth and Teach All Nations," drew over 160 U.S. and Canadian permanent' diaconate directors and representatives. Pope Paul VI, in his 1975 apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Nuntianrli," stressed that "we have the antidote to the depression and dejection of the world," Father Brennan said. The antidote is the good news, but "Christ has no voice except your voice and my voice," he said. The essence of evangelization and conversion "is calling people to place Christ at the center of their lives," said Father Brennan. "We are being called to use pas-
cooperation engendered by the revision of the 1917 Code of Canon Law which began during Vatican
II. The revised code, containing 1,752 canons dealing with church life and organization, was promulgated in 1983, and "the level of collaboration [between canonists and the bishops) has decreased over the past several years," said Sister Euart. Now that the code is established, she said, the Canon Law Society Of America must move from its former role of advisor in the revision process to that of advocate and educator in the implementation of specific canons. Sister Euart noted that many newer bishops in the NCCB have Turn to Page II
Appeal at $1,823,683 The diocesan Catholic Charities Appeal has reached the $1,823,683.04 mark, said Diocesan Director Rev. Daniel L. Freitas. Since the last report, the following parishes have surpassed their 1991 total: St. Stephen, Attleboro; St. Joseph, Woods Hole; Sacred Heart and Santo Christo, Fall River; St. John the Baptist, Westport; St. Hedwig, New Bedford; and Holy Rosary, Taunton. It is hoped that all remaining parishes will do the same as the Appeal nears its end. Although the official closing date for the parish phase ofthe Appeal
was May 13, campaign books will not close until May 26. All Special Gifts and parish solicitors are therefore requested to complete their contacts by this weekend. Because of post office delays, it is further asked that reports be made in person to Appeal headquarters, 410 Highland Avenue, Fall River. Father Freitas reiterated his gratitude to all who have contributed and worked for the success of the Appeal. See pages 2 and 12 to 14 for ,details of Appeal returns.
.
ATTLEBORO AREA Catholic Charities Appeal representatives with Dioces~n Administrator Msgr. Henry T. Munroe and 1992 lay chairman Charles Rozak, second and third left, are, from left, George Audette, Father John J. Steakem . . ' Wilham Curran, Sister Therese Landry, SUSC, Father Ralph D. Tetrault. (Hickey photo)
511 Per Year
Deacons told to touch lives
_Cano.n ,lawyers. meet. in Hyannis By Marcie Hickey More than 65 canon 'Iawyers, including nine from the Fall River diocese, gathered at the Cape Cod Plaza and Convention Center May II to 14 for the annual Eastern Regional Canon Law Conference. Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, a judge in the diocesan tribunal, and Father Jay T. Maddock, judicial vicar, were cochairpersons for the event, themed "Visions for the Future: Helping Canonist!> Prepare for the 21 st Century." Am9ng speakers was Sister Sharon Euart, RS M, associate general secretary for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. She focused on how canonists and the U.S. bishops can collaborate now and in the future to rekindle the spirit of
•
What's Up at Bishop Feehan High School?
1----------------------------1 See page 7.
1
Lantern A ward to former Boston mayor Former Boston Mayor John F. Collins, now a resident of Falmouth, is the 36th recipient of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus Lantern Award for outstanding citizenship. It was presented by Massachusetts State Deputy John F. Oteri at recent ceremonies in Framingham attended by Cardinal Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston, and over 700 Knights of Columbus. Cardinal Law is a past recipient of the award, as are Hartford Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin, who was Bishop of Fall River at the time he received it, Dr. Mildred Jefferson and Congressman Henry Hyde. In his acceptance speech, former Mayor Collins recalled his early years as a member of Jamaica Plain K of C Council 120. It was the time immediately following World War II and he recalled that his generation "had grown accustomed to the notion of service. We
had served in the armed forces; now we came home expecting to serve our families and our neighbors.... We assumed that the way to get ahead was by serving other people: earning their respect, their confidence and their support." The streets of that era, he said, were safe, schools taught the difference between right and wrong, policemen were looked upon as friends, and parishes were the center of community life. Today, he said, homes in the neighborhoods in which he grew up are bolted, barred and fitted with alarms, cars have security devices and walking is considered a hazardous occupation. "What went wrong? Where did we fail?" Answering his own question, he pointed out that in the I940s, families, neighborhoods and the church were stable institutions. "Is it any coincidence that all three are under attack today?" Turn to Page Eight
toralchurch imagination to re-imagine of the future. It cannot the look as it does now, a church of 47 years of age plus, attending 50minute Eucharists." There needs to be a "new image of parish" with larger structures being broken down into sections the priest said. "Let deacons and diaconal couples be the heads of the sections," he suggested. Father Brian Joyce, director of personnel for the diocese of Oakland, Calif., spoke of the difficulties of evangelizing in the domi-' nant American "culture of in" dividualism." "Evangelii Nuntiandi" said evangelization involves "transforming humanity from within and making it new," said Father Joyce. That view of evangelization "demands fidelity to the Gospel but also sensitivity to both the expressions of faith and the values embodied by cultures ... including our dominant American culture," he added. It also demands that "we become a church that welcomes, enables and attracts," that we "provide models of alternate ways to live our lives" and that we "become a public church" that "engages in Turn to Page Eight
(