t eanc 0 VOL. 21, NO. 22
AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, SURE AND FIRM -HEB. 6:19
FAll RIVER, MASS. THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1977
15c, $5 Per Year
Beautiful Babies Looking for Love By Pat McGowan
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. . J' MR. AND MRS. LARRY RIGGS NEW BEDFORD, wlm 3-YEAR-OLD EUN
Fear Vietnam Archbishop Died in Communist Jail VATICAN CITY (NC) - Vatican officials fear that the strongwilled, anti-Communist coadjutor Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) may have died in a Communist prision. Officially the Vatican has said only that Archbishop Francis Xavier Nguyan Van Thuan, 49, "is in detention." But Vatican officials say privately that Archbishop Thuan has apparently not been seen alive by Vietnamese Church authorities for months. The government, they say, has assured Archbishop Paul Nguyan Van Binh of Ho Chi Minh City that his coadjutor is still alive. But some in the Vatican doubt the government's assertion. Archbishop Thuan, one of the most progressive of Vietnam's bishops on social questions, was put under house arrest in a parish in Nhatrang in May, 1975, just after the fall of Saigon and only a month after he had been made coadjutor of the Saigon archdiocese. Before that he was bishop of Nhatrang for eight years. Later Archbishop Thuan was imprisoned in Nhatrang, where Communist officials gave him a large cell and permitted Sisters to serve him a home-cooked meal once a week. The Communists tried to make him confess to several "crimes,"
including being in the pay of the American CIA and receiving his appointment in Saigon through American influence. When he refused, the archbishop was put into a dark, airless cell. There, according to reports, he was maltreated, struck, and made to stand for hours. Latest reports said that his legs had become paralyzed and he was experiencing lung trouble. He was said to be venerated as a saint by fellow inmates.
Will Study Role Of Churchwomen WASHINGTON (NC) - Bishop Daniel A. Cronin is a member of an ad hoc committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) which has undertaken a survey of woman's role in the Church's diocesan structures and ministry. The survey seeks answers to such questions as the number of women in policy-making and executive jobs in the 170 U.S. dioceses. Chaired by Bp. Michael F. McAuliffe of Jefferson City, Mo., the committee has sent its fellow bishops a letter and questionnaire. . The survey has five major sections: on policy-making posiTurn to Page Five
Attleboro Boys World Champs Knights of the Altar and Junior Corps members of St. Joseph's parish, Attleboro, have been chosen Unit of the Year in competition with units throughout the United States and 40 foreign countries. "Your unit has been selected as the one'which best carries out the code and ideals of the Knights of the Altar," stated Joseph DeSilvestro, national K of A director, in a letter notifying Rev. Normand Boulet, St. Joseph associate pastor, of the recognition. Father Boulet is eastern regional adviser for the K of A. Honors are not new to the Attleboro group. Last December David Bowlin, its supreme grand knight, was recognized as one of 12 outstanding members throughout the world at a ceremonypresided over by Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dailey of Boston. Earlier in the year he participated in nationally televised bicentennial ceremonies at Boston's Old North Church. And K of A members have traveled as far as Rome, where they were presented for the ceremonies at which Cardinal Humberto Medeiros received his present rank.
Matthew Kim, 6Y2, still has nightmares about the day his parents abandoned him in downtown Seoul, South Korea. He was 3 years old and he clearly recalls them running to a bus, leaving him crying in the street. No one knows how long he wandered before police picked him up and took him to an orphanage. ·Christine Leigh, now 7, was also picked up in Seoul, age 2, abandoned and severely. malnourished. In an orphanage five years, she was considered unadoptable because she was no longer a cute cuddly baby. Both children are now part of the loving family of Peggy and William Hagen of St. Joseph's parish, Fairhaven, Joining the Hagen's four biological children, one of whom said thoughtfully the other day, "Daddy, I think
we could fit at least three more children in our house." Adopting Matthew and Christine, said Peggy Hagen, has meant more hamburger than steak on the dinner table and a lowering of sights as far as the "best colleges" for her teenagers are concerned. But steaks and Ivy League campuses are not what it takes to build a decent human being, she maintains. "It's a matter of where you put your priorities. We'd rather be doing this than taking the kids on Bermuda vacations or trips to Disneyworld." Explaining why South Korea permits foreign adoptions, at least for the present, she said it is difficult to convince Asians, to whom family ties and blood lines are supremely important, that they should care for waifs. She related that a South Korean who learned of Matthew and Turn to Page Seven
Appoint Home Director, Name Associate Pastor Bishop Daniel A. Cronin has Father Michel G. Methot as asapointed Father 'f.homas L. Rita sociate pastor of St. Michael's Director of St. Vincent's Home, Church, Swansea, while retainFall River, while retaining his . ing his duties as Associate Diposition as Associate Director rector in the Diocesan Departof the Diocesan Department of ment of Education. Social Services and Special Both assignments became efApostolates. fective yesterday. The Ordinary has assigned Tum to Page Five
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NEW DEACON: Rev. Mr. Bernard Vanasse, of Sacred Heart parish, New Bedford, a student at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, is ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin at St. Mary's Cathedral.