06.02.89

Page 1

VOL. 33, NO. 22,.

Friday, June 2, 1989

FALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

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$11 Per Year

President, pope meet

HUNDREDS attended a recent prayer and healing service at St. Anne's Church, Fall River. (Gaudette photo)

VATICAN CITY (NC) - At a meeting that was more substance than ceremony, Pope John Paul II and President Bush exchanged views on the fighting in Lebanon, political changes in Poland and the outlook for East-West detente. Meanwhile Barbara Bush took time from official meetings and state dinners to serve lunch to 40 homeless women at a Vatican shelter staffed by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. After a 55-minute private audience May 27, Bush and the

pope delivered speeches that emphasized the importance 'of new opportunities for peace and human rights in the world. It was Bush's first meeting as president with the pope. Vatican officials, noting that the encounter came early in the Bush term, said it allowed the Holy See to, provide input on several important issues - especially Lebanon and the changing scene in Eastern Europe. Bush said he came away from the meeting committed to "redoubling our effo~ts, in every way pos-

sible, for world peace, for strengthening the family and for freedom of religion." The president said his 55-minute private conversation with the pope "was a talk that I'll long remember. I was again inspired by his moral and spiritual leadership." The pope, speaking to Bush and his 33~member entourage in the papal library, said recent world events had demonstrated that Turn to Page II

U.8. bishops to discuss their teaching role WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S. bishops are to vote on statements on their own doctrinal responsibilities and on reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam when they hold their spring meeting June 16-19. The meeting, the first to be held at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., will also feature extended discussions on evangelization of black Catholics in the United States, integrating Catholic social teaching in'the church and society, and implementing the bishops' 1987 national pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry. A three-year, $360,000 plan to observe the 1992 fifth centenary of Christianity in the Americas is also up for a vote at the meeting, It includes plans for celebrations to culminate in an October 1992 visit by Pope John Paul II to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to meet with a convocation of bishops from throughout the Americas. Also to be voted on at the meeting are two clergy exchange agreements, one with the bishops of

Korea and one with the bishops of the Philippines. Although the meeting of about 250 bishops will last four days, only the first two are devoted to business sessions open to the press. The third day, Sunday, is a day of prayer and recollection, to be

led by Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Malines-Brussels, Belgium. June 19 will be devoted to an executive session closed to the press, according to an agenda released by the bishops' Office for Media Relations in Washington. -The office said a final press con-

ference would be held Saturday, June 17, after the last public session of the meeting. The document "Doctrinal Responsibilities: Approaches to Promoting Cooperation and Resolving Misunderstandings Between Bishops'and Theologians" has been

St. Mathieu's p,arish to close Bishop Daniel A. Cronin has announced closing ofSt. Mathieu's Parish in Fall River, effective June 25, 1989. Bishop Cronin explained that it was a painful decision to make; however, he stated that both the diocese an~ the parish must face the reality of declining vocations and the dwindling number of parishioners. The late Rev. Adrien E. Bernier, whom Bishop Cronin praised as a noble churchman, had continued to provide priestly ministry to the parishioners until last fall, when his terminal illness prevented him from doing so.

After Father Bernier's death, the diocese assessed the viability of ,the parish, consulting with parishioners and priests alike. "Although we must face the painful reality of closing this parish, its spirit will continue, not only in its rich history, but also in the people who have been affiliated with St. Mathieu's. Their faith was the essence of St. Matheiu's parish and that faith will continue in the many other parish communities that will receive them," said Bishop Cronin. The bishop thanked the parishioners for their gracious coop-

eration and prayerful spmt. He also thanked the priests of St. Anne's parisn, especially the Rev. John R. Foister, pastor, for their generous ministry to St. Mathieu's. , During June, parishioners are invited to register with a new parish community of their choice. St. Mathieu's records will be kept at St. Anne's parish, and the diocese will begin to take the necessary steps regarding disposition of the parish property. The last Mass to be said at the parish, on Sunday, June 25, will be offered for the repose of the soul of Father Bernier.

in various drafting stages since 1980. It was initially presented to the bishops for debate and a vote at the end of their meeting in November 1987. Atthat time, Denver Archbishop J. Francis Stafford wanted to return the document to the bishops' Committee on Doc-' trine for substantial revision, argu-. ing that it treated' the teaching authority and doctrinal responsibility of bishops too lightly. The bishops voted down his motion to return the document to the committee, but there were not enough bishops present to continue the meeting, so business was suspended. • In November 1988 the slightly revised document was again on the agenda but a last-minute letter from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, expressing concern that portions of the document seemed to put bishops and theologians on the same level, led to its withdrawal. The tardiness of the Vatican interTurn to Page Six

First pope in A rctic Circle VATICAN CITY (NC) - Chalk up another first for the traveling pope: today John Paul II will become the first pontiff to cross the Arctic Circle when he visits the Norwegian town of Tromso. Crossing the Arctic Circle will put him within reach of slightly more than 600 of Norway's 20,000 Catholics, The fact points out the lengths to which the pope will have to go during his trip to five Nordic countries to find the sparse and scattered Catholic population in a region where Lutheranism is the dominant religion. The pope also will visit Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden on his trip, which started yesterday and ends June 10. It will be the first papal visit to each of the five

countries, where the total number of Catholics is less than 200,000. Except for Sweden, which has more than 120,000 Catholics, the pope's followers in the other countries would easily fit into a section of the sports stadiums that often provide the venue for papal events. ,During the 10-day trip, the pope's itinerary calls for visits to 14 cities and towns in locations so far north that in June the sun hardly sets. The papal visit is expected to give a shot in the arm to the region's tiny Catholic minority, many of them either immigrants or refugees from central Europe and South America or descendants of immigrants and refugees. The trip will give the pope an opportunity to cement ecumenical

relations with Lutherans, 'send signals to the Soviet Union; he will be within 60 miles of the Soviet border while visiting Finland, a neutral country in superpower struggles; and strengthen waning religious values in a highly developed, secular and materially well-off society with roots in Christianity. The region's Christian roots go back to the Middle Ages. Catholicism was firmly established in four of the countries by the beginning of the II th century and in Finland during the 12th century. Currently, Lutheranism is either the state religion or the favored one throughout the five Nordic countries. It swept away CatholiTurn to Page Six

I

Not to SCaUl-

POPE JOHN PAUL II will visit 14 cities and towns in five countries during his trip to Scandinavia which started yesterday. (NC map)


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06.02.89 by The Anchor - Issuu