07.02.81

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SERVING . ..

t eanc 0 VOL. 25, NO. 27

SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS

FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, JULY 2; 1981

20c, $6 Per Year

EI Salvador enigma By NC News service When William A. Wilson, President Reagan's personal envoy to the Vatican, said recently that the Vatican supports U.S. government policy on El Salvador despite the opposition of the U.S. bishops to military aid, he raised questions on both sides of the Atlantic. The Vatican has expressed interest in Wilson's remarks, but so far has made no public comment on the issue. In Washington Bishop Thomas C. Kelly, general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops-U.S. Conference, said June 26 the Vatican has never indicated disagreement with the U.S. bishops on EI Salvador or agreement with the U.S. position on military aid. The issue was raised when Wilson said in Rome that the Vatican supports the U.S. government's position on EI Salvador. His comments were made in an interview with NC News Service, which sent out the story June 25. On June 27 the Vatican Press Office, which is supervised by the papal Secretariat of State, indicated interest about Wilson's statement and asked to see the NC News article. The press office declined to comment immediately and indicated that the decision about whether there would be a public response to Wilson's remarks

READY FOR BALTIMORE are, from left, Jane Cook, David Laine, Mike Wilson, Carol Gorman, Maureen Ross, Jim Perry, Sister Peggy Fromm, Tom Gorman, Lisa Garceau.

Tazlnton teens make Bait jim ore Connection One of the liveliest teenage youth programs in the diocese is relocating itself in inner-city Baltimore this summer. Seven young people from Sacred Heart parish, Taunton, left yesterday for a five-week stint of service in St. Peter the Apostle parish, Baltimore. Led by Sister Peggy Fromm, SUSC, for six years Sacred Hearts director of religious education, and Jim Perry, a parish CCD teache'r and Bridgewater State College: facuIty member, the teens will offer tutoring, arts and crafts, games, field trips and religious E:ducation to youngsters. They will also visit the sick of thEl par-

.ish and work with retarded adults. The project, dubbed the Baltimore Connection, got off the ground in March, when Sister Peggy wrote to 29 pastors and others involved in service to the poor, offering them the services of her group to run a summer program. After outlining her background and extensive ministry experience, she noted: "One observation 1 have made over the years is that youth today need more experience of the joy of being for others. 1 see the providing of opportunities for service to others as one of my re-

sponsibilities. I believe that if we expect youth to give a lifetime of Christian service, . . . then it is a must that we help them to get in touch with their call to be our brother's keeper. "I am not concerned whether the community we serve is Catholic or not and 1 am open to other needs besides recreational and educational. My major concern is that there be a real need to fulfill," she wrote. The Holy Union Sister noted that her group would need nothing but a place to live and some donations of food. "Not all of us have to have beds (cots and Turn to Page Ten

would be made at higher levels. Wilson, 66, a Los Angeles businessman who has held unpaid envoy position since February, said he had recently re路 ported to Vatican officials on the current United States role in El Salvador. "They appeared to receive the report well and to approve of the actions taken by the U.S. government," said Wilson. He declined to reveal details of the report or the names of the Vatican off~ial with whom he had spoken. Wilson said he was aware of the U.S. bishops' public opposition to arms shipments to EI Salvador's civilian-military government and that his report had been requested by the Vatican in light of the U.S. bishops' stand. After Wilson made his comments Bishop Kelly of the NCCB said: "It is difficult to know what significance to attach to reactions attributed to unnamed officials responding to a report which has not been made public." Opposition to U.S. military aid to EI Salvador is not confined to Catholic leaders nor to the United States. The National Council of Churches, representing Protestant and Orthodox denominations, launched a cam路 paign against military aid to EI Salvador shortly after Archbishop Romero's death. The Canadian Turn to Page Three

Philippines ~puzzle The cardinal's criticisms were BAGUTO, Philippines fNC) Filipino President Ferdinand contained in a speech prepared Marcos is mounting a "delib- for a meeting of the Filipino ate, finely orchestrated cam- . Catholic bishops in Baguio, 125 paign" to stifle religious free- miles north of the capital of dom, according to Cardinal Manila. The speech was read for Jaime Sin of Manila, Philippines. the cardinal who was recupera路 The cardinal asked Filipino ting from surgery in a Manila bishops to protest against the hospital. Cardinal Sin said a series of campaign and said that government attempts to discredit him newspaper articles attacking were similar to the tactics used him were based mostly on press by the Nazis at they rose to releases from the president's power in Germany. office. The articles accused the "And one of the continuing cardinal of "political agitation" reproaches against the church for issuing a statement prior to was that the German bishops, the presidential election June except for two, chose路 to keep 16 saying it was not immoral silent," Cardinal Sin said. "You to refuse to vote. all know what happened." The statement came after Mar"Considering the frontal at- cos, who was faced with the tacks that have been levelled threat of an election boycott against the church and against campaign by some opposition certain church leaders, consider- groups, said that Pope Pius XII ing the distortions and the false- had said it is immoral not to hoods that are being spread,- can vote. The cardinal's statement we still say there is freedom of said Pope Pius had been quoted religion in our beloved country?" out of context and Filipinos he asked. Turn to Page Seven


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