•
Adult Relig IOUS Education Report Stresses Goals and Programs . WASHINGTON (NC) _. Despite several years of gr'eater emphasis on ·adult religious education in the Church in this country, there is still a great deal of uncertainty over what neflds to be done and how to do it, accord-
ing to a draft report by the National Center of Religious Education. The 50-page report, which was sent out to diocesan· adult education directors across the country, is the first draft of a full
The ANCHOR An Anchor of the Soul, Sure and Firm-Sf. Paul
Fall River, Mass., Thursday, July 11, 1974 lIo.l 2 PRICE 15c VoI. 18,I~O. 8 © 197.4 The Anchor $5.~O per year
Pope Asks Strict Moral Judgment VATICAN CITY (NC)-Christians today who live "in a climate of public liberty and personal responsibility" have a major duty to exercise their "critical moral judgment" in the society in which they live. This was the central point of Pope Paul's general audience talk during which he spoke to an overflow crowd of summer pilgrims and visitors. The Pope said Christians today live in a society which has become radically secularized and emptied of spiritual values, which in the past were the touchstones of me in general. "What should the Christian do in this situation?" Pope Paul asked. "Should he alienate himself, should he adapt to the sitTurn to PagEl Three
Summer Mass Schedule Pages EIGHT and NINE
The report stresses the need for careful research and careful plotting of programs and goals in order to bring adult religious education into the mainstream of American Church life.
To draw up the report, Xavierian Brother Richard Kerressey, the national center's assistant director for adult education, traveled across the country and met with diocesan directors of adult education from 142 of the nation's 169 dioceses. "The main thing we need is patience," said Brother Kerressey, commenting on the report. "The most significant problem has been attempting to do too much too soon." The mood among diocesan personnel involved in 'adult religious education railges "from a cautious optimism among the more experienced to feelings of uncertainty and insecurity among the less experienced," the report says. Brother Kerressey pointed out that uncertainty and confusion seemed to come from the gap between ideals and present capabilities, the. frustration of trying to establish broad programs without sufficient resources, and confusion over priorities, over where to start with so much to do.
Bishop
Cape The Oyster Harbors Club in Osterville will be the site for a reception in honor of Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, S.T.D., Bishop of Fall River, on Wednesday, August 21, from 5:30 in the afternoon to 7:30 in the evening. Chairman of the reception group is Richard E. McLaughlin, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The reception is tendered by both year-round residents of Cape Cod and those who are in summer residence there. It affords diocesans an opportunity
statement on adult religious education that is being developed hy the center. The center is a division of the U.S. Catholic Conference here. The draft report examines the tt.-eory and present practice of adult religious education around the country and pinpoints the major areas of concern today. It points out that, although programs for adults have increased significantly in recent years, they have not attained the vision expressed by the U.S. bishops in their 1973 pastoral letter "To Teach As Jesus Did." "Today, perhaps more than ever before, it is important to recognize that learning is a lifelong experienc·e.... Consequently the continuing education of adults is situated not at the periphy of the Church's educational mission 'but at its center."
to meet with their Bishop and gives the opportunity to those who summer on Cape Cod to express their gratitude for the spiritual services offered by the Diocese of Fall River to Cape visitors. The reception will be outdoors on the shores of Oyster Harbor. The joyous occasion will be sustained by music in the background. McLaug~lin is Secretary
joined, in the reception organization, by retired Judge John Fox of Norfolk County Court and Hyannis; Atty. Robert MacDonald of ·Bourne; Attorney General and Mrs. Robert Quinn of Cataumet. Also preparing for the gala event are Thomas Hennessey of Centerville, formerly president of N.E. Telephone; Carmen Elio of Oyster Harbors, investment broker.
Also, Ralph Tedeschi, Bernard Baldwin, Richard McCusker, Edward J. McCormack and Mr. and Mrs. James Moriarty, all of Oyster Harbors; Mr. and Mrs. George .Pumphret of Harwich; Mrs. John P. Birmingham and Mr. and Mrs. John Birmingham Jr. Also serving are Mr. and Mrs. John· O'Connor from Falmouth, and John Campbell of WPLM is also part of the organizational committee..
Vatican, Poland Establish New Contacts
VATlCAN CITY (NC) - The Vatican ·announced July 5 that it is 'establishing "permanent working contacts" with Poland as a step leading toward normalization of Church-state relations. The Vatican said that the decision on the new level of diplomatic relations with the communist government of Poland had been reached after a twoday meeting between Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, secretary of the Council for the Church's Public Affairs, and Jozef Czyrek, Poland's deputy foreign minister. The meeting was held recently in Rome. The establishment of "permanent working contacts" by the Vatican has in the past been a prelude to the resumption of full diplomatic relations as were established with Yugoslavia. Poland and the Vatican now seemed to have reached the point at which the two parties are willing to discuss and agree on full diplomatic relations. That would open a new era of Church-state relations in Poland. The Polish bishops had asked the Vatican earlier to consult them throughout imy form of negotiations with their country's communist regime. There are still many questions on Churc,h-state relations in Poland today that have not been solved satisfactorily, including the Church's rights in education, 'OPERATION RESIDENT': Msgr. Robert A. Walton religious instruction, the nominavisits aNavajo family on his widely scattered mission parish tions of bishops, and clergy changes. in New Mexico.
New Opportunity For' Retired Priests Offered by Extension Society OHICAGO A call was issued this week to retired priests all over the country to consider volunteering for limited service in the American Home Missions. The call is part of a new national plan to help alleviate th~ shortage of priests in the home missions, according to Rev. Joseph A. Cusack, president of the Catholic Church Extension Society. Called "Operation Resident," the plan will make use of the talents and energies of retired priests who wish to maintain a level of apostolic work. Operation Resident will be administered by the Extension Society where requests for priests will be catalogued by diocese. Retired priests who wish to donate their services in the home missions may contact Extension and receive a list of'mission dioceses that need their help. In this manner, Extension will act as a. national clearing house to place retired priests in limited assignments in the home missions. Turn to Page Three
The key, he said, is "accepting the fact that this involves a ch,ange in the Church's educational mission, and that it takfis time to develop." The report suggests a need for research in numerous areas reo lating to adult religious education: development and evaluation of model programs, the use of mass media in adult education, differences in method and motivation of adult education in comparison with the education of children, the development of a philosophy and theology of adult education. The most immediate needs for adult religious education in this country, the report says, are: -"A statement of the problem in clear, concise terms, .a statement based on firm data; -"An educational campaign to promote the 'vision' of adult religious education as proposed in the (U.S. bishops') pastoral meso sage on education; -"A greater expenditure of personnel and finances to pilot model adult programs in the diocese and parish; -"A series of action steps on national, regional and diocesan levels to indicate that we mean seriously to address ourselves to the issues."