t eanc 0 VOL. 39, NO. 27
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FALL RIVER, MASS.
Friday, July 14,1995
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Children the joy of his life
Msgr. Patrick 0 'Neill dies at 64
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A BANGLADESHI mother tries to feed her undernourished child. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. Problems of its women and of women in similar situations in other nations are addressed by the pope in a letter to women (see story below).
A priest who considered his work with children "the joy of my life" died July 8 at Charlton Memorial Hospital, Fall River. Msgr. Patrick J. O'Neill, 64, was from 1962 to 1973 superintendent of diocesan schools and from 1973 to 1977 diocesan director of education, a post including supervision of schools for special needs children, parish religious education programs and a variety of educational offerings for adults. His funeral Mass was offered yesterday at St. Julie BiIIiart Church, North Dartmouth, with his brother, Rev. Cornelius J. O'Neill, pastor of Sacred Heart parish, Taunton, as principal celebrant and homilist and scores of priests of the diocese in attendance. Interment was in St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River. A Fall River native, the son of the late Patrick O'Neill and the late Sarah (Coogan) O'Neill, Msgr. O'Neill was in youth a member of Sacred He:art parish in that city. Following graduation from then Msgr. Coyle High School in Taunton, he prepared for priesthood at Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Warwick, RI, and St. John's Seminary, Brighton. Following his ordination Feb. 2, 1957, by the late Bishop James L. Connolly, he was parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Church, Fall River, and St. Thomas More Church, Somerset. While heading the diocesan school sys-
tern, he was concurrently for II years chaplain of Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth, where he also taught and was a guidance counselor. In 1975 he was named pastor of SS. Peter and Paul parish, Fall River, while remaining director of education until 1977, when he resigned from that post to devote himself to parish ministry.]n 1986 he was appointed pastor of St. Julie Billiart parish, North Dartmouth, retiring from that pastorate in 1993, and living thereafter at the Priests' Retirement Home in Fall River. Msgr. O'Neill held a bachelor's degree from St. John's Seminary, and master's and doctorate degrees
MSGR. PATRICK O'NEILL
from Boston College. As his doctoral thesis he published a 650page study of New England elementary school principals. He was active in the National Catholic Educational Association and was a past president of its department of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE). He taught on the college and graduate school levels and conducted workshops across the nation for school administrators and school board members. An inveterate tinkerer, he enjoyed doing electrical work and "amateur carpentry" in the parishes in which he served, experience which stood him in good stead as he supervised renovation and enlargement of St. Julie Billiart Church in 1992 and 1993. His last official act as its pastor was blessing of the church's new wing, which is dedicated to him. ]n retirement he lived at the Priests' Retirement Home in Fall River. Msgt. O'Neill was an enthusiastic sailor, participating in several Newport to Bermuda and Marblehead to Halifax, Nova Scotia, races. He was frequently joined in sailing by his brother. As well as by him, he is survived by a sister, Mary M. Melker of Fall River and by two nephews, Patrick J. and Neil T. Melker and a niece, Kathleen M. Costa. He also leaves several cousins in this country and in ]reland.
Pre-Beijlng letter
Papal message addresses women of world VAT1CAN CITY (CNS) - ]n a letter addressed to the women of the world, Pope John Paul II has praised women's roles as mothers, wives and social leader.s, and said they need greater protection against persistent forms of violence apd exploitation. The letter endorsed women's liberation as a substantially positive process but emphasized that men and women rightly have a "diversity of rol«:s" in society and in the church that reflect their complementary natures. The all-male plriesthood, he said, does not detract from the role of women and is not a sign of male domination. He condemned abortion as a grave sin, but stressed that responsibility for it can extend far beyond the woman directly involved. The pope said his. unprecedented letter was an attempt to speak "directly to the heart and mind of every woman" before the start of the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing, China, in, September.
Vatica n officials expect tough debate during the conference over issues of abortion, gender difference and women's role in the family. The papal letter, however, avoided controversy and took a strictly positive tone. It included thanks for all women have done, an apology for the church's failure to recognize these contributions at all times and a condemnation of what the pope called the "long and degrading histqry" of sexual violence against women. ]n a reference to prostitution and sex tourism, the pope blamed the "widespread hedonistic and commercial culture" for encouraging systematic exploitation of sexuality and corrupting "even very young girls into letting their bodies be used for profit." The pope also discussed rape and the questions it raises about abortion. He said the issue presents itself not only in cases of war but in permissive societies marked by "aggressive male behavior." He praised "those women who, with a heroic love for the child
they have conceived, proceed with a pregnancy resulting from the injustice of rape." Even in cases of rape, he said, the choice to have an abortion is always a grave sin. "But before
FIRE rally is Sept. 9 at Melody Tent Mark September 9 on your calendar! Bishop Sean O'Malley has announced it as the date on which a F]RE rally will take place at Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis. FI R E, an acronym for Faith, ]ntercession, Repentance and Evangelism, is sponsored by the Cape and ]slands deanery of the diocesan Charismatic Renewal. It will continue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a Mass scheduled for 4 p.m. Turn to Page II
being something to blame on the woman, it is a crime for which guilt needs to be attributed to men and to the complicity of the general social environment," he added. The pope urged changes to make women's equality a reality, calling for equal pay for equal work, protection for working mothers, fairness in career advancement and equal family rights for men and women. But in listing obstacles to women's equality, he pointed out that "the 'gift of motherhood is often penalized rather than rewarded," and said that "much remains to be done to prevent discrimination against those who have chosen to be wives and mothers." The pope opened his letter with expressions of gratitude to women as mothers, wives, daughters and sisters, professionals in various fields and religions. Their contributions in all these areas, he said, reflect the "genius of women." He elaborated on this term throughout the letter, attributing to women such gifts as "an
ability to see persons with their hearts," independent of ideologicalor political systems; a willingness to give themselves generously to others, particularly in education and in serving the weakest and most defenseless; and a natural"insight" that helps make human relations more honest and authentic. "I know, of course, that simply saying thank you is not enough," the pope wrote in noting how women's dignity has been unappreciated at times by the church and the rest of humanity. ]n various times and places, he said, women have been unacknowledged, misrepresented, relegated to the margins of society and even reduced to servitude. He said assigning blame for this is not easy, considering how people's attitudes are shaped by their culture. "If objective blame, especial,ly in particular historical contexts, has belonged to not just a few members of the church, for this] am truly Turn to Page II