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FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS ,CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS I
F ALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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A CATHOLIC woman pl~ads with Pr,otestant Orange Order marchers as they make their way down Garvaghy Road July 11 in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. Catholic residents attacked police as they shielded marchers along the route. (CNSj Reuters photo) -
Unrest again stirs in Northern Ireland
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Chur h & World 12 Dail Readings 5 Edit rial 4 Necr logy 13 Obit aries 2 Salu ing Seniors .. 10 Stee ing Points 16 Yout News 14
PORTADOWN, Northern Ireland (CNS) - Irish Cardinal Cahal Daly said the British government abdicated its responsibility when it allowed a chief constable to make a decision on a controversial march through a Catholic neighborhood. The cardinal also said the decision virtually eliminated Nationalist confidence in the Northern Irish police force and questioned ifthere was a dual standard for ruling Northern Ireland. In a July 14 homily at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Portadown, Cardinal D,aly told Catholics that their futures were in the hands of God, noting that it was "easy to fall into the deepest pessimism about the possibility of any peaceful and just future in our society." And he also said that while he deplored the decision to allow the march, "I totally condemn all recourse to violence, all rioting, all throwing of stones, or, even worse, of petrol bombs." He spoke after several days that saw rioting and the bombing of a hotel, violence that threatened to ignite paramilitary warfare after a two-yeartruce in Northern Ireland. The disturbances began when Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, banned a traditional Orange Order march through a Catholic area in Portadown, setting off Loyalist violence throughout the province. The police then reversed their decision and allowed the march to take place, using force to clear the
streets of protesting Catholics. That prompted a new wave of riots. The march commemorated the 17th-century Battle of the Boyne, where the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James II in 1690. Loyalists, mainly Protestants, want Northf:rn Ireland to remain a province of Great Britain. Na-
tionalists want Northern Ireland united with the Republic oflreland. Two Catholics were killed in the week of violence, one a taxi driver shot to death and the other a demonstrator run over by a military jeep. More than 200 people were injured. On July 14 a hotel was bombed in Enniskillen, injuring 17 people.
The Irish Republican Army denied responsibility for the blast. "Many fundamental questions need to be asked and to be answered about what has happened to justice and to truth in recent days," Cardinal Daly said in his homily. "It is said that the police authorTurn to Page 13
Diocese responds to postcard campaign By Dave Jolivet Anchor Staff The Diocese of Fall River took part in a postcard campaign, sponsored by the Secretariat for ProLife Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to flood Congress with requests urging support of the override of President Clinton's veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban (HR 1833). Once again, the diocesan response packed a punch. According to Father Stephen A. Fernandes, director of the diocesan Pro-Lire Office, at the very least, 115,783 postcards were mailed from the Diocese of Fall River. Each parish was responsible for mailing the: postcards and then reporting back to Father Fernandes, and as of press time, 70 percent (82) of the parishes in the diocese responded. "This is a very encouraging sign of cooperation between the laity and the clergy in the diocese for the defeat of the Partial-Birth Abortion ban veto," said Father Fernandes. "This shows
that the people of this diocese can work together when they see something so obviously a threat to life as this procedure is." The campaign consisted of signing a postcard addressed to Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry (both of whom supported the veto) and to the U.S. House of Representatives congressional member for the district in which the sender lives. The postcard urges the receiver to vote to override the veto of HR 1833. The representatives in the diocese who cast prolife votes in this issue were Peter Blute and Joe Moakley. Still not too late to help The vote on President Clinton's veto scheduled for July in the House of Representatives has been postponed until September, consequently pushing the Senate vote back to sometime in October. This means there is still time for individuals who didn't participate in the postcard campaign in late June to do so now. For individuals who would like
to assist in the campaign and did not yet do so, they may obtain the postcards from the Pro-Life Office, 500 Slocum Rd., No. Dartmouth, tel. 997-2290. Hopeful signs While the battle for Pro-Life advocates is always a difficult one, occasionally a hopeful sign appears to raise the spirits. A bill was recently introduced in the House, seeking to lift a ban against federal funding of harmful embryo research. The bill was soundly defeated, 256-167. Rep. Blute was the only representative in the diocesan districts to cast a pro-life vote. The war against abortion will continue to be fought and the people of the Fall River diocese appear to be willing to support the battle. Whether it be on the front lines, or by voicing a concern to politicians, every little bit will help. And the most powerful weapon against abortion can be utilized by anyone, anytime, anywhere... prayer.