The mOB
An Ancluw of the Soul, SU're and Firm -
ST. PAUL
Fall River, Mass., Thursday, August 6, 1970 PRICE 10¢ Vol. 14, No. 32 © 197() The Anchor $4.00 per yoar
New Bedford Clergy Act on Tensions' New Bedford clergymen of all denominations, in. an unprecedented ecumenical endeavor, have been conferring among themselves and with city officials and with representatives of the black and Puerto Rican communities, offering their services to help ease the tensions that have been running high in that city for more than two weeks. Most Rev. James L. Connolly, D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has appointed Rev. John F. Hogan as his personal representative to the conferences. Father Hogan is director of the Greater New Bedforp Welfare Bureau. Other Catholic priests at the conferences are Rev. Coleman Conley, SS.CC., of the Regina Pacis Spanish Center, Rev. Philip Kelly, C.S.C., Rev. William W. Norton of St. Mary's Home, Rev. William PetrIe, SS.CC., of Our Lady of the Assumption Church and Rev. John J. Steakem. . Meanwhile, several Sisters of Mercy from Mt. St. Mary Convent in Fall River assisted staff members of the New Bedford Spanish Center to evacuate and care for children who were moved from New Bedford and the area' where there has been rioting and destruction to a camp in Dighton. Those from the Mount who assisted Sister
Ros~lIen, RSM, of the' Spanish Center were Sister Mary Sylvia, Sister Mary Denisita, Sister Mary Camilla and Sister Mary Antonine. Also aiding were Mercy nul'ls from Rhode Island, a Dominiican Sister, and Sisters of the Sacred Hearts' from Fairhaven. The New Bedford clergymen recognize that a twofold problem confronts the city - first, the immediate task of easing tensions and restoring peace and reducing polarization in the community; and,' second, the underlying problem of improving the lot of members of minority groups especially along the lines of housing and employment. The clergymen have accepted the challenge of persuading people that the Way of progress must be the way of non-violence. They insist that this does not mean a return to the status quo or a peace that is the equivalent of lethargy. It does. mean the' conviction that there must first be an atmosphere of peace and reason so that there can take place the constructive dialogue and then the concrete. plans for housing and training programs leading to better employment. They further insist that people must be able to see within a Turn to Page Two
Religious Education Parley In Providence Aug. 21 Rev. Bernard Haring, C.SS.R., gress was: "Let Your Light internationally known theologian Shine Before' Men." and author, will be the keynote This year's Congress will have speaker at the opening of the 50 seminars, workshops and spe24th New England Congress of cial events covering programs on Religious Education at Provi- both theological and moral dence College on Friday, Aug. 21. topics, as well as teaching The theme of this year's Con- methods. New trends in religious gress is "The 70's: Decade of education, new texts, and the inHope." Expected to draw more fluence of technology and social than 5,000 parents, religion issues on religious education teachers, Confraternity of Chris- will be explored. tian Doctrine officials, and parOther speakers announced toish education committees from aay' by William J. McDole of the 11 New England dioceses, Pawtucket, Congress Chairman, the Congress will examine every are: Professor Gorden Zahn, facet of religious education. chairman of the American Pax The congress is rotated each year Society and Rev. Paul Shanley, among the various New England . in charge of a Ministry to Aliendioceses. ated Youth "on the streets" in ;: Bishop Connolly was host to Boston. 19th New England Congress Also, Rod Brownfield, Editor of the Confraternity of Chrisitan of "The Catechist"; Joe Wise, Doctrine that was held from musician and composer of liturAug. 26 through Aug: 29, 1965 gical music; Rev. James J. Di~ at Bishop Stang High School, Giacomo, S.J., head of the ReliNo. Dartmouth. gion Department at Forc\ham The theme of the 1965 ConTurn to Page Twelve
Mission of Priest to People Sends Bishop to Migrants BROWNSVILLE (NC) - Each Spring Bishop Humberto Medeiros watches fathers, mothers and children of all ages leave the Brownsville diocese for a few promised dollars in distant fields. Instead of waiting for their return this year, the bishopformer Chancellor of the Diocese of Fall River and pastor of St. Michael's Church in Fall Riverfollowed, traveling 4,000 miles in two weeks to visit their migrant camps in six Midwestern states. It was the second time he has tracked the coughing cars and ancient pick-up trucks that 'carry the mostly Mexican-American migrant workers from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to backbreaking work elsewhere. It's this first-hand experience ministering to migrants' needs that prompted the bishop to say recently that he "would like to see the whole migrant system disappear tomorrow." He admitted, however, that he doesn't know how this could be accomplished at the present time. The bishop described his ministry as "a mission of a priest to his people." Recently in Davenport, Iowa, he explained it this way: "You mighf say that I miss them down there and coming up here is a real retreat for me."
He said he has found migrants' living conditions "rather poor" but tolerable and in one place they were "quite good."
(CD Diredor Wins Degree
Accustomed as they are to the time-honored wall of separation between Church and state, Americans may be surprised to know that one third- of the world's nations give some fonn of state aid to Catholic schools.
Rev. Ronald A. Tosti, Diocesan director' of' the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, today received a Master of Arts Degree in Religious Education at Commencement Exercises. at Fordham University, New Yor~. Father Tosti becomes the first priest of the Fall River Diocese to receive this degree in specialized training for work in the CCD. Born Nov. 2, 1936 in Taunton, the son of Antonio and Norma Ginesi Tosti, he graduated from Taunton High School and then attended St. Thomas Preparatory Seminary, Bloomfield, Conn. His philosophical and theological studies were pursued at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. Following. ordination on May II, 1962 by Bishop Connolly in Turn to Page Six
BISHOP MEDEIROS
Those' conditions, he said, only reflect the living in "the valley" where his migrants usually reside. "The poor live in substandarel homes; the homes are very poor, very poor," he added. , . Bishop Medeiros said he believes that the migrants' lot improves because of the yearly treks to harvest far away crops: "Because of the help they get from the OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity) and the . churches, they go home better . educated, really, and with more money than they would have had if they bad stayed home-at least in our valley." Migrants get "real character" from their suffering during the long trips, but this is not the way "of life we should encourage, the bishop said. To help meet the" migrants' many needs, the bishop's diocese has embarked on an ambitious program despite financial shortcomings. "The diocese is the people, remember." And, said Bishop Medeiros, "We can do only what the people do. If you talk in terms of money and the people Turn to Page Si,x
One Third, of Nati'ons Aid Catholic 'School Systems
•••••••••• + ••••••••••••
This is the second in a series of arti:les which will discuss the purpose and plight of Catholic School education and its future prospects. .. _. - . - . , - - . , - ... _. •. "In all countries of Europe, in all English-speaking countries of Asia and Africa, in fact in one third of the nations of the whole world, there is some form of state aid to Catholic education," says Jan Lindemims, secretary general of the International Office of Catholic Education. The national educational system of England, whose institutions and laws were 18th-century models for the .young United States, is organized on a basis
of decentralization. The Ministry of Education administers public funds and exercises the right of inspection at all levels of education, whether private or stateowned. Local education authorities administer. state-owned schools. There are two main types of s~hools in England: ·"maintained schools" financed by the state and by. local authorities and administered by the local authorities; "independent 5'(;hools" which provide for their own nee(Js. In 1968 there were 519 inde- . pendent fee-charging Catholic schools with over 100,000 stu-. dents. Turn to Page Eighteen
Twin Circle Purchases Register
REV. RONALD ,A. TOSTI
UENVER (NC) - Twin Circle has bought The National Register, in a major publishing transaction that brings the two nationally circulated Catholic weekly newspapers under one roof. Purchase price was not disclosed in a joint announcement of the deal by Archbishops James V. Casey of Denver and Robert J. Dwyer of Portland, Ore. Economic difficulties were described by the Register's resigning editor as the reason it was sold. Archbishop Casey is president of the Catholic Press Society, Inc., of Denver, publishers of the 57-year-old National Registc:r, which has 112,000 circulation. Turn to Page Nineteen
NAMED: Bishop Connolly has appointed' Rev. George E. Harrison, assistant at St. Mary's Church, Taunton, as chaplain of the Taunton Serra Club. The appointment becomes effective immediately.