FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD,. THE ISLANDS VOL. 43, NO. 30 • Friday, August 6, 1999
FALL RIVER, MASS.
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God as Father
Pregnancy health center offers help on Cape Cod
contemplated in jubilee year preparations ByEMIUEAsT CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE
ST. PAUL, Minn. - In this third and final year of preparation for the jubilee year 2000, Catholics are renewing their image of God as the Father - who not only created us but loves us as a parent loves its children. Jesus taught his followers to pray in the name of "Our Father," but the idea of God as a father figure is not unique to Christianity. Many religions invoke God as "Father," as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" points out, yet when Jesus first started talking about God in parental terms, he was , , breaking new ground.
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By MIKE GORDON ANcHOR STAFF
Many religions invoke God as "Father," as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" points out, yet when Jesus first started talking about God in parental terms, he was breaking new ground. "Abba," the Hebrew word Jesus used to address his father, actually connoted "papa," rather than the more formal "father," said Edward Sellner, a theology professor at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and an author. "Abba" is a term indicating the closeness and affection found between parent and child. "Jesus' understanding of God comes out of his human experience," ,Sellner told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. "His was a radical message - both needed and a source of offense, ofscandal. It was that God is intimate. God ~s a parent. God is loving." The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" points out that "God's parental tenderness Tum to page 13 - Father
Ecumenical project found Catholic clergymen collaborating in the effort to offer women an alternative to abortion.
SMOOTH SAILING: Justin Tunney and Richard Legan enjoy a boat ride on Long Pond during one of Cathedral Camp's daycamp sessions in East Freetown. Counselor Tara Atwood steers the boat. For more photos turn to page 14. (AnchodGordon photo)
HYANNIS -After almost a year of planning, the Cape Cod Chapter of Massachusetts Citizens for Life group (MCFL), recently celebrated the official opening of a new pregnancy health center, A Woman's Concern. The Cape Cod Chapter collaborated with Baptist minister the Rev. John Ensor, director of A Woman's Concern, on the ecumenical project and the Hyannis building is the fourth such center estabiished in Massachusetts. Msgr. John J. Smith of St. Pius X Parish, South Yarmouth, Father Gerald T. Shovelton of Holy Trinity Parish, West Harwich and Father Edward J. Byington of St. Francis Xavier Parish, Hyannis were also involved with planning and the opening of the center. Along with representation of many other Cape Cod Christian churches, they worked together and joined together in faith to launch this ministry. "The dedication ceremony was excellent and well attended," said Msgr. Smith. He said that the project was very important because "It gives women an alternative to abortion." Bishop O'Malley was on the Cape for a deanery meeting as initial plans were being discussed for the center and Mr. Ensor explained the project to him said Msgr. Smith. "The bishop was thankful of the efforts to bring A Woman's Concern to the Cape and said he was happy to support it and have his parish priests involved." The mission of the center is to reach out to young women in pregnancy distress, especially those considering abortion due to Tum to page 13 - Center
Mother Teresa's sainthood cause formally opened ~
Team of investigators takes oath of office and secrecy. By CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE
CALCUTTA. India - Mother Teresa's cause for sainthood opened formally with members of a tribunal and a historical commission taking an oath of office and secrecy. The 45-minute inaugural session was , held recently in Calcutta, where the founder of the Missionaries of Charity congregation based her life and work and where she died in September 1997 at age 87. "We are now beginning in an official
manner the cause of beatification and canonization" of Mother Teresa, said Archbishop Henry D'Souza of Calcutta, who led the ceremony at St. Mary's Church. His remarks were reported by UCA News, an Asian Church news agency based in Thailand. The archbishop said the opening of the diocesan investigation is the beginning of a "serious responsibility," and the Church "must be sure that someone who is to be declared a saint is truly such." St. Mary's Church, where Missionaries of Charity nuns take their vows, echoed with the "Magnificat" sung by a Missionaries of Charity nuns' choir. The Missionaries of Charity superior, Sister
Nirmala Joshi, told UCA News after the ceremony that "now the cause has started. We are privileged to have a saint in our own time. "Beatification depends on God, the Holy Spirit ... we are hoping it proceeds fast," she added. She recalled Mother Teresa asking all of the Missionaries of Charity nuns "to be saints. Mother had promised to give saints to the Church." Archbishop D'Souza later told UCA News that "the process is time-consuming, (and) will take at least one year for all the witnesses to be heard." He said that Calcutta alone has some 100 witnesses who will give their testimony and that each will take a session to hear. Wit-
nesses will also be heard in Rome, New York, London and Santiago, he added. Asked if Mother Teresa might be canonized in the year 2000, he said: "Much will depend on the verification of the miracles. If God wills it, then it will happen." Sister Nirmala said she would also appear before the inquiry committee to witness to Mother Teresa's Christian virtues such as faith, hope and charity, and to her life of holiness. At the opening function, Missionaries of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator of the cause, presented to the archbishop his mandate of appointment as postulator on behalf of the Missionaries of Charity.