t eanc VOL. 36, NO. 31
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FAU RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS FALL RIVER, .MASS.
Friday, August 9, 1991
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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$11 Per Year
Connecticut spiritual leader mourned at services today With CNS reports Funeral services were to be held today at the Cathedral ofSt. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., for Hartford Archbishop John F. Whealon, 70, who died Aug. 2. Bishop Daniel A. Cronin was to be among concelebrants of the funeral Mass. He is accompanied at the service by diocesan chancellor Msgr. John J. Oliveira. Bishop Cronin issued the following statement of condolence following Archbishop Whealon's death: It is with profound sadness that I have learned of the unexpected death of Archbishop John F. Whealon. He was a model priest and bishop who brought to his ministry true holiness and scholarly dedication. Devoted to his priests, religious and laity, Archbishop Whealon led those entrusted to his care by quiet yet strong example. I express my sincere sympathy to all in the Archdiocese of Hartford. May Archbishop WheaIon now enjoy eternal rest in the vision of the mysteries he so faithfully preached on earth. Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston was to be principal celebrant and Hartford Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Rosazza was to be homilist at the funeral Mass. As he. had requested, Archbishop Whealon was to be buried in a simple wooden casket at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery in Hartford. He had headed the archdiocese since 1969. The prelate had been undergoing a minor six-minute surgical procedure at St. Francis Hospital
and Medical Center when he suffered an irregular heart rate and rhythm. Doctors worked for more than an hour to resuscitate him, said Dr. Frederick L. Geary, the senior attending physician. An autopsy showed that a previous cancer had recurred in Archbishop Whealon and that "significant and longstanding heart disease" had predisposed him to the cardiac arrest that led to his death. Dr. George Barrow, director of' pathology and laboratory medicine, said that the autopsy indicated - contrary to what doctors originally reported - recurrence of leimyosarcoma, a tumor which arises from smooth muscle tissue. The archbishop had undergone a
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ARCHBISHOP WHEALON
number of surgeries for recurring cancer since 1978.. He was admitted to the hospital July 27 after fainting during Mass. Doctors said the fainting was due to a combination of abdominal cramping and side effects of a cardiac medication prescribed for high blood pressure. The Aug. 2 procedure, considered routine even for outpatients, was to replace a shunt between the archbishop's kidney and bladder necessitated by adhesions following previous cancer surgery. The archbishop was to have been released from the hospital the morning he died. Bishop Rosa~za will administer the Hartford archdiocese until a successor to Archbishop Whealon is named. He received the news by telephone while on a trip to Eastern Europe. Auxiliary' Bishop Paul S. Loverde told reporters at a press conference that archdiocesan officials had been rejoicing Aug. I that Archbishop Whealon "would be going home" from the hospital. "This morning Archbishop Whealon has indeed gone home," said Bishop Loverde. He praised the archbishop as a "true shepherd" of the church. "The passing of time will reveal more clearly how immense is our loss. We shall miss him so very much," he said. Others expressed their sadness over the news of his death. Bishop Joseph F. Maguire of Springfield, Mass., said the archbishop was a "model for all priests Turn to Page 10
Sanctions put Iraq on brink of starvation, CRS reports WASHINGTON (CNS) Without large-scale reljef intervention, the population of Iraq faces mass starvation, according to Lawrence Pezzullo, executive director of Catholic Relief Services. The combination of damage to the nation's infrastructure during the recent war for Kuwait, of international sanctions preventing Iraq from purchasing food, and of poor conditions for this year's crops has put Iraq "on the brink of a major humanitarian crisis," Pezzullo said in testimony Aug. I before the House Select Committee on Hunger. Bishop James A. Griffin of Columbus, Ohio, warned the committee that the international embargo "as now applied, unduly risks violating fundamental moral
norms and prolonging human suffering." .. He and Pezzullo urged the einbargo be restructured. Bishop Griffin said it should "be reshaped, but not abandoned, to allow the use of Iraqi resources to meet the essential human needs of its population." Bishop Griffin is a member of the Bishops' Welfare Emergency Relief Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. But a State Department representative said the U.S. government will not release Iraqi funds held in this country to buy food for Iraq. "U·.S: private and official claims against Iraq far exceed the total official Iraqi assets now held in U.S. banks," said Melinda Kimble, deputy assistant secretary of
state for international organizations. "These assets nevertheless offer some protection for U.S. citizens who could still sustain significant losses if the claims are not ultimately paid," she said. Relaxing sanctions to allow Iraq to sell oil and buy supplies would not guarantee supplies would reach people who need them most, Ms, Kimble said. Since sanctions were imposed against Iraq last August, commercial commodity imports have been reduced to a trickle, resulting in a BOYS OF SUMMER: Things are jumping at Westport's squeeze of reduced supply and ris-Catholic Boys Day Camp, where summer activities are in full ing prices, Pezzullo said. Before swing. Among the host of events: a myriad of,sports, swimsanctions, Iraq imported about 70 percent of its food, he explained. ming in the camp pool, and outings to the camp beach at This year Iraq will spend only Westport Harbor. See story page 13. (Breen photos) Turn to Page 10
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