the
anc 0
DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSl, CAPE Vol. 26, No. 31
Fall River, Mass., Friday, August 13, 1982
& ISLANDS
20c, $6 Per Year
Latin violence
concerns church
By Agostino Bono NC News Service Increase in political violence and turmoil in much of Central America has been matched· by growing concern for the region by Pope John Paul II and the U.S. bishops, as well as by the Reagan administration. EI Salvador has drawn most attention because of the high number of deaths there and U.S. interpretation of the conflict as a classic communist attempt to take over a country and infil trate the rest of the region. Political violence is also a way of life in Honduras, Guate mala and Nicaragua. In all four countries, about 90 percent of the people profess Catholicism, 'making the church a powerful social, cultural and political 'force in the area. Here is a summary of the sit uation in the four countries: EI Salvador: On Aug. 6 Pope John Paul sent a letter to the Salvadoran bishops condemning military and guerrilla violence as lacking Christian' justification and asking bishops to foster "the ministry of reconciliation." Salvadoran church agencies estimate that at least 32,000 peo ple have died in the three years of fighting that has pitted the military and paramilitary groups supporting it against guerrillas. "The methodology of violence which has led to a practical war
- placing on the one side those who consider armed battle a
necessary instrument for obtain
ing a new soci~l order} and on the other side those resorting to the principles of 'national secur ity' to legitimize brutal repress ion - has no rational, and much less Christian, justification," the letter said. ' Salvadoran guerrilla mov.e ments justify their struggle by saying it is the only way to ob tain a new society based on social justice. The government and the military justify the use of violence and the suspension of basic civil rights as necessary to defend national security. . "The discords and divisions that still disturb your country and caus~ new conflicts and vio .lence have their true and deep root in situations of social in justice: a problem that has erupted with force at the poli-
tical level," Pope John Paul said. .But he told the bishops to offer the predominantly Cath olic population "the methods of peace in the ministry of recon ciliation through the word of the Gospel and the action that it inspires." The pope said both sides in El Salvador's civil war are "motivated by contrary interests and guided by ideologies' that sacrifice the fundamental aspira tions of the human person." Nicaragua: On Aug. 6 the Vatican released the text of a papal letter to its bishops warn ing against priests in politics and the growth of "popular churches" which reject in hier archial authority and leave them selves open to being infiltrated by political ideologies. The letter was ,read in parishes at Masses last Sunday but sev eral days after its Vatican re lease had not been mentioned in secular media. Four priests who have sus pended their priestly ministry are
prominent in government ser vice: Maryknoll Father Miguel D'Escoto, foreign minister; Father Ernesto Cardenal, minis ter of culture; Jesuit Father Fer nando Cardenal, moderator of
the Sandinista Youth Movement; and .Father Edgar Parrales, dele gate to the Organization of Am erican States. The pope defin~d the popular chqrch as "a church which arises much more from the presumed values of a portion of the popu lation than from the free and gratuitous initiative of God" and as a church which is "opposed to the church presided over by legitimate pastors." It is "a church. which enoys the autonomy of the so-called 'bases,' without reference to their legitimate pastors and teachers." "Bases" is an abbreviation for "basic Christian communities," grassroots Catholic organizations which study the Bible and dis cuss concret~ socioeconomic and political problems. During the civil war leading to the fall of the Somoza regime, many basic Christian communi ties opposed Somoza and sup ported the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a Christian Marxist coalition. The support continues,' although the Nicarag
uan bishops have become in
creasingly critical of the gov
ernment, especially o'n human . rights issues. Tum to Page Six
Charismatics. ' •
Pro;vidence· In Cardinal Humberto Medeiros of Boston will join with other New England bishops and several hundred priests to concelebrate a colorful liturgy closing a Cath olic Charismatic Conference to be held at the Providence Civic Center today through Sunday. Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, of Providence, will be the main cele brant. Culminating three days of praise, worship and· teaching, Sunday's celebration will feature a festive processional with the Boston College Liturgical Dan cers, priests, religious sisters and brothers, deacons and lay people. Homilist will be Father Ronald Brassard, assistant chancellor of the diocese of Providence, who has planned liturgies for three New England conferences and a
1979 charismatic gathering in
Yankee Stadium.
Conference participants, in ad
dition to those from the contin
ental United States and Canada,
represent Mexico, Brazil, Costa
Rica, Europe, the Philippines and
South Africa. Among those to appear this weekend are ij:arry Blamires, in ternationally known British writer and lecturer; Mother Ba silea Schlink, a Lutheran nun from Darmstadt, Germany; Jes uit Father George Maloney, founder of the John XXIII Center for Eastern Christian Studies at Fordham University; and Father John Bertolucci, faculty member at the University of Steubenville, who will be master of cere monies.
'It is necessary to remind old people to contribute their spiritual riches to other people, in particular, the young.'
Golden· aging
By Jeff Eodrst VIENNA, Austria (NC) The first World Assembly on Aging concluded its two week session in Vienna. Aug. 6 by calling for policies to en hance the lives of the elderly and to allow them to enjoy "in mind and in body, fully and freely,' their advancing years in peace, health and security." Delegates from 120 coun tries and representatives of 143 non-governmental organ izations agreed that quality of life "is no less important than longevity," and that the elder ly should therefore be able to enjoy in their own families and communities "a life' of fulfillment, health, security and contentment, appreciated as an integral part of society." The Vatican delegation made an informal proposal for a study on "making the fam ily the subject of a United Nations conference in the near future." The idea was broached by Bishop Francisco Jose Cox Huneeus, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family and head of the Vatican delegation. He told the assembly that religion has particular signifi cance to the elderly.
"It is necessary to remind old people to contribute their spiritual riches to ,other peo ple, in particular, the young," he added. He said that respect for the elderly is a "manifestation of respect for life at a particu lar stage." "Man has no right to dis pose of any stage of life, from conception to death," said Bishop Cox. He said that the elderly have an important role in im plementing the policies called for by the assembly. "They have the time and wisdom to give to society. The church expresses its gratitude to-those institutions that have contributed to the cause of the elderly," he told the as sembly. Richard 'Schweiker, U.S. Secretary of Health and Hu man Service, told the assembly that issues of aging have enormous impact on social, economic and political charac teristics of nations. He said the ch21llenge is in finding personal fulfiillment for the elderly through new activities and roles· not pre viously widely available. Schweiker listed key ques tions which he said are still Turn to Page Six