FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETIS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 25, NO. 34
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY; AUGUST 20; 1981
Neutron plan is deplored
Feehan site for deacons
By Jim Lackey
WASHINGTON (NC) -- The head of the U.S. bishops has questioned the Reagan acllministration's decision to produc:e neutron warheads, saying their production may "gravely impair future prospects for reversing the arms race." In a statement released Aug. 12 Archbishop John R. Roach of St. Paul-Minneapolis, prl~sident of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, also questioned whether current .U.S. policymakers are almost uncons,:::iously removing the barriers to nuclear war. "There seems to be renewed interest in policy circles today about the possibility of fighting and containing a nuclear war," said Archbishop Roach, citing what he called a "significant difference" in the context of decisions made in the Carter and Reagan adminstrations on neutron warheads. In 1977 the Carter administration announced plans to develop neutron warheads, which release large amounts of radiation necessary to kill people while leaving buildings and other objects intact. But President Carter essentially reversed himself in 1978 and decided to defer thE~ir production. Archbishop Roach said the Reagan administration's decision on neutron warheads should be evaluated in the light of Pope John Paul II's 1979 speech at the United Nations. In it the pope asked whether anyone in the modem age could really believe "that the breathtak:;ng spiral of armaments is at the service of world peace." The Reagan decision is also being strongly condemned by Catholic peace and social justice groups, who say the neutron weapons are immo:ral and could help lead to nuclear war. "We are not persuaded. by the assurances that use of the neutron bomb will be, or even could be, limited to strictly military targets," said Pax Christi U.S.A., the American branch of the international Catholic peacle movement. "And if it were possib:le," Pax Christi continued, "it would still not meet the traditional tests of the 'just means' of warfare." The neutron weapon kills with a huge dose of radiation while avoiding the massive blast which leveled tliroshima and Nagasaki. Reagan administration officials said the weapon would be parTum to Page Sb:
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The diocese of Fall River will host the fourth annual New England regional assembly of the permanent diaconate on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro. With the theme "The Deacon and His Family," the program will include speaker Msgr. Ernest Fiedler, executive director of the U.S. bishops' committee on the permanent diaconate. He will review and discuss a recent survey of the status of the program in this country. Workshops will be conducted by deacons, deacon candidates and their wives on family, work, parish and interdiaconal relationships, as well as on parish and diocesan ministries and the situation of celibate deacons, either unmarried or widowed. His Excellency Bishop Daniel A. Cronin of Fall River will be principal celebrant of the day's liturgy, assisted by permanent diaconate directors of the New England dioceses. Deacon James J. Meloni Jr. of Attleboro will be deacon for the Mass. . Diocesan organization of the event is under direction of Rev. John F. Moore, Fall River director of the permanent diaconate.
SHARING HONORS at Blessing of Fleet ceremony in New Bedford are Rev. John F. Hogan, in foreground, pastor of St. Julie Billiart parish, North Dartmouth, and Rev. Constantine Bebis of New Bedford Greek Orthodox Church. (Rosa Photo)
Religion test
OI{'d by ABA
Crowds best papal tonic VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope John Paul II had his busiest weekend in three months Aug. 15-16, making two appearances at his apartment window in the Vatican before flying to greet another crowd at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo. The 61-year-old pope, released from Rome's Gemelli Polyclinc Aug. 14 and required to spend at least six more weeks convalescing from an assassination attempt May 13, addressed a crowd of 80,000 in St. Peter's Square Aug. IS, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. About 50,000 people came to the square Aug. 16 for the pope's noon Angelus address, and another 4,000 were waiting in the courtyard of the papal summer residence in Castelgandolfo, about 15 miles from Rome, that afternoon. Pope John Paul appeared healthy and in good humor, often departing from his prepared
texts to joke with the crowds. "It seems that crowds of the faithful are better for him than any medicinal tonic," said one Vatican official. The size of the Aug. 15 crowd startled Roman observers and even the pope, because the italian capital is usually .empty on "ferragosto," a national holiday which most Italians spend at cooler places such as the beach or in the mountains. "Thank you for your presence, which certainly doesn't correspond to the traditions of these days, when Rome becomes empty," Pope John Paul said after his 20-minute talk, which also included greetings in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. "Let us see fulfilled in Mary the unity with Christ for which we long and follow her example in listening to the word of God in our hearts," he said in English.
The pope reaffirmed the church's belief in the dogma of Mary's bodily assumption into heaven and said Mary "participated in the glory of (Christ's) resurrection" through the assumption. Before leaving the window, Pope John Paul told the crowd that he was sweating "not because of illness but because of the ferragosto sun." Rome temperatures were in the 90s during both noon talks. In his Angelus address Aug. 16 the pope asked prayers for Catholics in Hungary, where, he said, there exists a "grand heritage of faith, morals and culture which had its beginnings in the person and mission of St. Stephen." He also announced his imminent departure for Castelgandolfo and said he would appear each Sunday on the courtyard balTum to Page Three
NEW ORLEANS (NC) Church-run law schools may discr.iminate on the basis of religion and still receive accreditation, the American Bar Association has decided. By a narrow 147-127 vote the ABA's House of Delegates, meeting in New Orleans, decided to amend its standards and grant accreditation to the law school at Oral Roberts University, which requires students and faculty members 'to take an oath affirming their belief in Jesus Christ. Previously, Oral Roberts had been denied' accreditation for its law school because it was not in compliance with ABA standards forbidding discrimination on the basis of race, color.. religion, national origin or sex. Graduates of law schools without ABA accreditation cannot take bar examinations to be li-'-' censed as a lawyer in most states. . The new standard adds the following to the existing standards: "Nothing herein shall be conTurn to Page Seven