AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, SURE AND FIRM -HEB. 6:19
VOL. 21, NO. 34
FAll RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1977
1Sc, $S Per Year
THE DEACONS ARE COMING! Permanent Diaconate candida tes enjoy family day. Story on page
New Bedford Missionary Billings 'Method Expert "I bring people back to the love of their wedding day." That's how Sister Lucille Levasseur, New Bedford horn Marist Missionary, describes her internationally recognized work as a teacher of the Billings method of natural family planning. On a home visit from her fulltime assignment of teaching family planning in the Fiji Islands of the South Pacific, Sister Lucille said the 'Billings method, which takes about an hour to learn, is equal in reliability to
any other natural family planning technique. (The method is tllught in the Fall River diocese at St. Anne's Hospital,Fa'll River, and at monthly classes at La Salette Shrine, Attlebro.) It only works, however, Sister Lucille cautions, "when there's love enough for partners to abstain from relations at the needed times." She said Drs. John and Lyn Billings of Australia were among Turn to Page Seven
Bishop Riley Was Longtime Friend of Bishop Connolly Bishop Thomas Riley, retired In clerical circles Bishop Riley auxiliary bishop of Boston, died was very well known from the last week lit his brother's home 25 years that he served at St. in Maine. His funeral Mass was John's Seminary, Brighton. First held Monday at the Cathedral as a faculty member and then of the Holy Cross in .Boston, as rector of the seminary, he with Humberto Cardinal Med- was admired by scores of priests eiros as principal celebrant and . of the diocese of Fall River wlio homilist. Bishop Daniel A. Cro- knew him in their student days. nin represented the Fall River As a graduate of the Univerdiocese at the rites. sity of Louvain in Belgium, the prelate developed a long-standing friendship with Bishop James L. Connolly, now retired Bishop of Fall River, who also obtained his doctorate from this internationally renowned university. In the newspaper world Bishop Riley was very well known for his weekly column, "Theology for Everyman," which appeared in The Pilot, the paper of the Archdiocese of iJoston. During his years in the sem· inary, Bishop Riley was truly a "Man for all Courses." Hi3 deep intellectual insight and his vast educational background en· abled him, even as rector, to Aux. Bishop Thomas J. Riley Turn to Page Five
Abortion Foe Raymond Ellinger, 36, has withered legs and twisted arms and has never known life outside a wheelchair or bed. He lives in a Little Reek nursing home and is supported by the state of Arkansas. He has never learned to read because he has never been to school. "I'm the kind of fellow those abortion people think would be better off dead," he observed. In recent months his capacity -to sympathize has been consumed by the thought of "the unborn 'babies those doctors keep killing." Converted to Catholicism 14 years ago, he takes his confirmation command to be a soldier of Christ seriously and considers it his mission to fight abortion. "I sure wish there was something I could do to help those right-to-life people," he said. Raymond is getting his wish. His story, carried by NC News, has gained national attention. "I may not be good for much," he remarked, "but I enjoy life. I think abortion is about the worst crime anybody can commit." Onward, Christian soldier!
3.
Religious Congress Draws Thousands Diocesan delegates were among 6000 priests, nuns and lay people attending the 29th New England Congress of Religious Education held last weekend at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. They heard Father Bryan Hehir, assistant secretary for international justice and peace of the U.S. Catholic Conference and a congress focus speaker, warn that unless the Church speaks to issues of social justice, it will fail in its mission. A highlight for Fall River con· gress delegates came at a Sat·
urday night diocesan meeting at which Bishop Daniel A. Cronin spoke and Father Andre Patenaude, MS, led participants in a singalong.
Three from Here At NACC Parley Members of the pastoral care departments of three hospitals in the Fall River diocese will be among delegates to the 12th annual convention of the National Association of Catholic ChapTum to Page Three
Former Holy Family Pastor Dies at the Age of 95 IBishop Daniel A. Cronin officiated Tuesday morning at a concelebrated funeral Mass for Msgr. William H. Dolan, 95, pastor emeritus of Holy Family Church, ·East Taunton. The Mass was held at Holy Family, with Rev. James F. Lyons as homilist, and burial was in St. Francis Cemetery, Taunton. Msgr. Dolan died last Thursday at the Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, where his brother Msgr. James Dolan, 97, pastor emeritus of St. Mary's Church, Taunton; is also a resident. The brothers, both of whom served in Taunton parishes for many years, remained in close contact with each other and while in the active priesthood customarily met each other daily for lunch. Msgr. William Dolan was born in Taunton, the son of the late Martin and Hannah (Campion) Dolan. Like his brother he attended, St. Laurent College, Mon-
treal, and St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained in 1921, nine years after his brother, and the late Bishop Daniel Feehan officiated at both ceremonies. Msgr. Dolan's first assignment Turn to Page Five-
Msgr. William H. Dolan