Pope Paul
P-'edg~s
Fight VA1'ICAN CITY <N:C) Pope Paul has pledged the Ohurch to a fight for social ~'8tice and against the e.x tremc abyss between the rich [lnd poor classes of Latin Amer ~.
This was a constant theme of Eils majol' speeches during his ~hree-day visit to the 39th In ternational Eucharistic Congress in Colombia, one of the Latin American countries in which economic imbalances are the major social problem of the day. But, at the'same time, a second ary theme-rejection of the use oi wolence and revolution-was
sounded time ,and time again. The Pope's trip to Bogota, the high mountain capital of Colom bia, was the first visi t of a Pope bo Latin America. And with a flair for the dramatic which Pope Paul frequently has shown in the past, he opened it by kneeling to kiss the ground on his arrival at Bogota's EI Dorad do aindpOl"t. In doing so he emu lated the gesture made by Chris topher Columbus when he first set foot upon the '!lew c:pntinent. Drama was not confined to his ait'port anival. Not long after, the Pope was almost mobbed on his arrival at the cathedral and shortly after inside the building
Anticipate Decrease In School Attendan'ce WASHINGTON (NC)-By the end of this yea.r 207 seeondary schools will have opened time since ] 966, while 637 schools ",ill have closed in the same pel"iod, the Research Office M the National Catholic Ed. IIcational Association NCEA humbel'ed school openings in IP&ports. The oombined en- the past three years, the net loss --Ument of Catholic elemen- in enrollment is small partly ~tholic elementary and hit- door~ for the first
•.., rMry and secondary schools opening for the first time in the past threc years, including 1968, is 64,641, while the enrollment 'i'JI. schools closing during the same pel"iod was 79,527. School alosings as against school openings produced a net enrollment loss of 14,886 in the three-year period. (Total U. S. Catholic elementary and second school enroll let known. In the 1967-68 school was 5,254,776. The enrollment fur the 1968-69 school year is not ;ret known. In the 1967-58 school year thel'e were 10,517 Catholic elementary schools and 2,322 aecondary schools.) An NCEA spokesman said that 8lI:though school closings far out-
because a number of the closed schools had very low' pupil totals and because a number of the "new" schools represent mergers of several existing schools, thus. producing a single institution with a larger student body than any of the merged schools had. In addition to 27 school open ings in inner-city areas this year, there will be 12 elemen tary school openings in suburban areas and eight in rural areas. For the past three years school openings by location have been.: inner-city, 48; suburbs, 72; and rural areas, 27. The combined enrollmettt of all Catholic elementary schools Turn to Page Seventeen
Urge Business, Labor Solve Unemployment Problems . WASillNGTON (NC)~Labol' and business were urged 00 j'Oin in solving the unemployment and underemployment problems of the nation, particularly among minority groups, in the 1968 Labor Day Statement issued by the Division fur Urban Life, Social DeYelopment De p a I' t men 1;, United States Catholics Con f~l'Emce. "The one thing I)bove all others," the statement said, "that labor and manage ment have in common at this particular time, so fraught with danger to the nation, is the re aponsibility in cooperation with the government, to solve the n»roblem of 'pervasive unemploy ment and underemployment' \Which the report of the Com mission on Civil Disorders /Jingles out as 'the most persist ent and serious grievance iill minority areas' and one of the major underlying causes of civill di90rder. "Labor and management, ia ~her" words, share the respon aibility of guaranteeing, in so ill' as it lies within their power f» do 80, equal employment op I!)Ortunities for Negro workers, Md the members of other dis Gldvantaged minorities." The Division for Urban Lik. Turn to Page TeD
Aga~nst
Social Injustice
he seem~d in danger of being all but smothered by the crowds. Even when he went to San Jose outside Of Bogota to be with hundreds of thousands of camp esinos, the poverty-stricken land
workers of Latin America, he. again ran a close risk of being overwhelmed by the delighted faithful. and frantic newsmen and photographers. Despite his 71 years, his frail constitution and a gruelling schedule of ceremonil~s and meetings, the Pope, while ap pearing sometimes tired came through in good condition. On the day he flew back to Rome the Vatican IIPokesman, OOMsgr. Fausto Vallainc, said, "The Pope's condition is excellent." Close aides of the Pope said they were very satisfied wit·h the Vol. 12, No. 35 Aug. 29, 1968
entire trip despite some obvious © 1968 The Anchor
exceptions. Price 10c $4.00 per Year
Q:;The ANCHOR
Alumna
.'School
.Head
Pledging the ·Church to work 00 overcome the present situa tion, he promised to ."continue to denounce unjust economic in equalities between rich and POOl', and abuses of authority and administration against yoUl and the community." But at the same time he said: "Let us exhort 'you not to place your trust in violence and revolution. That is contrary to the Christian spirit and it can also delay instead of advancing that social uplifting to which you lawfully aspire." The Pope sounded a warning against the temptation of "his Turn to Page Five
School· Enrollment Up in Diocese Fifty-four Catholic elementary schools and 18 Cat.h olic High Se;hools will start sessions for the 1968-69 scho lastic year on Wednesday morning, Sept. 4. A new plan for tuition has been inatlgurated and the fear had been that there might be a great Saered Heart elementary school! drop in the enrollment. How Fairhaven with 142 pupila ever, statistics gathered by in last year and Our Lady of Per the Diocesan School Office Turn to Page Twelve
indicate that the difference in enrollment will be infinitesmal and the national downward trend is not in evidence through
out the diocese.
Projected enrollment figures gathered during the past week Bishop Connolly partici has revealed that 18,018 will en pated Wednesday morning ter the elementary schools this in an historic consecration year, while 18,031 were enrolled in June, a drop of 13 pupils. in St. Mary's Cathedral, Mi ami. On the other hand, the sec For the first time in the Unite<ll ondary schools have jumped from 4,972 students to 5,075, an States, all Bishops present at Turn to Page Twelve
increase of 103.
Bishop Present At Epic Rites
MOTHER MARIE IRENE, R.J.M.
Mother Marie Irene Rhe aume, R.J;M. an alumna and former teacher at Jesus Mary Academy, returns this month as principal to the Fall River academy. The new prineipal received an M.A. in history from Fordham University and a Ph.D. in edu Turn to Page Fourteen
MAINTAINING COVENANT WITH GOD: Next Sun day, Sept. 1, is the thirteenth Sunday after Penteeost. We can be sure that God is ever mindful of his·covenant. But are we faithful to our covenant with God? We entered into it at Baptism. We ratify it in the Eucharist. 0 God, help us 00 look to our oovenant with You. Only then will we have 1l)eaOO. NC Photo•.
Pope Brands Soviet Invasion Of Chechoslovakia Disaster
'VATICAN crry (NC)-As he was boarding the plane for Bogota, Oolombia, and the international Eucharistic Congress, Pope Paul VI deelared himself ready "at this very moment" to give up his Eucharistic pilgl'image to Latin America if by staying in Rome he oould help dispel the Pact countries burst into Czech oslovak territory. shadows ca·st over ]!:urope by The Pope began his farewell! the Soviet invasion of Czech message at the airport by thank oslovakia. The gloom of the night still hung over Rome when Pope Paul, by the side of the jetliner. that was to take him 6,000 miles to a continent seething with so cial discontent, branded the So viet action "a disaster." He said
that it is bound to have "dis
astrous consequences."
Peace itself "is ,savagely
wounded," he declared, adding:
"God grant that it be not mor tally."
The evening before leaving his Summer home at Casielgan dolfo the Pope had received a message from United Nations Secretary General U Thant em phasizing the "primary import ance" of peace. But the Burmese· stateman's message made no reference to the crisis touched off by the Soviet invasion, and appeared to have been written before troops of tl1e Warsaw
ing those who had come to say good-bye to them "regardless of the early hour." He continued: "But we cannot leave you and all who witness our departure and are listening Turn to Page Fifteen
Curate Transfer Is Announced
The Chancery Office an nouncQd today the transfer of Rev. Donald R. MeS8ier, assistant art St. Jean the Baptiste Church, to St. Mathieu Church,Fall River, as assistant. Father Messier was ordained on May 18, 1968 in St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River by Bishop Connolly. He will report to his new as signment on Friday, Aug. 30.