FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSEnS CAPE COD &THE.ISLANDS
VOL. 31, NO. 35
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Friday, September 4,1987
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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58 'Per Year
Filipino bishops back Aquino MANILA, Philippines (NC) Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila said the Philippine government is so corrupt that only "a miracle" had saved it from falling to an attempted coup. "I cannot understand why (the coup) was unsuccessful," he said in a speech Sept. I to government officials and workers. "If we have sent (coup leaders) into hiding, it is not because the government had more credibility and better resources" but "because ofa miracle." Cardinal Sin said corruption was the reason there have been five attempted or planned coups against the government in the 18 months since President Corazon Aquino took office in a bloodless revolution. He called Mrs. Aquino, whom he has strongly supported, "honest and sincere." But, referring to the government of President Ferdinand Marcos, from whom Mrs. Aquino took
A YOUNG MAN touches up the paint on a billboard along the Biscayne Boulevard parade route in Miami, Pope John Paul II's first stop on his U.S. tour. (NC/UPI photo)
Pope, Jews confer VATICAN CITY (NC) - The Vatican will consult Jewish experts in preparing a new church document on the Holocaust and antiSemitism, Catholic and Jewish leaders said in a joint statement at the end of a 65-minute meeting with Pope John Paul II Sept. I. They also plan to develop a "special mechanism" for closer Catholic-Jewish contacts, involving the powerful Vatican Secretariat of State, which formulates the
church's policies on diplomatic and At the end ofthe meetings, Jewinternational issues. ish leaders said they still disagreed The pa pal meeting was part of a with the papal decision to meet two-day series of c.ontacts organ- Waldheim, but that the contacts ized to smooth over Catholic-Jew- with Vatican officials had improved ish tensions after the pope met in . relations and set the stage for June with Austrian President Kurt important furture dialogue on the Waldheim, accused by Jewish meaning of the Holocaust and on groups of participating in war Vatican diplomatic recognition of crimes as a World war II officer in Israel. the German army. Regarding Waldheim, "we deWaldheim has denied the accusations. Turn to Page Six
Diocesans to see pope (Related stories on pages three, 12 and 13) Representatives ofthe Fall River diocese will be in several cities along Pope John Paul II's tour of the United States, which begins next Thursday in Miami. Heavily involved in this biggest media event of the decade is Taunton native Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, general secretary to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/
United States Catholic Conference and former vice-officialis of the Fall River Diocesan Tribunal. Msgr. Hoye will travel with the papal party throughout the visit. He has overall responsibility for coordinating NCCB/ USCC involvement in the tour's events. In 1979, when Pope John Paul II first visited the United States, Msgr. Hoye also participated in trip coordination. Bishop Daniel A. Cronin and
Msgr. John J. Oliveira, diocesan chancellor, will be in Los Angeles Sept. 16 as the pope prays and meets with representatives of the U.S. bishops' conference at Mission San Fernando. The bishop will be among concelebrants at the pope's Dodger Stadium Mass that evening. At that time the pontiff will reconsecrate the United States to the Madonna. Turn to Page Six
power, the cardinal said "we thought it would end with the fleeing of the ousted dictator, Ali Baba, yet there are still 40 thieves around." Rebel military units failed in their attempt to topple Mrs. Aquino's government in a 20-hour mutiny which began Aug. 28. Coup leader Col. Gregorio Honasan is the subject of a massive manhunt. Members ofthe Philippine Catholic hierarchy publicly backed the government and made radio appeals to civilians to remain calm during the Aug. 28-29 coup attempt by rebelling military units, said Cardinal RicardoJ. Vidal ofCebu, Philippines. The church is prepared to exercise its "ministry of reconciliation" in the aftermath of the incident, he said in a telephone interview from his Cebu City residence. "We are grateful that the crisis is over" and "thank the Lord" the Turn to Page Six
Church-worker ties need renewal WASHINGTON (NC) - Because of "new and difficult" economic challenges and the positive role for Catholic social teaching in addressing them, traditional church-worker ties should be renewed, according to the 1987 U.S. Catholic Conference Labor Day Statement. Labor Day falls on Sept. 7 this year. The statement, "Rights and Responsibilities of Workers," is by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan of Brooklyn, who chairs the USCC Committee on Social Development and World Peace. "Much has changed in recent years, but the basic challenge of defending human dignity remains a common task of both church and labor," he said. "I believe there are several reasons to suggest that we should renew and strengthen this partnership in the years ahead." A four-page document, the statement briefly traces the Catholic labor teaching from Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum" through the U.S. bishops' economic pastoral and Pope John Paul II's encylical "On Human Work" and other texts. "The church has had a long history of participating in the struggle for workers' rights and economic justice," particularly after the debut of "Rerum Novarum," the bishop wrote. "For example, in the early part
of this century, labor priests were found in virtually every major industrial city," he said. Later, as labor became more organized, more Catholics entered the middle class, and other social justice issues occupied church attention, "there was a gradual tapering off' of direct church involvement with labor, Bishop Sullivan said. However, he noted that "the present-day economy poses new and difficult challenges for those seeking to preserve the rights of workers. Meeting these challenges will require a renewed partnership." Furthermore, he continued, "I believe that Catholic social teaching has a very real contribution to make in providing a moral vision and a foundation of-ethical principles upon which to build the struggle for economic justice." "Rerum Novarum" cited a "right to a living wage," while the U.S. bishops' pastoral, "Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy" discussed that and other rights, he said. Yet, there also are "important responsibilities of workers," he said. "These begin with the duty to use one's talents effectively, to provide a fair day's work and to seek excellence in production and service." Turn to Page Six .