SERVING ••• SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
VOL. 24, NO. 37
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11; 1980
20c, $6 Per Year
About Elections The four Catholie bishops of Massaehusetts, CardillUll Humberto Medeiros of BI[)5ton, Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan of Woreester, Bisb.op Daniel A.. Cronin of F'a11 River and Bishop Joseph F. Maguire of Springfield, ha.ve issued the following election message through the Massachusetts Catholic Conference: With the approach of electlon day, we deem it important to remind our Catholic people a:n.d, indeed, all fellow citizens of goodwill that the right to Vll)te is not only a precious privilflge but a grave responsibility of our citizenship. Moreover, Inteiliglmt participation in the electoral process demands an infomted
judgment both on important Issues and the stand of eaodidates with respect to them as well as their competence, personal integrity and record of perfonnance. Infonning such judgmfmt, we need to look beyond campalgn rhetoric and seek to understand the major issues in terms of their political, economic and moral dimensions. Among these are many Issues which directly relate to the quality, the dignIty and value of human life: abortion, capital punishment, the arms race, unemployment, energy needs, education, health care, housing and the "right to eat." We do not presume to instruct people how to vote by endorsing candidates, nor do we seek the formation of a religious Turn to Page Ten
Angelus Sunday September 21 has been dl~s ignated as Angelus Sunday by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. In all diocesan parishes there will be sennons about the meaning and appropriateness of this popular prayer which is on the lips of millions of Christians every dllY. A beautiful card with the Angelus printed on ;it will be handed (Jut to each person of the diocese. For 600 years the people have been pausing for prayer in the fields and at home when the church bells ring in the momir.lg, at noon and in the evening. It is their pause to remind themselves that they are children of God and want to be in communicatit>n with Him. It is so easy to spend the whole day looking down to
earth without ever raising our eyes to heaven and thinking about our Heavenly Father. At St. Peter's Plaza in Rome, when Pope John Paul II greets the crowds each' Sunday at noon, he invites them to pray the Angelus with him. The Angelus is a brief reminder of fundamental religious facts. It explains some of our relationship with God. It reminds us that God the Father sent his Son to become one of us and bring about our spiritual renewal and reconciliation. We. acknowledge our belief in who Jesus is, the Divine son of God and the human son of Mary, thus our God and at the same time our brothTum to Page Eleven
75 years With liturgy and feasting, members of Our Lady of the Assumption parish, New Bedford, the first Cape Verdean parish in the United States, last Sunday celebrated their 75th a:nniversary as a Christian community. A solemn Mass of Thanksgiving was followed by the bur::ting of the church mortgage. Bishop DaniEll A. Cronin WllS principal celebrant and homilist, with Father Raphael Flammia, SS.CC., pastor, and Father Martin Gom~s SS.CC., associate pastor, as qesignated concelebrants and many other area priests ai-
so participating in the ceremony. Rev. Heskett Robert, director of the New Bedford Interchurch Council, represented the Protestant community. Offertory gifts included a map of the Cape Verde Islands, food and clothing, representing gifts sent to the islands over the years by parishioners, religious education books, documents of Vatican II, booklets issued in connection with the church dedication in 1957 and its 75th anniversary year, seeds and plants, club medals and the about-to-beburned mortgage. Tum to Page Six
Arise, shine out! By Pat McGowan
"See how they love one another" was the identifying mark of the early Christians. It's still a good test, passed with flying colors by 14,000 Catholic charismatics at their New England conference held last weekend at the Providence Civic Center. Smiling and exuberant, the charismatics filled the center, spilling into halls and lobbies to stage impromptu songfests and dances. Through the weekend they heard and saw a galaxy of charismatic movement notables addressing the conference theme: "Arise, shine out, for your light has come." Areas emphasized in responding to the theme, said conference officials, were proclamation that Jesus is the light of the world; recommitment to him and to the church; and the necessity for charismatics to share and serve in Christian communities. Speakers included Rev. Joseph Lange, OSFS, author and editor of Catholic Charismatic magazine, who will direct a chaIiismaNc retreat for prdests of the Fall River diocese from Sept. 22 through 26 at La Salette Center, Attleboro. Further information on' the Tetreat is available from Father Marcel Bouchard at ~e Catholic Education
Center in Fall River. Also on the convention program were Dr. David du Plessis, a Pentecostal lecturer who was an' official observer at Vatican Council II; Father Real Bourque, OMI, of the Oblate Center, Natick; Barbara Wright of the pastoral team of St. Patrick parish, Providence, host unit for last weekend's convention and Guillennina Villalva of the Com-
''The charismatic Christian is not a special kind of Christian. Every Christian must be a special kind of charismatic." munity of St. John the Baptist which serves the poor of Juarez, Mexico. Father John Bertolucci, pastor of St. Joseph parish, Little Falls, N.Y., was master of ceremonies for general sessions. Workshops in English, Spanish and Portuguese dealt with topics associated with the conference theme. A meeting highlight was a Saturday afternoon gathering for 1200 young people, addressed by Steve Humble, a Minnesota youth evangelist who spoke
of the need for "counter peer pressure" groups to support young charismatics. Music was provided by John Polce and the Upper Room music ministry, while Michael Kropman, 26, shared with his hearers his experiences as a convict who found Christ as an inmate of Attica state prison. Climaxing the three-day conference was a closing Mass concelebrated by hundreds of priests, 16 bishops and Cardinal Humberto Medeiros. To the music of drums and trumpets and in medieval splendor they were led into the vast civic center by lofty banners and an icon-like painted cross. Also participating in the ceremony were dancers, robed women with swinging chimes, incense and wine bearers and deacons bearing on their shoulders a huge basket containing the hosts for communion. The basket, the charismatics were told, had been woven by a "hennitess - a woman who lives alone for the Lord." Bishop Raymond Lucker of New Ulm, Minn., introduced as a member of a charismatic community and the grower of "the best strawberries in Minnesota," was homilist. "The charismatic Christian is not a special kind of Christian," Tum to Page Six