09.13.85

Page 1

FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS

FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY i SEPTEMBER 13, 1985

VOL. 29, NO. 36

$8 Per Year

At World Synod of Bishof,!

Bish,opJa~es Malone

to represent NCCB

MARRIOTTSVI·LLE, MD (NC) - The 60 members of the U.S. bishops National Advisory Coun­ cil have advised Bishop James Malone of concerns they want him, as president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Confer­ ence, to bring to the World'Sy­ nod of Bishops. The synod, called by Pope John Paul 'II, will be held in Rome Nov. 25 to Dec. 8 to re­ view the state of the Church 20 years after the Se~ond Vatican Council. The priests, religious and lay people on the council met with Bishop Malone Sept. 8, at the conclusion of their regular three­ day fa'll meeting in Marriotts­ ville. Church treatment of women, sharp losses rin the number of priests, priestly celibacy, ten­ sions between the U.S. Church and Rome, declines rin Mass at­ tendance and failure of religious education to reach many Catholic youths were among problems that the advisory councH 'asked Bish­ op Malone to consider for the synod, discussions.

They told him that major strengths they found in the U.S. church since Vatican II included liturgical reform and people's participation in the liturgy, strong lay leadership and ex­ pansion of ·lay ministries, a deep­ ened sense of the, sacraments .of baptism 'and matrimony, growth in biblical spirituality, growing ae<:eptance of pluralism and di­ versity within the one church, and revitalization of religious life. Picking up on several remarks "bout Vatican-U.S. church ten­ sions, Bishop Malone said that one of the key issues he thought the world synod should work on ,is "a clarification of the theo­ logical character of bishops' con­ ferences." This, he said, would involve questions ranging from the moral ,authority of bishops' conferences when ·they teach as a body and the role they have dn dealing with dissent, to their role in re­ lations with other bishops' con­ ferences 'and the Holy See. ' Several I8dvisory council mem­ bers expressed concern that Rome does not understand the

U.S. church and gets a skewed view of it from a small coterie on the right that wl'ites directly to Rome. Father Charles Irvin of Hamburg. Mich., referred to the, letter-writers as "self-ap­ pointed vigilantes who are doing end-runs 'around the National Conference of Catholic Bishops." ,Donna Hanson of Spokane, Wash., incoming chairwoman of the council, expressed concern about Catholics not being able to attend Mass or receive the sacraments as often ,as they would like "because th~re is not a priest available." She linked the problem of a lack of priests with the question of celibacy and ' with a concern over Vatican un­ willingness to give 'dispensations to priests who leave active min­ istry. She asked how new voca­ tions can be attracted when peo­ ple see how priests are treated when they 'resign. Bishop Malone said that "a number of people I8re urging a return" from Pope John Paul's strict norms for dispensation of priests to the earlier norms Turn to Page Two

Moral, is,sue:s LCWR concern

NEW ORLEANS (NC) - Two invited archbishops did not show up 'as nearly 700 participants in the 'annual national assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious Sept. 1-5 dis­ cussed new moral issues con­ fronting them at a New Orleans meeting earlier :this month. With "Women at the WeB" as rits theme, the meeting was aim­ ed at helping superiors of wom­ en's orders draw on "wellsprings of common experience" lin facing "complex, difficult questions," said the outgoing LCWR presi­ dent, Presentation Sister Mar­ garet Cafferty. Workshops at ,the meeting dealt with ethics rin health care, in power and corporate decision­ making, -in financia'l stewardship, in personnel relations and in question's of pubHc policy. "tCWR mem1:>ership has to' deal rin life-and-death issues," Sister Cafferty said in an inter­ view. "And they have to do it

with ,increasingly scarcer re­ sources and personnel. They have to make judgments and choices as individuals and as members of a corporate com­ munity." Sister Anne E. Patrick, a Holy Names of Jesus and MaT)r sister who teaches Christian ethics I8t Carleton College in Northfield,

NOTICE

We are preparing to publish a new and enlarged Diocesan Directory and request par­ ishes 'and diocesan agencies listed in the current edition (dated Aug. 9, 1984) to check their entries and notify us of any corrections by mail or telephone BY FRIDAY, SEPT. 20. If we do not hear from you, we will presume your listing is correct as it stands.

Minn., challenged her hearers to become women of vision, cour­ age, imagination and creativity. One of two main speakers, she spoke on "The Moral Decision­ Maker: F,rom Good Sisters to Prophetic Women." Mercy Sister Margaret Farley, a ChristIan ethics professor ,at Yale Divinity School and the sec­ ond main speaker, examined the process of making moral deci­ sions and of del8ling with prob­ lems arising in the face of con-, flicting values. It was the presence of Sister Farley that :precipitated cancel­ lations from two archbishops scheduled to participate in the meeting. She is one of more than 25 U.S. women religious ordered by the Vatican to recant a state­ ment on abortion or face expul­ sion from theiT religious com­ muniti~s.

The statement, which appeared as a full-page ad in The New 'Turn to Page Fifteen

LI* $ ,Iff I

'HIIIJ

I

/

I

j

MSGR. PANNONI

60 years a priest

Next Thursday win mark the 60th ,anniversary of pl'iestly or­ dination for Msgr. Joseph R. Pannoni, a Fall River native who retired 14 years ago as pastor of that city's Holy Rosary parish. As pastor emeritus, he Hves next door' to Holy Rosary rec­ tory and joins Father V'incent F. Diaferio, his successor, for meals. "He's been like a father t.o me," said Father Diaferio. With Bishop Daniel A. Cronin presiding, he and Msgr. Pannoni will concelebrate 10:30 a.m. Mass this Sunday, as they always do. A buffet luncheon in the church hall will follow, giving parish­ ioners the opportunity to con­ gratulate the 84-year-old pdest who was their shepherd for 23 years. Msgr. P.annoni remains active in parish me, said Father Dia­ ferio, concelebrating the 4 p.m. Mass each Saturday as well as the Sunday morning Hturgy. He also hears confessions preceding the Saturday Mass. A sister, Mrs. Edwin A. Wil­ liams of Denver, Colo., and a brother, Peter Pannoni of Somer­ set, aTe expected to be among guests at Sunday's celebration. The son of the late Louis Pan­ noni and the late Beatrice Zaren­

ga Pannoni, Msgr. Pannoni was born in Fall River on Feb. 4, 1901. After attending St. Mary's parochial school and BMC Dur­ fee Hign School in Fan River, he studied for two years at St. Charles Seminary in CatonsviHe, Md. He prepared for the priest­ "hood at the North American Col­ lege in Rome, Italy, attending clal!sesat the Propaganda Fidei University. After six years at the Vatican seminary, he was ordained to the priesthood by the Most Rev. Daniel F. Feehan at St. Mary's Cathedral on Sept. 19, 1925. On April 21, 1964" Most Rev. James L. Connolly anvested the Fall River pastor 'with the robes of a domestic prelate. Msgr. Pannoni was parochial vicaT at Sacred Heart parish, Taunton; Corpus Christi par-ish, Sandwich; and St. William par­ ish, Fall River. Appointed pastor of St. Fran­ cis of' A'ssisi parish, New Bed­ ord' in 1929, he was named to the Holy Rosary pastorate in 1948, retiring' from that post 'in 1971.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.